English Muffins

Since it's too hot to bake, I need to get my bread fix in other ways. These were surprisingly easy to make. I have wanted to make them for a long time, but I thought they would be too hard. I was wrong. I will be making these a lot from here on out. My kids loved them, and so did I.

Ingredients:

1/2 c Yogurt

1 c warm water

1T yeast (I used regular active dry yeast)

2 c whole wheat flour.

Mix these together and leave to rise until doubled, or overnight.

The longer you leave them, the more sour flavor will develop. I used cold water and left mine overnight, I didn't think they were at all sour.

Add to this mixture:

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1/3/4 cup whole wheat flour.

Knead for twice as long as you would usually knead bread dough for. The dough should be sticky.

Let rise until doubled.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2" thick. Cut into rounds.

Dust both sides with cornmeal. Let rise until double. If you let the dough sit overnight it might take up to 2 hours.*

Cook on a 400 degree griddle for 5-8 minutes per side.

*This is where I messed up. I put them on the hot griddle as soon as I rolled them out. I realized my mistake about a minute later and pulled them off to rise for a little bit. Even though I can't follow directions they still turned out great.

These are easier than making bread. They take a little planning, but not much actual time. Next time I will try using warmer water to see if I can create more of a sour flavor.

Homemade Yogurt

Homemade yogurt is easy, I promise! Better for you - because you control the ingredients, and cheaper than what you can get at the store. I found the recipe here and I followed it exactly. This is a website I found earlier this week, and I love it! She has some great ideas about food storage and healthy eating. There is a video of how to make yogurt. So it is super easy.
I will say one thing about the cooler she has. I didn't want to buy another cooler so I used one of my smaller coolers for this. It only fit 3 jars. So I put the three in and wrapped them up with a fleece blanket just like she showed. I wrapped the other one up in warm towels and put it on my counter in a warm spot. The yogurt in the cooler was really thick and creamy and still warm when I pulled it out 9 hours later. The one on the counter, was not very thick, and not very creamy, and cold when it was all over. So I am probably going to look for one of the styrofoam coolers that will fit all four jars - so all my yogurt turns out right.

It was cheap too, it cost me less than half for more than double the amount of yogurt that I ususally buy. - less than $1.50 for 4 pints (8 cups) of yogurt. (because milk was on sale - if you were paying $3/gallon, it would still cost less than $2)

The 411 on Powdered Milk

Why Store Milk?
#1 - you use it a lot and your kids like it. Can't really live without it now, you wouldn't want to live without it in an emergency. Powdered milk contains all the nutrients found in fresh milk except the fat. It is also easy to cook with. You could also make yogurt and cheese with powered milk if you wanted to.

How Much to Store?
The LDS Church’s Home Production and Storage Manual suggests that you store 60 lbs of dry milk for an adult and 30 lbs for a child for your one year supply. This is based on 3 cups of milk per day for adults and 1.5 cups of milk per day for children. For a 3 month supply you would need 4 #10 cans per adult and 2 #10 cans per child if you use this much milk on a regular basis. That being said, you should store what is best for your family based on what your family normally uses.
When calculating how much to store, be aware of different concentrations of milk powder. Western Family powdered milk is the least concentrated; using 1/3 c powder to 1 cup of water. Milk from the cannery and the Provident Pantry brand are both 2/3 c powder to 1 quart of water.

What to Store?
Powdered milk comes in instant or regular, real milk or milk substitute. There is no nutrient difference between instant and regular. Instant milk mixes easier with water and is more expensive. Real powdered non-fat milk will have only one ingredient: Pasteurized skim milk. Milk “Drinks” are not the same as real dried milk - do not buy it. Morning Moos is a milk drink, made mostly of whey (a byproduct of making cheese.) Milk substitute drinks do not contain the milk solids that are necessary in making yogurt or cheese but they may taste better. Real non-fat dry milk can cost twice as much as does a substitute.
You can also store evaporated milk, cream substitutes, powdered cheese or butter, and don’t forget baby formula if you have a baby.

How long does it last?
The church says its #10 can of non-fat dried milk will last 20 years. This is not optimal, you can imagine the effects of time on the nutritional value and taste. Milk is extremely sensitive to temperature. At 50˚F it will store for 48 months, at 90˚F just 3 months. The #10 cans store longer because it is not exposed to the air.

How to use it:
Substitute powdered milk for milk in all your cooking to rotate your supply. You can also use reconstituted powdered milk with a little vanilla extract on your cereal in the morning. If you want to drink powdered milk expect that it will taste different from regular milk. And it has to be really, really cold! And it is so easy to use it to make this yogurt!