Beginner's Bread

I am so excited about this bread. It's the easiest recipe and just as easy to make. I haven't been able to get a yeast bread to come out so good in a long time.  I decided to go back to the basic white bread and bam, success!

I haven't had white bread in a very long time, as I was insisting on trying wheat which wasn't working. Maybe it's because I didn't have a mixer, maybe it's the temperature, maybe it's me rushing the process, maybe, maybe, maybe.

By now you know I used a mixer and let the dough hook do the work. If I have it, I might as well use it right?  I couldn't take pictures of the process because the kiddies were in a "mood" and were very clingy. I usually bake at night after they've gone to bed, but that causes my pictures to have shadows. Plus I needed the bread for dinner. I made tomato soup (my DS's favorite).

This is after the first rise, I fell asleep and it ended up sitting for two hours vs. one. Maybe that was my saving grace.

After second rise, which was about 35mins.

 

The sides are nice and crunchy. Not sure what caused the slight crack there, but it didn't matter. Then it was onto the taste test.

 

 

The inside is super moist and it tasted buttery even though there is only one teaspoon of vegetable shortening.  DH enjoyed it with a bowl of soup. I'll definitely make this again.

Oreo Cookie Cheesecake

The DH's birthday was fast approaching and I had not asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He must have been thinking I had forgotten or that he wasn't getting any. However, when you have two toddlers who are obsessed with blowing out candles, there is no choice on if there is a cake or not.  In my case, I rather make one than buy one.

When he was asked, his typical answer came out.... CHEESECAKE PLEASE!!!

Last time I made a cheesecake, it cracked right down the center and even though I wasn't too unhappy about it, I wasn't looking forward to doing it again just yet.

Anyhoo, I searched the cloud and found a Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe. There were lots of negative reviews but I went with it anyway. This time around I made sure I did a water bath and decrease the oven to slow down the cooking process.

A friend that has wanted to bake with me for a while was visiting and it was perfect time to put her to work.

 

 

Even though this cracked a bit, the cookie on top covers it pretty well.

 

Hubster enjoying his cake..