Braided Egg Bread

 I always enjoy trying out a new recipe, especially one that
will make good use of all the eggs we have around here
 from our beloved chickens. That joy doubles when my
desire to cook coincides with someone saying something
along the lines of, " I'll clean if you cook".
Yes!  ( Insert mad scientist laugh here)
 Because now I can simply concentrate on adding
 ingredients and the fine particulars of mixing, kneading,
or greasing and if the kitchen blows up- I don't have to clean it up!

Unfortunately, today was not one of those stellar days, so I was stuck with cleaning up my own mess.
However, I didn't let that put a damper on my mood as I set my gaze upon a picture of my future creation.

Braided Egg Bread

Braided Egg Bread!  Isn't that just gorgeous?  No, it's not the one I made, that picture is further down, but I wanted to get you in the frame of mind I was in when I first saw it, and then found the recipe for it.  This makes 2 regular sized loaves or one Huge one which would be great for a family holiday get-together, as I discovered when I tested it.  I should read directions better....

Here is the recipe: 

2 (.25 ounce) packages of active dry yeast (5 teaspoons if it's in a jar)
1/2 cup water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups hot milk
1/2 cup white sugar
                                                     1/2 cup butter
                                                     2 teaspoons salt
                                                    1/2 cup water (yes another one, but room temp will do)
                                                      5 eggs (yay!)
                                                      11 cups all purpose flour
                                                      1 egg (yes, one more for later)
                                                      2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)


1) In large mixing bowl, proof yeast by adding to one cup warm water.

2) In medium bowl, combine hot milk, sugar, butter, salt,  and 1/2 cup water and cool to 110 degrees.

3) In small bowl, slightly beat 5 eggs, then add to cooled mix mixture. Add milk mixture to yeast mixture.
    ( Feel like a mad scientist yet?  Go ahead, laugh, I won't tell...)

4) Add 2 cups flour and beat until smooth.  Slowly add remaining flour until stiff dough forms.  Knead on    floured surface for 10 minutes, only 5 if you are using a bread hook. ( Wimp!)

5)  Place in a lightly greased large glass or plastic bowl.  Turn dough over to grease both sides.  Cover and let rise in warm dark place until doubled in size, about 60 minutes.

6)  Punch down, cover and let rise again until double, about 30 minutes.

7)  Punch down again, and form into six equal parts (or three for a loaf big enough for Shrek). Form each part into 20 inch long roll.  Braid rolls on a large greased cookie sheet.  Cover and let rise until doubled.

8) Lightly beat remaining egg and brush over loaf.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake in preheated 350 degree F ( 175C) oven for about 55 minutes until nicely browned.

   I wasn't paying attention to that part of the directions that stated this was for making 2 loaves and ended up making one large  Shrek size one.       See that picture above?
That is a regular 16 inch long cookie sheet. That picture is BEFORE it was left to double in size the last time...

This is after it is done cooking. Ahhhh smells wonderful!!  However, notice
you can no longer see the cookie sheet. And it is sitting on top of the stove.  It takes up one WHOLE side of the stove.  Which is why I said it's perfect for Holiday family gatherings as one large loaf.

It does taste wonderful, and now my guys can cut off a braided section and make a monster sandwich.  Let me know how it comes out for you!!

Spring Cleaning

I"m not quite sure what happened to winter this year as it seems to have passed us by.  Here it is February and my plants are all blooming and green shoots are growing everywhere!   We took the opportunity of the great weekend weather and went to work spring cleaning our biggest coop that houses our Standard Cochins.

After a couple hours of shoveling out the old shavings, dusting for any pests, and adding some new bedding the cleaning was almost done.  Only thing left was to add some new nesting boxes as our chicks from last spring have finally started laying.  I'm excited about using the wire baskets for the new nest boxes as they should last a long time and be extremely easy to clean.  Both are huge pluses.   The girls seem to really like the new nest boxes too.  In less than 12 hours we had 2 eggs waiting on us

One coop down, two to go....

Perfect, Easy Peel Hard Boiled Eggs Every Time

I love summer cook outs and picnics!   Every other weekend we participate in a cookout that features hot dogs as the main event.  I always bring deviled eggs and they are one of the first things gone.  I thought I would share the secret of easily peeled hard boiled eggs, every time.  I can not guarantee you will never again have a hard to peel egg, but I can promise they will be few and far in between.

           Let's get boiling!  When do you put your eggs in the water?    I wait until right before the water begins to boil and then set the eggs in gently, using a large spoon.  I set the  timer for 17 minutes to keep from over cooking, causing the yolks to get that greenish color on the outside. 

When I get down to the last 5 minutes of boiling, I fill a large bowl half way with ice, then add water until it is three-fourths of the way full.  Once the timer goes off, I spoon the eggs out of the boiling water and immediately submerge them in the bowl of ice water.  This does a couple of important things: 1- It stops the cooking process instantly.  And 2- it causes steam on the inside of the egg, making the membrane separate from the egg.   This is what makes them easy to peel!  I generally let them sit in the ice bath for 5-10 minutes before I start cracking and peeling.  I have even put them in the fridge and peeled them the next day and they were just as easy to peel.  This has been the easiest method I have found regardless of how fresh or not so fresh the eggs are.

Mmm Mmm Good!!

The 21 Day Countdown

Brinsea Octogon 20 EX package

I like the idea of sustainable resources.  The more I think about it, the more I like the idea that with a little investment and some time you can get a continual return on something.  ( After having four kids I would really like to use them as an analogy for sustainable sarcasm, but I figure that is mostly genetic and  this is a blog about chickens!)    So, it was only natural, as my ideas evolved, I would start searching for the perfect incubator!    Here is my dream incubator, the Brinsea octagon 20 EX.  It is completely digital, completely automatic, completely out of my price range even on sale at $399.    Brinsea makes some awesome incubators and always get rave reviews, and they do have less expensive models.  I just figure I would share the one   I would buy if I had  unlimited funds.  You can check out more information on their incubators here -  Brinsea

Even after checking out the classifieds a used incubator was hard to find and the prices ran from $50 to $120.   After a couple months of searching I found one for $10 !!  Once I got home, I washed it with soap and water and plugged it in to test it out.  It took a few days of playing with it to get it stay at 100 degrees, but once it was set I couldn't wait to start collecting eggs to put in it.   Having gathered some eggs from our Rhode island reds and a few from the mille fleur d'uccles,
I grabbed a color pencil and put X's on one side and O's on the other so I could keep track while turning them 3 times a day for the next 21 days.   I was so excited to put them in the incubator I dropped one, breaking it and cracking another!  GAAHHH!!!     I did eventually get 12 eggs safely inside, resting at a warm tropical 100 degrees.   After getting everything done I sat down and pulled out my calendar to calculate when they should begin to hatch.  Funny, the date is July 4th- Independence Day .   I'll take pictures and keep you updated as the hatch progresses!