Better for You Bread

If there was a "carb" diet permitting you to eat all carbs, I would be a successful dieter! Especially where bread is concerned. I LOVE bread. The crusty outside with a soft center,.....MMMMMM, makes my mouth water. Unfortunatly with the genetics of a woman, it goes straight to my tummy and hips.
Have you ever read the ingredients listed on store purchased bread? My arteries clog just going over the long paragraph! Monogylcerides, Guar Gum, Lactylate, etc... What the heck is all that?!! I'm an domestic chef, not a chemist! I do like to buy fresh bakery bread, at least the ingredients are kept to a minimum.
Every now and then, homemade bread beckons me. At least I know what is in it and its not "gum da tar tar"! Because I like the finished results to come rather quickly, I ventured on a mission to find a good whole wheat bread that could be prepared in a timely manner. Sorry all you bread machine lovers, this one you do by hand.


Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread:


3 cups warm water
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
5 cups unbleached bread flour
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

(Here are the brands and ingredients I used)


If you are privilaged to get a hold of some freshly milled wheat flour, that's great! But, for the rest of us, some good store bought flour will suffice.

The first step is to dissolve the yeast (both packets) in the 3 c. warm water.


Add 1/3 c. of the honey to the yeast mixture. And mix well.If you have a stand mixer, attach the dough attachment.)
Add the bread flour in a seperate bowl, or your stand mixer bowl. Slowly add the yeast and mix until well blended.


Add the melted butter, other 1/3 c. honey and salt. Stir, or mix, in 2 c. whole wheat flour.




Flour a flat surface, I used an extra c. of flour to do this, half on the bottom and half on the top. Knead the dough just until it is pulling away for the surface, but still a little sticky.



Place in a bowl, cover with a dishtowel (CLEAN) and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled. This is great to do in an unheated oven. No draft can get to the dough. It will take anywhere from 40 min. to an hour to rise.


Once the dough has risen, divide into three loaves. Place in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Since I only have two loaf pans and two mini loaf pans, I divided the dough according the my pan sizes.


Again, allow the dough to rise until it has topped the rim of the pans. About another 30-45 min. Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of the dough in the pans, so you will just have to invision it!

Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Pay close attention while baking, you don't want to overcook. Once done, brush some melted butter over the tops, unless you want a hard crust.


My oldest claimed this was the BEST bread he has ever had! I'll take that as a compliment. If the haphazard hostess can make this, ANYONE can! If you do make it, please let me know what you think.

Blackberry Pie

Yesterday evening my husband and our boys came in from fishing with a bucket full of blackberries. My mouth began to water at the anticipation of a homemade blackberry pie! I quickly began sifting through my collection of recipes and cookbooks for the quickest and easiest way to acheiving my culinary goal! I found a great one from Southern Living Pies and Cakes. Click Here for the recipe


I hope you enjoy, and don't forget the vanilla ice cream!

Famiglia Piaaz Night (Family Pizza Night)

I love pizza! I mean, who doesn't?! I do believe it is one of those taste that are born and imbedded within each of us. A friend of mine recently told me how she had made a homemade Margharita Pizza. Everything was made from scratch! It sounded so good that I have been craving a homemade pizza ever since. I do believe in meals made from scratch, but I also recognize the busy world we live in today. If you have the time, however, to put into your meal, try making it totally from scratch. You will be rewarded with not only better flavor, but also the good feeling knowing what is in your meal. That is so important! Try looking at just the ingredients in your store purchased bread next supermarket trip. If you can't pronounce it, it probably isn't that good for you. Both of my grandmothers made (and still do) their meals from scratch. My Mama Riley lived to be 91 and was as healthy as a horse til the end! My Nanny is 80 years of age and other than bodily exhaustion, is healthy. Now to be honest, I do not make every meal from scratch. I to feel the austerity of today's lifestyles. Every now and then though, I like to think I am eating better by preparing a homemade meal. Pizza is one of those meals. Just think grease versus non-grease. Fresh ingredients instead of some fresh and some canned. Here is the two pizzas I made for the family. If making a homemade dough is too tedious or time consuming for you, purchase some premade dough from your local grocery store. Publix carries premade dough, in the bakery section. It is good and the ingredients natural, (so you know your not getting a lot of "crap" in there).

House Pizza

1 can basil garlic tomato sause
1 can no-salt added tomato paste
fresh rosemary
fresh basil (about 2 tbsp. chopped) extra for topping.
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
sundried tomatoes (about 1/2 cup), not in oil
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms, (I used baby portobello)
pepperoni, (I used turkey)
cheese (shredded cheddar, mozarella and fresh mozarella)
pizza dough






Roll out dough until desired roundness.



Mix together your tomato sauce and paste. Add garlic, rosemary, basil pepper and salt.


Spread sauce over rolled out dough:


Add pepperoni, veggies, torn basil leaves and cheeses. Not necessarily in that order. It is your pizza and there is no chef standing over you telling you how to do things! Roll with it!


Bake at 375 degrees- 400 degrees til golden brown and bubbly. About 30 minutes.

Lesson learned: put sundried tomatoes on bottom so they don't char! This is why I call myself "haphazard", I do stuff like this ALL the time!


Have a glass of wine to reward yourself for all your hard work, or a beer; whatever floats your boat! A Greek Salad is a great side for this meal.

Here's one for the kiddies. Just omit the veggies, and , Viola!, a Cheese Pizza!

A Haphazard Hostess: A Lifetime of Influence#links

A Haphazard Hostess: A Lifetime of Influence#links