Chocomouse--That's disappointing. Let us know if it is the chips or the recipe. I'm thinking about my caramel candy recipe (which makes so many that I do not make it anymore, sigh), and butter and vanilla are the main flavoring. Maybe toasting the sugar or browning the butter?

Yesterday, I made Mrs Cindy's Irish Oatmeal Bread with some minor adjustments. I used bread flour instead of AP, cut down the maple syrup/honey from 4 to 2 tablespoons and cut the salt slightly. I also do not use whole grain bread improver. This loaf gave me a win in my recent bread baking.

That's a lovely loaf, CWCdesign. What size pan did you use? I tried that recipe once, and seeing your loaf, I think that I will put it on my future bake list. I've never used wholegrain bread improver. I too think that using the bread flour instead of AP does the job.

I miss Cindy also. Thanks for reminding me about the pan.

I baked Pumpkin Soda Bread on Tuesday, a recipe from Ken Haedrich's The Harvest Baker that I have baked twice before and have been craving. I alter it by substituting 2 ½ cups of King Arthur's Irish style flour, adding ¼ cup of Bob's Red Mill milk powder, and replacing 4 Tbs. of butter with 4 Tbs. avocado oil. I also cut the salt from 2 tsp. to 1 tsp. I used a small egg rather than just the egg yolk. The recipe also uses cornmeal, and I use medium grind. It has a lovely orange color, and the flavor sets off the golden raisins and walnuts. It makes two loaves. I will freeze one.

Note: The pumpkin pie came out well, although I had a little bit of wet cracking, and a slight sinkhole. Well, taste is what matters!

On Friday, I made a big batch of Maple Granola, as we are getting low.

We were out of bread after lunch, so I baked the whole grain bread recipe that I have been developing--the one that requires malted wheat flakes that King Arthur appears to have discontinued. I usually bake it as two 9 x 5 loaves, which are almost too much for the pans. I wanted to make three smaller loaves, so I increased the Harvest Grains by ¼ cup, the buttermilk by ½ cup, the flour by ¼ cup, and increased the yeast from 3 ½ tsp. to 3 ¾ tsp. I mixed up the dough, and just as I was starting the kneading process, my mixer stopped. At first, I thought that I had mistakenly hit the timer, but alas, the mixer will no longer turn on, although it will set the timer and count down. I'm glad that it at least mixed the dough before it stopped working. I had to turn out this big mass of dough onto my Silpat mat and knead, which I did for about 17 minutes before I could pull a windowpane. It made three 8 x 4 loaves, just a tad bit smaller than I would prefer. I will see how it is when we slice one for lunch tomorrow.

I do not think my 7-qt Cuisinart stand mixer can be repaired. It was discontinued by Cuisinart, and parts, if needed, are not available. I would not know where to look to find a repair place. I can get by with my two bread machines for now, but I will need to get another stand mixer, and it must be one that can handle heavy doughs and large batches.

I checked their site, Mike, but Mr. Mixer seems to be exclusively Kitchen Aid.