Mom Advise Notebook Experiment- Who Bread: White vs.Wheat

Bread 1: Bread Flour

Bread 2: All-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour

So, I decided to give the Mom Advise Notebook Experiments a try. Amy has a notebook where she list all kinds of great ideas she finds online. Many of them are projects that I really want to do. I've looked through her past notebooks and have booked marked lots of things to try. So, I'll be back for the weekly experiments. I really like how Amy makes them look like an experiment when she post them, so hopefully she won't mind if I do mine the same. I got a bread machine with our income tax refund this year and I love it. Although I still have a lot to learn! This is the first recipe we tried and really love, Low-Fat Bread Machine Italian Bread . I was really excited to try a different one.

Experiment: Can I make Who (pronounced hooo, like an owl) bread and will my kids and husband will still like it if I substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the bread flour?

Experiment taken from: Notebook Entry 02.14.07

Materials needed: Here's the recipe that I used from SouleMama.

WHO Bread
(makes 1.5 lb loaf, set to 'basic' with medium crust)
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter @ room temperature
1 tsp salt
3 cups of flour (we do 2 cups unbleached white, 1 cup whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or, one package)
Add ingredients to pan in order listed according to bread machine instructions. Makes 1.5 lb loaf, set to medium crust and basic.



Results:
Part 1: The first loaf we made was with just the bread flour. This bread rose quite a bit in my machine and looked more like a 2 lb loaf. I was worried that my lid would come off of the top of my machine, but it did not. I thought maybe I did something wrong, but I followed the instructions exactly! So, I thought? After rereading the recipe, it called for plain flour and not the bread flour, which is probably what made it rise more. My kids ate the bread fine and said they liked it okay. I liked it.

Part 2: The second loaf I made was the one that I substituted 1 cup of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the white flour. Now why would I want to do this? Well, first it is healthier for my kids and second since being on Weight Watchers, I noticed that using the whole wheat flour lowered my points sometimes and after running the recipe through the recipe builder (you have to be an e-tools subscriber to get this service) on the Weight Watchers Website, I found that it did indeed lower it by one point. If it tasted just as good, that was the one I wanted to use. The bread rose more like it was suppose too since I used the all-purpose flour. (I did not have any unbleached white.) The top fell, but the results were that my bread's crust was crispier and the bread really did taste better to me than the first one I tried. But how did my kids like it? Well, my oldest one said it's okay. I asked him what he did not like about it and he said it taste like wheat. The others are 4 years old and 2 years old and basically they will eat warm bread with butter on it.


Conclusion: Well, I guess my kids will eat the bread with the wheat in it, although they seem to like the white flour bread better. My dh and my 9 year old refuse to eat wheat bread. I don't have any other answers as to how to get them to eat healthier and to eat wheat. Personally, I liked the second one and if I make this bread again, that will be the one I choose. This however is not my first pick for my favorite bread.
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For more experiments go here.

Low-Fat Bread Machine Italian Bread

Well, my dh bought me a bread maker with our income tax money. I have really wanted one forever! But, with Weight Watchers, I wondered if I was going to be able to use it. So, I have been on the search for recipes I could still eat and stay on plan. My kids love the bread! I do too. I love the ease that the bread maker gives me! So, here is one that I made that I really like! I make it with my Spaghetti Casserole that we eat weekly. My dh wants us to try to use this as a pizza crust dough or even bread sticks. I think it would be fabulous as either! I have learned though that with a bread maker, you really have to deal with portion control, luckily I have a large family and usually there is not a lot left over!

Low-Fat Bread Machine Italian Bread

1 1/8 cups water
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onions
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter
Add ingredients to pan in order listed according to bread machine instructions. Program as desired.
Per serving: Calories, 184; Fat 3g; Fiber 1.3g

What's On My Nightstand?- April

This is the first time I am participating in the 5 Minutes For Books, What's On Your Nightstand? I am just now really getting back into reading again. I don't know why I quit for awile, probably just busy. I just recently joined a book club, so that motivates me to get the books done. It is also giving me an opportunity to expereince new authors. I know lots of these may still be here next month, but here is what I am working on.

Fiction
1. White Chocolate Moments- Lori Wick (This is my book club book for May)
2. Kerry Madden's Maggie Valley Trilogy Gentle's Holler, Jessie's Mountain, and Louisiana's Song
3. Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe (My bookclub is reading this throughout this year.)
4. Where the Wild Rose Blooms- Lori Wick

5. An Untamed Land- Lauraine Snelling

6. Fatally Flaky- Diane Mott Davidson

7. A Body To Die For- G.A. McKevett

Non Fiction

The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage- Stormie Omartian

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To see what other's are reading go to 5 Minutes For Books.

Tackle It Tuesday-Starting Seeds

My tackle was actually done on Saturday. I wanted everyone in the family to be involved and that was the day we were all here and it was a beautiful day outside! This is a project that we had been putting off. The project was starting our seeds. We are going to be doing container gardening so if our crop is late, I guess that's okay too. We used a Jiffy Greenhouse. This was $6.00 at Walmart and allowed for 72 plants. My kids had a great time and what made it even better was that last week and this one my twins theme at head start was gardens. We even took them on a trip to Walmart to look at all of the plants and gardening stuff and buy the stuff for this tackle. My kids had a great evening and I have my containers ready to transplant when they are ready. Here are some pictures from our tackle.

For more tackles, go to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Family Easter Picture