Buttermilk/Honey Bread

There is nothing better than homemade bread. The second best thing is how the house smells as it is baking. I make bread from several different recipes, but I needed to use up some buttermilk today. This is how I make buttermilk/honey bread.

Pour 1/4 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast, about the same as one packet. I buy yeast in bulk at Sam's; it is much cheaper that way. Let it proof for 5 minutes.

Heat 2 cups of buttermilk until it is warm; NOT boiling.

This is 1/3 cup honey. We use local honey made by a friend. I have found that some of the honey at the supermarket has corn syrup added.

1/4 cup butter, melted just enough to be liquid and warm.

1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon baking soda (or sody, as some folks call it).

Add the buttermilk, honey, salt, and soda to the yeast mixture and mix together.

This blue Kitchen-Aid mixer was my Christmas gift last year. I made bread forty years without one, so it is not required. A hand-held mixer works just as well.

That is my fancy bread flour container on the right. It is a restaurant-quality plastic bucket. We buy bread flour at Sam's in twenty-five pound bags for under $8, and store it in these buckets.

Add three cups bread flour to the mixture and make a smooth dough. It takes 2-3 minutes of mixing.

Add the butter and mix again.

Add three more cups of bread flour until dough is stiff. Knead for about five minutes.

Put dough in a large greased bowl and turn until all the dough is greased.

Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled; about an hour and a half. What?! You don't use your Christmas towels all year?

After it has risen, punch the dough down and smooth out on a floured board.

Cut the dough in half, and shape into two loaves. You can put them in loaf pans, but I like to shape them and cook them on a baking sheet. Sometimes, mine doesn't get done in the middle if I put it in pans.

This is about as rebellious as I get. Let rise again for thirty minutes or so, then bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes. You can cover the top with aluminum foil if you want a lighter crust.

When the bread is done, brush it with butter. I so wish y'all could smell this! Nothing else to do now but enjoy.

We love it warm with herbs and olive oil. I bought this great bread tray from John and Beth Moody at First Fridays and it is perfect.

My mama made biscuits every morning of her life but rarely made bread in a loaf. The first time I tried to make bread, we were amazed at how easy it was. In fact, someone very near and dear to me couldn't believe I had made something that good. It is not hard to make; it just takes some patience. It is definitely worth the effort.

Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures. We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything. Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

Holy Smoke Pie

I think it was in the late seventies that I first had Holy Smoke Pie. It was at a party at Debra Morris Harville's house. After we ate, Debra had to give the recipe to everyone there. I came home and made it for my family, and it has been a favorite since then. I always make it at holiday dinners, because I believe tradition is important. It has become a favorite of our granddaughters. I've heard it called Chocolate Delight, Four-Layer Chocolate Dessert, and other odd things. We call it Holy Smoke. Here is how I make it: Chop us a cup of pecans; set aside. Add a stick of softened butter (NOT margarine) to one cup of self-rising flour. Cut the butter into the flour. Add the chopped pecans, and work it all together. Save two tablespoons of the pecans to sprinkle on top. Pour into a 9" x 12" pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Spread it over the bottom of the pan. It helps to use your hands (or hand, if you have t

Cedar Trees in Cemeteries

If you ever wander in old cemeteries, and I know many of you do, you are bound to see some cedar trees. The tradition goes back to the early days of the United States and even earlier in Europe. Cedar trees were not always used, but some type of evergreen trees were planted because they were a symbol of everlasting life. Some Cherokees believed that cedars contained powerful spirits, including the spirits of the departed buried beneath them. Perhaps because they are known as burial trees, there are many superstitions that surround cedars. My grandmother told us in no uncertain terms that if we planted a cedar tree, we would die when it was large enough to shade our graves. Some others are: Never transplant a cedar tree; it will bring bad luck. If you transplant a cedar and it dies, you will die shortly. Planting a cedar tree in your yard welcomes poverty. Some say Christ was crucified on a cedar tree, and will bring bad luck if you burn it. If a cedar tree com

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