Baby blues & Braided bread

So guess who threw their shoe in the toilet today?... Yes Shaila did!!
But I can not help but laugh because it seems like when my days are the toughest Shai always seems to add the cherry on top. My car broke down today for good (I think), but that is okay I have bigger things to worry about like..DAYCARE! What a nightmare it has been to find a nice, cute child care. I say cute because I would not wanna go myself if they did not do cute things like paint and sing! So after I find this cute daycare I have to take Shaila to her physical and that is not something I look forward to since she's all of a sudden terrified of Dr.Wong. He's a very nice man but i guess he does talk a lot a very fast so I don't blame her, she also seems to get a shot after every visit with him. So we will see how things go with that, as for Shaila she's been doing a lot of

dancing which is starting to make me think of dance classes for her :) or ballet..well maybe just tumbling for now she's not that great with listening to directions yet lol ( thats why their was a shoe in the toliet). I enjoy seeing all the things she does now since I am in school most of the week I now feel like I miss out on the things she does. She now knows where her hands are and she tries to say thank you and I love you, and she LOVES playing peek a boo. She's become so attached to me she hates for me to leave her anywhere which is now a big problem because she doesn't even like to go play with her friends at church. I hope day care helps minimize her anxiety because she sometimes gets a little resentful with me leaving her. Well as for my baking, we made a braided loaf of bread last night in class. It was a 5 braid loaf, it was a little difficult to braid but my class mates did a good job, I was only good at rolling out the strands for the braids. I am really enjoying my class and I am really learning a lot from this class, even though it had more math than I expected. Im sure everyone at my house is enjoying my class too since they get freshly baked bread every thursday now. :) Here's a picture of my bread and let me know if any of you want the recipe and the directions on how to braid the bread because their are more than one.

                                                                       

1st Project

Egg Bread 

I wanted to come on here and show my first project we made in my baking class last night.

We started the spring semester three weeks ago and finally we were actually able to make something. The bread was more difficult to make than it seems, you have to control the yeast and make sure not to add to much water and control the times in the proofer for it to ferment right. I never imagined bread to be so difficult and such a long process but at the end it was worth it because it was very good. The bread had a nice color to it and was moist with a very good taste to it. I have to keep practicing rolling the dough into balls because it was the hardest thing for me to get used to. I'm really happy that I'm finally doing what I am good at this is such a big step for me and Shaila (who is now 17 months). Although it has been a hard transition for both of us since we were so used to always being together everyday, but she enjoys playing and dancing with her new friend at the baby sitter house so she is doing a lot better now. At first she cried and cried and would throw herself on the floor after seeing me come home late because she would remember i left her behind, but she's better now so I don't feel as guilty. :) As for my class I am actually doing very well, I am understanding most of the lectures and I am enjoying learning how to make things from scratch and the process it takes to make something so simple like bread. 

Here is the recipe for Egg Bread for those of you who want to try to make it at home :)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 5 whole eggs, dyed if desired
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast; stir well. Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan; heat until milk is warm and butter is softened but not melted.
2. Gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture; stirring constantly. Add two eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each round into a long roll about 36 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick. Using the two long pieces of dough, form a loosely braided ring, leaving spaces for the five colored eggs. Seal the ends of the ring together and use your fingers to slide the eggs between the braids of dough.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place loaf on a buttered baking sheet and cover loosely with a damp towel. Place loaf in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Brush risen loaf with melted butter.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden.

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 234 | Total Fat: 8.7g | Cholesterol: 162mg