I made bread this morning! For the first time in months and I used my Emile Henry long baker which we finally pulled down from the attic.

I made the semolina rye bread from King Arthur, doubled it (except for the yeast which I left at 2 teaspoons and the salt which I used 2 teaspoons instead of the tablespoon it would have doubled to). I left out the onions and the vital wheat gluten I mixed it in the bread machine.

All went well. When it was ½ inch over the rim, I decided to bake it so I wouldn't overproof it and I even did some sort of slashes. When I took the lid off after ½ hour, it had risen beautifully. I took it out after 10 minutes - 5 was too short and I probably could have taken it out at 8 minutes. But then, trouble struck - the directions said to flip it out of the pan to cool and the bread stuck. First thing I realized that the directions to lightly grease didn't mean too lightly - I should have oiled it better. As I struggled to get it out, I broke it - the bottom stayed in the pan. I went off to run an errand and after the pan cooled Will popped the bottom out of the pan. Second lesson learned - leave it in pan for 10 minutes to cool, as I often do.

Good news is that it is really good and I will make it again - Next time I might try it with my sprouted wheat flour from the freezer - it has the same protein as the rye flour.

I needed to use up three overripe bananas, so I baked a new recipe for Banana Oat Muffin, from All Recipes, s on Monday morning. I had been searching for a banana and oats muffin recipe, and I had saved the recipe from a magazine. I altered the recipe by using white whole wheat flour and adding 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder. I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup and the salt to ¼ tsp. I deleted the vanilla. The kind of oats was not specified. I used quick oats. I also changed the mixing instructions. I put the dry ingredients, except for the oats in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, I mashed the bananas, mixed in the milk, then stirred in the oats. I mixed in the egg, then the oil, before adding the dry ingredients. I baked in Crisco greased, large muffin cups for 20 minutes. The flavor is excellent, so this recipe is a keeper. The muffins are plenty sweet. Possibly the sugar could be reduced a bit more.

In the afternoon, I baked another batch of my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from dough I made last week.

I'm glad that you got blueberries, Chocomouse. I shudder to think what a summer without them would be.

On Tuesday, I made frosting for the other half of the Applesauce Doughnuts that I left plain. I used 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbs. melted butter, 2 tsp. 1% milk, and 1/4 tsp. vanilla. That made a soft frosting that I could easily spread around each one. I then sprinkled them with some orange and yellow tiny nonpareils for a festive autumn dessert. Yes, I know that autumn does not start until 23 September, but we have had cool, overcast weather for the past few days, and the days are getting shorter.

I did a batch of burger/sandwich buns this afternoon. I'm thinking about oatmeal cookies but not sure if I will get around to it.

I realized at lunch on Saturday that we would be needing bread for tomorrow. I wanted to bake a large single loaf because right now the freezers are full. I remembered the Chewy Semolina Rye Bread because CWCdesign baked it earlier this week. I made a few more tweaks. This time, I used 1 ½ cups of buttermilk and ¾ cup of water. I added 2 Tbs. special dry milk. Instead of the medium rye flour, I used pumpernickel. I used 2 Tbs. First Clear Flour in place of the vital wheat gluten. I reduced the yeast to 3 ½ tsp. and the salt to 2 ¼ tsp. I did not add the dried onion. As I was kneading it in the mixer, it seemed a bit dry, so I added 1 Tbs. of water. I did not do the topping, as my husband would dislike it. The loaf is lovely, and I look forward to slicing it tomorrow.