my trip to red wing pottery & my baking essentials

hi everybody!
ive been blogging ;) fun, right?! it feels good to have more time & the inspiration to share photos, recipes, products & life-happenings.
i think this is an easy thing to burn-out on or to run out of 'blog-able' topics ; so it feels good to be back.

now that i am only working two jobs [woo hoo!] ; i have had a bit more free time. a couple weeks ago, i had a day off, so blake, daphne & i took a tiny minnesota day trip.
we ended up in wabasha & red wing ; a little less than two hours away. both towns are full of charm, shops & fun things to do.

one of our set destinations? red wing pottery. they are a third generation minnesota business [yay!] & they make beautiful pottery. lots of adults that grew up in minnesota have some childhood memory of red wing pottery. my dad had TONS of gallon crocks he use to keep wine in when i was little.

the shop is open 7 days a week & its HUGE. there are potters in the back. and the floor is full of thousands of pieces. everything from popcorn bowls [next on my list] to pencil holders to tea kettles. all made locally. in a small town. employing folks. [i love it]

i decided that 2013 would be my year to test out 40 loaves [baking 40 loaves of bread in one year]. i have been looking for the perfect bread pan [preferably vintage pyrex], but hadnt found it.

done. found. beautiful, right? your dough rises inside & then it goes straight in the oven.

my other purchase? this rolling pin.
i used it to make a few batches of my vegan thin mints. the cookies are delish & the rolling pin is awesome.

cool, right?
at the end of last year, blake & i made the commitment that we would shop for everything we need as locally as possible. we havent been 100% successful [my new heart rate monitor was made in china] ; but we are doing our best.
purchasing items from shops like this make the products that much sweeter.
we are supporting minnesota. small towns. a local business. when people make money, they can support their families. when people have money, they are able to spend more money in their town. it all makes sense. its so simple.

do you have a 'hidden local gem' in your town?

40 loaves : apple cinnamon coffee cake : week 5

happy wednesday, everybody!

i am day behind on my 40 loaves ; but you didnt notice, right?

i got tons of great comments // emails on my post yesterday. i posted 10 awesome links // posts // products ; go see!

i am now 1/6 of the way done with this project ;) 

so far, almost everything has been a 'sweet bread' ; someday soon, i will start making english muffins & 'real bread'. but today? today, i have another [delish!] sweet bread!

todays bread : apple cinnamon coffee cake

recipe used : this one from joy the baker

what i did different : i always use egg replacer, vegan butter, turbinado sugar & whole wheat flour to keep things vegan [eggs, butter, sugar] // a bit healthier [whole wheat flour]

the last step said to sprinkle sugar on top of the bread before baking ; i didnt do this. 

would i make this again? : YES! this is a good 'brunch' bread. the recipe makes two loaves, so its enough to keep one for yourself & use the other as a bake sale bread or as a gift to a neighbor // new parent // family member.

have you baked anything lately?

one of the advantages [?] of having super cold, dark winters is the sweet smell of baking bread in a warm kitchen!

40 loaves : stecca with jumbo olives

hey everybody!

can you believe that its almost february?! time goes so fast!

i am still truckin' along with my 40 loaves project ; so far, so good!

todays bread : stecca with olives & garlic [stecca is a kinda baguette-ish]

recipe used : this one ; i checked this book out from the library & i really love it. ill definitely be buying a copy for myself

what i did differently : nothing! i followed the exact recipe & it turned out great. i used jumbo olives & garlic to garnish my bread.

would i make it again? : yes! this was a super good! easy to make. really tasty dipped in oil or heated up with a bit of butter.

super easy! and tasty. the olives added a great kick [i love olives!] next time, i think ill add more olives // garlic, so you get a taste in each bite!

40 loaves : week 3 : peanut butter & jelly loaf

hey everybody!

i have been super absent this past week. and you know what? i am okay with that.

before you start drooling ; are you on instagram?! i have been using the app for a couple years now & JUST decided to start following folks // accepting followers.

my username : dianapantz ; find me! lets be friends ;)

todays bread : pb&j bread

recipe used : this one

what i did differently? : i used a vegan egg replacer & i didnt add the peanuts to the top of the loaf

would i make it again? : i think i would. 

i *think* i left the bread in for a few minutes too long, so the outside became pretty hard. the inside was soft & delish, though.

i used blueberry preserves for a local shop in raleigh, north carolina, that i picked up when we were there for christmas.

look at this face! this is what she does when she wants something to eat. she will lay super close to you ; but not make eye contact, hoping you wont notice her & youll just drop all your food. ;)

40 loaves : cinnamon pull- apart bread

happy tuesday!

loaf #2 this week.

i had to bake two different loaves ; why?

because my dog ATE the first loaf before i could get pictures.

[oh daphne!]

but i have to say, this came out SO delish the second time.

bread : cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread

recipe used : this one ; from joy the baker

what i did differently? : i used wheat flour, vegan butter, egg replacer, turbinado sugar & almond milk ; in place of all the animal-products.

would i make it again? : yes, times a million!

this bread was SO good ; a must for a brunch party or holiday get together!

40 loaves : honey cornbread muffins

tuesday!
one of my 2013 goals is to bake 40 loaves of bread.
i have wanted to bake my own bread for a long time, but it always seemed super scary.
what better way to get over a fear than to do something 40 times?! ;)

for my first recipe, i decided to make something pretty easy. no rising time. no active yeast. just a simple recipe.

bread : honey cornbread muffins

recipe used : this one

what i did differently? : i used whole wheat flour, almond milk, egg replacer & vegan butter to make this a vegan recipe

will i make it again? : i WILL make this bread again ; they turned out super sweet & delish. the only difference i would make would be to use a lighter honey. we used a buckwheat honey that a friend gifted to us & the flavor was a bit too 'pollen-y' for us. i would def make these again with a lighter honey.

*also, i know that some vegans dont eat honey because of the way the bees//hives//eco-sytem are treated. blake and i DO eat honey, but only from small, local bee farms. we do not support honey//farms where the bees are killed//fed sugar water//artificially inseminated. the honey we use comes from local farms that do not spray & keep a natural habitat for their bees. we also only eat RAW, unprocessed honey. AND, we feed daphne quite a bit of honey, as well.*

the cornmeal flour i used was from a local flour mill & it was so good.
do you have a favorite recipe that calls for cornmeal? we still have a HUGE bag left!