Fresh Bread = Awesome!

Hey everyone! Hope you all had wooonderful weekends!!!! Mine was great! We got to relax, watch some movies, and just have some family time before I leave on Thursday! The only bad part about the entire weekend was the rain. But it really only rained yesterday and throughout the night, so it wasn't that bad. :D

Saturday night we had baked potato soup(one of my favorites) for dinner. I had asked my mom if I could bake something to go with the soup, and when she said yes, I decided to try out some focaccia bread. It turned out amazingly, and mom even said that its her favorite out of everything that I have baked so far! Sooo without further ado, here's the recipe:

Focaccia Bread

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oregano (or any combination of herbs)
• Dash of pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon oil to brush

Directions:

1. Heat the cup of water to 110 degrees. Add sugar and yeast. Wait about 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt,garlic powder, oregano, and black pepper. Stir in the vegetable oil and yeast mixture.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. 
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Let rise another 20 minutes. Brush top with olive oil.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm. 

We all thought that this would be good with some basil and mozzarella melted on top, so if anyone tries this recipe out and likes it, pleaaase tell me! :D 

 

Besides baking, I actually have managed to pack some of my stuff.....I have most of the clothes that I'll need, except for the business outfit that I'll pick up in the US. I'm also taking back some gifts for friends of ours. When I return to Recife, I'll be bringing back all of my schoolbooks, plus some things that my sister ordered, so I have to make sure to not pack my suitcase too full on this part of the trip, so that I'll be able to fit everything in it on the way home. 

 

Weight wise, I'm pretty stable right now. Still not gaining quite as fast as I'd like to be, but I haven't lost any weight in a while. The hardest part of this trip for me will be to remember to nourish myself correctly even when I'm super stressed out and in transition mode. I'm just praying for the strength with which to accomplish this! :D

 

Do you have a favorite bread recipe? If so, what is it?