Friendly Neighbors

When we moved in, we had SO MANY neighbors drop in to meet us and bring us a treat or gift. Southern hospitality at its finest. Ward members were also inviting us over for dinners and get togethers. Our HOA brought us this awesome fruit basket. But probably my favorite gift was from Mimi our neighbor. She brought us 3 loaves of sourdough bread...fresh from the oven. It was right before dinner and so we sliced a loaf up to eat with supper. OH MY GOODNESS! My kids INHALED it...I mean 1/2 way through dinner they wanted to go and get another loaf. But I wouldn't let them... I wanted the goodness to last. Those 2 other loaves only lasted until the next day sadly enough. So the next time I saw Mimi...I begged her for the recipe. She was very willing to share and she actually brought me some of the starter. I only make whole wheat bread...trying to use and rotate that food storage you know ;). So she gave me a few tips on how to make her recipe using whole wheat flour. Just to give you a comparison of how good her bread is: If you are related to me and you know about Granny's rolls...imagine that in bread form, just slightly sweeter. And if you are a member of the Grovecreek 10th ward...if Andrea Scheuber's and Mimi's bread were in a contest...it would be a neck and neck race! So I've since started making our bread again, because I've tried what's out there at these southern grocery stores and it all tastes like cardboard to me. If I'm going to have carbs...they better be worth it! And the whole wheat tricks that Mimi shared have worked wonderfully! I haven't had a batch fail yet. Although it does taste a little different with whole wheat...it's still pretty darn good. My kids are loving it too since every time I make a batch, I could get 4 loaves of bread out of it, but since I only have 3 bread pans I usually make cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls with the extra dough. Reminds me of the urban legend of the new bride cutting off the end of the roast to fit in the pan. I'm also learning to time it right so that I'm not baking in the middle of the day. Many nights I've stayed up to make sure that our bread comes out of the oven...good thing it only takes 30 minutes to bake, and then I'm off to bed!