As a cost saving effort, and something to do all winter, I started making homemade bread and bagels. I’m happy to say we haven’t bought bread since last December. Hopefully my family is also happy to say that ;) The bread is pretty simple since I have a bread machine. I put in the ingredients, set the machine to “dough” and wait for 1hr 3min. When it beeps I put the dough into bread pans, let it rise an hour or so, then stick it in the oven for half hour. A little time consuming, but we don’t get out much these days anyway :)

The kids eat a lot of bagels, so I thought I’d give that a shot too. Bagels have proven to be more of a project than bread. It took a few tries, but I think I’ve found an awesome recipe. One of my problems with baking is that I’m not very precise and don’t tend to do the same thing twice (clearly not very scientific), so my outcomes are pretty hit or miss. This recipe has consistently come out good, despite my variations :) I’ve added frozen blueberries to it, cinnamon and raisins, cranberries, etc. Put the extra ingredients in right at the beginning and test it after the first knead cycle to
make sure there’s enough flour (I often miss this step). Anyway, give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

BAGELS
From “The Best Bread Machine Cookbook Ever” by Madge Rosenberg
Yield: 8
bagels

Dough
1 1/2 tsp active
dry yeast
2 cups bread flour (I often do 1/2 bread flour, 1/2 whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 tbsp
sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp barley malt syrup (I got mine at King Arthur Flour)

Toppings
2 tbsp poppy seeds, sesame seeds, kosher salt, or minced onion (or everything
bagel topping, also from King Arthur Flour)

Instructions
1. Add all ingredients for the dough except the barley malt syrup in the order suggested by your bread machine manual and process on the dough cycle according to the manufacturer’s directions.

2. At the end of the dough cycle, remove the dough from the machine. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a
large pot bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.

3. While the water comes to a boil, divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope 12 inches long. Make a
circle of each piece, overlapping the ends by at least an inch and pressing or rolling the overlap tightly to seal. Let the
bagels rise for only 5 minutes. (I prefer the “roll into a ball and make a hole in the center” method of shaping bagels.)

4. Add the malt syrup to the boiling water. (The syrup gives the bagels their golden crust.) Lower a few bagels at a time into the boiling water. As soon as the bagels rise to the top, remove with a skimmer or spatula to a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle about 3/4 tsp of any of the toppings over each bagel and bake 20 minutes or until golden.
(I let them boil for 30 seconds to a minute because mine seem to rise to the top immediately. Feel free to experiment!)

Per Lauren’s request… I’m not sure yet which recipe I’m going to try first, but I’ll let you know the results when I’m done :)

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NUTRITIOUS TEETHING BISCUITS

Ingredients:
1 beaten egg yolk
3 Tbsp maple syrup or molasses (May be omitted)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp uncooked oatmeal
1 cup flour (white, wheat or combo)
1 Tbsp soy flour
1 Tbsp wheat germ
1 Tbsp nonfat dry milk.

Directions:
Blend wet ingredients, add dry ingredients. Dough will be stiff. Roll dough thin and cut into strips or desired shapes.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. They can be made without the last 3
ingredients, but they add to the nutritional value.

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BANANA BREAD STICKS

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 3/4 cups flour (white, whole wheat, or a combination)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine ingredients and stir only until smooth. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour or until firmly set.  Cool, remove from pan, and cut into sticks. Spread sticks out on a cookie sheet and bake at 150 degrees F for 1 hour or longer until the sticks are hard and crunchy. Store in a tightly covered container. Source: Feed Me I’m Yours by Vicki Lansky

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BUFFALO NEWS TEETHING BISCUITS

21/2 cups flour
1/2 cup instant non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
11/2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup undiluted, frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Combine flour, milk powder, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together.

In another bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in the egg and orange juice and gradually add flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Place greased cookie sheet on damp towel to keep from sliding. Place dough on cookie sheet and flatten, rolling out to within 1 inch of the edge.

Cut into 2 by 3/4-inch bars; separating the cookies isn’t necessary. Bake 15 minutes in preheated 375-degree oven until light brown.

Remove from oven; recut on the same lines. Return to oven. Turn off heat and let set until oven is cool. Makes about 6 dozen cookies that can be frozen and thawed as needed.

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OVERNIGHT TEETHING BISCUITS

2 eggs
1 cup sugar (white or brown)
2 to 2 1/4 cups flour (white, whole wheat, or a combination)
1/4 wheat germ
dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Break eggs into bowl and stir until creamy. Add sugar and continue to stir. Gradually add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper to about 3/4″ thickness. Cut into round shapes or whatever shape you choose.Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Let stand overnight (10-12 hours).
Bake at 325°F (165°C) until browned and hard. This will make about twelve durable and almost crumb-free teething biscuits.
adapted from “Feed Me I’m Yours” by Vicki Lansky