Ingredients:

• 12 cups (approx.) wheat flour
• 1 1/2 T salt
• 2 1/2 T active dry yeast
• 5 cups hot (110 degrees F) water
• 1 cup honey
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp vitamin C powder

Directions:

1. Place salt and vitamin C powder in bowl of mixer (if Kitchen Aid mixer, use your dough hook attachment)
2. Add hot water and give it a quick mix
3. Add yeast, honey, and oil to hot water mixture
4. Turn mixer to low speed
5. Add 3 heaping cups of flour
6. Mix on low 1 minute
7. Start adding flour by the cup until the sides of the mixing bowl scrape clean
8. Mix on high 9 minutes
9. Remove dough from mixture.  Do NOT kneed.  
10. Pour dough onto lightly oiled surface.  Shape dough into 4 (2lb) loaves
11. Place in 4 greased loaf pans
12. Let rise about 45 minutes or until nice and tall
13. Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 31 minutes
14. Remove, place on wire rack, let cool 5 minutes before removing from pans

ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ketchup
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a medium-sized saucepan.  Simmer for 20 minutes and enjoy!

* 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Proof dry yeast in warm water with the sugar for about 10 minutes. Make sure your water temp is not too hot. I used a meat thermometer to make sure it was at 110 degrees before adding my yeast.
1a. When foamy add oil and pour into the flour that has already been mixed with salt.
1b. I mixed it all in my Kitchen Aid mixer and, with the dough hook attachment, kneaded it on high speed for 4 minutes

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy. (mine didn’t look that puffy, but they puffed right up in the oven).
2a. I brushed a few of mine with olive oil and added some ground garlic and dill. I also dusted a few of them with the garlic and dill and skipped the olive oil.

3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediatelyr cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

Choosing from-scratch versus store-bought saves my husband and I quite a bit on groceries each week.  Plus, it just tastes better!  So, let’s give this a try together!  I’m a newly-wed and still a cooking novice, but I love to cook and learn new things…and I love to trade secrets with other cooks!  So, I’ll share what I’m learning in the kitchen and feel free to comment and share what you know!

Bon Appetit!