Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LozzyR]

I hate hearing chickens pass away. Hopefully Grandma and Tony help you feel better. As we speak, I can't do any heavy work like clean the house though. I'm still resting!

Adorable, thank you!

 

[lightm]

I make 4 large loaves:
two packets of yeast - start it rising in warm water with a teaspoon or so of sugar

Melt margarine/shortening - a 'bowl' - a bowl full (lard shortening give a beautiful texture) but I use becel margarine now.

5lb of flour - dump that into a large pan and add 1.5cups of sugar or less if you don't like sugar... more if like it sweeter... blend it well.

have a small saucepan with warm water ready.

also have extra flour on hand if your mixture gets too soft/sticky.

once the yeast has activated (foaming and rising up in the warm water), dump it and the melted margarine/shortening into the flour/sugar.

Start blending this sticky mess all together using your hand, (try to use one hand and the clean dry hand for turning the pan, adding water, or additional flour) and slowly add water from the saucepan (I put dribbles in). If it gets too wet grab a handful of flour and sprinkle it onto of the dough and keep blending/kneeding.

If too dry and crumbly add water - sometimes all I need to do is dabble my fingers in the water in the saucepan and keep mixing.

The dough should be smooth and elastic like that old style plasticine. Once it gets like this use both your hands to get a good kneedimg action going!

Once its blended and smooth and lovely sort of roll it into a ball in the pan, cover with a dish towel and wrap it in a quilt put some place nice and warm, to rise for an hour or so (or until I remember about it hahaha!). It needs to double in size at any rate.

Once risen Kneed it down and them let it rise again.

After an hour or so, it ready to put in the bread pans - I make 'buns' for my bread - 3 buns for each loaf - others just make a smooth loaf.

When it’s in the bread pans Cover in the bread pans and let rise again, till its about double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350F and once its at 350 throw the bread in the oven, it will continue to rise a bit more till the crust forms, about 20 min in turn it so that it's baking evenly - this is even more important I just found out with that gas oven!!!

At around 40 min (less for smaller loaves) check to see that the crust is a golden brown and when you tap it the crust is solid. My loaves I leave in for 45 min as they are very large loaves!

This is the pan I use - it’s one you would use for doing dishes, it’s large enough for me to make the four loaves at a time. And the yeast I use come in three packets I use two of the three packets for four loaves.
View attachment 3340315


hahaha - I never measure anything - I just throw it into a pan and mix it up!

Thanks for typing all that up!!! Maybe shortening is the key ingredient that I have missed?

I totally understand on not measure things.

(Boy you eat a lot of bread)

Edit to add tax:

Foggy from Oct 2021

 

[lightm]

A Little Scary

I don't think she enjoyed this today. I may need to close the bedroom door tonight so she can't get at me when I'm sleeping.

View attachment 3340332

It's the same dude playing Santa every year?

 

[lightm]

Thats Ginger, she and Cinnamon look almost identical except Cinnamon has odd but cute and tiny head poof. I get the best close ups of these two and snicker and doodle because they are the 4 that visit my lap most frequently. Very inquisitive personalities.
Cinnamon:
View attachment 3340336
Ginger:
View attachment 3340335

Great shots of Ginger, here and the mug shot in the previous post.

 

[GregnLety]

We got 12 roosters so you have the new record

Everyone's chickens here look so nice. Inly 10 percent of mine ever looked that good at any given moment. Maybe its because I had 13 roosters

 

[Lexicon]

Maybe a rat? Do you have any type of surveillance system?

It's definitely not a rat. We do not have rats this far north, but could be something else. I have a camera, but I think that I have to pay to make it alert me to unexpected movement although I can watch in real time.

I will see what happens tomorrow evening.

 

[BY Bob]

It's the same dude playing Santa every year?

Lilly and Éowyn got the same Santa several years apart. Aurora and Hattie got the same Santa on the same day. Phyllis got one of her good friends to be her Santa.

 

[BY Bob]

It's definitely not a rat. We do not have rats this far north, but could be something else. I have a camera, but I think that I have to pay to make it alert me to unexpected movement although I can watch in real time.

I will see what happens tomorrow evening.

I would watch in real time. It could be a cat. You have those up where you are right?

 

[Lexicon]

Could be that they had an 'experience' in the dim light at that time of day and now like a child afraid of the boogeyman under the bed they have this fear....

I have a horse like this, she will come in and out of the barn all day, but in the evening she gets all riled up - silly horse.

This is a possibility. I will try to keep an eye on things at roost time tomorrow night and try for some stronger lights in the evening as well.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Finally have a minute to post a few Caturday pics.

Frogger claiming my chair and blanket

Squeak “helping” me at work

The girls got another pumpkin today