BigBlueHen53: Just BukbukbuKAAWS

[Kung_pao]

I've had Marans before and in fact still have one although she seems to be ageing out of laying. As I said in Moony's thread, I do love the dark eggs but am not crazy about how nesting material sticks to them. We use shredded paper in our nests.

Shredded paper would definitely stick bad. But think of the green and olive eggers you could make. You just have to put up with paper machete eggs to do it lol.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes indeed! But I think poor old Merida may be about past her egg-laying career, otherwise I would love to get a few chicks out of her and my Moon Shadow! Maybe she'll lay a few eggs for me this spring ....

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

Okay, I promised to post my best bread recipe, so here it is. This started out as Molly Yeh's Hallah Bread but I have adapted it into something totally unrecognizable from that. My version is part whole wheat, part bread flour, and part all-purpose. I also include a little instant potato flakes for texture, and wheat germ for flavor and added fiber and nutrients since it isn't "100% whole wheat."

Anyway, here you go:

Note: Oven will be at 375° and bake time is 25 - 30 min.

( Prep: Assemble all ingredients marked with a ●)

1. In a small bowl, mix:
● 1/2 c warm water
● 2 tsp white sugar
● 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
Mix with a fork or chopstick and set aside. Meanwhile:

2. In bowl of KitchenAid mixer, place the following:
● 2 c King Arthur whole wheat flour
● 3 c King Arthur All-Purpose flour
● 2 c King Arthur Bread flour
● 2 tsp kosher salt
● 2 Tbsp white sugar
● 1/4 c instant mashed potato flakes

Mix thoroughly (I do it by hand with a large whisk)

3. Add the following to the flour mixture:
● 6 Tbsp olive oil
● 4 large eggs, beaten
● 1 c + 2 Tbsp warm water
● The yeast/water mixture

4. Turn mixer on slow to medium to mix ingredients. Stop and scrape bowl as needed till all ingredients are incorporàted. Then turn mixer on medium-high and let it run for about 5 minutes until a smooth dough forms that cleans the sides of the bowl.

5. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn over to coat all over with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place (I put in oven turned on to Bread Proofing) for one hour.

6. While dough is rising, generously grease three loaf pans (8.5 x 4.5") with solid Crisco shortening, not oil. When dough has doubled in volume, punch down and divide into three equal portions. Shape into loaves, cover with plastic wrap and return to proofing oven for 15 minutes. (Or let rise in warm place for w/2 hr if you do not have a proofing feature on your oven.) Remove from proofing oven and turn oven on to 375°F to preheat. Let liaves rise another 15 minutes while oven comes up to heat.

7. When dough has risen for about 25 minutes, paint tops liberally with an egg wash. This is an egg beaten with 1 tsp water. (Opt.: sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.) Place loaves in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let loaves cool in pans for about 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pan and place on cooling rack. Brush tops with melted butter. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before cutting, serving or eating. Try to save some to share! (Wink!)


*At this point you can shape into dinner rolls, cloverleaf rolls, make into cinnamon rolls, or divide into six portions and shape into two traditional challah braids for Sabbath.

ENJOY! Always Bake With Love!

I screenshotted this and plan on trying it out! I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I screenshotted this and plan on trying it out! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks! Looking forward to it. I did leave out one thing. Along with the potato flakes you can add in 1 Tbsp of wheat germ and/or 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed for extra fiber if you so desire. I think much more than that may make the bread heavy.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Back to chicken talk. Just realized my Ameraucana pullets, at POL, are now $300 birds, if you do the math. I mean, I paid around $3/chick for my "ordinary" chicks in the past, say $3 to $5, right? Nothing fancy ever, just hatchery-run birds of various common breeds. EE, Brown Leghorns, Black and Blue Copper Marans, Speckled Sussex, Dominiques ... that sort of thing. And when they were grown and laying and a neighbor's dog killed a couple of them on two separate occasions, he asked what he owed me for them. "$25," I told him, knowing that that was the going price for the average laying hen or POL pullet. I forgot to calculate in shipping costs but he was so nice about it that I let it go, and he ended up getting rid of the dog anyway.

But fast forward to today. NOW I have these Ameraucanas I paid not $3 apiece for, but closer to $30. If my previous hens were worth ten times their chick price, then that means my Ams are now worth $300 each!

And that means I'd better make darn sure no neighbor's dog gets in and gets hold of one!

 

[Kung_pao]

Back to chicken talk. Just realized my Ameraucana pullets, at POL, are now $300 birds, if you do the math. I mean, I paid around $3/chick for my "ordinary" chicks in the past, say $3 to $5, right? Nothing fancy ever, just hatchery-run birds of various common breeds. EE, Brown Leghorns, Black and Blue Copper Marans, Speckled Sussex, Dominiques ... that sort of thing. And when they were grown and laying and a neighbor's dog killed a couple of them on two separate occasions, he asked what he owed me for them. "$25," I told him, knowing that that was the going price for the average laying hen or POL pullet. I forgot to calculate in shipping costs but he was so nice about it that I let it go, and he ended up getting rid of the dog anyway.

But fast forward to today. NOW I have these Ameraucanas I paid not $3 apiece for, but closer to $30. If my previous hens were worth ten times their chick price, then that means my Ams are now worth $300 each!

And that means I'd better make darn sure no neighbor's dog gets in and gets hold of one!

You better hatch like crazy this summer! Maybe sell some hatching eggs to recoup the cost.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You better hatch like crazy this summer! Maybe sell some hatching eggs to recoup the cost.

Thanks but I have no room for chicks... I may offer hatching eggs once my pullets are laying full-size eggs and I'm NPIP. So far only two are laying, and the egg color is breath-taking! I have more black Ams and some ermines coming in June, can't wait!

 

[Kung_pao]

Thanks but I have no room for chicks... I may offer hatching eggs once my pullets are laying full-size eggs and I'm NPIP. So far only two are laying, and the egg color is breath-taking! I have more black Ams and some ermines coming in June, can't wait!

Hmmm, maybe I need to buy some lol. Think how good they look with my Marans lol!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hmmm, maybe I need to buy some lol. Think how good they look with my Marans lol!

The birds are beautiful (mine are black) and calm. I have two cockerels in a flock of 28 females (15 are aged 1 through 3, the others are 7 mo.) and at 7 months they are well-mannered and respectful all around. No fussing, no fighting, good to the girls, all you could ask for. This is my breed for life!

 

[Kung_pao]

The birds are beautiful (mine are black) and calm. I have two cockerels in a flock of 28 females (15 are aged 1 through 3, the others are 7 mo.) and at 7 months they are well-mannered and respectful all around. No fussing, no fighting, good to the girls, all you could ask for. This is my breed for life!

I’ve never owned any. The only blue egg layers I’ve ever had weee whiting true blues. They had the personality of production leghorns. Flighty, but laid a ton. If I wanted tons of eggs and birds that hate me I’d raise them again lol.