Light Bread with Wheat and Rye Flour

This lovely Sunday I will give you the recipe of a light bread perfect for toasting!
I love baking bread, it is such a good feeling to eat bread you know all the ingredients in. And even if it doesn't have the same durability length as the bread from the grocery store, it is worth the time to bake it because of the taste and the feeling of genuineness.

In the recipe you will see that I am using 34 degree water, not 37, because when you knead the dough for ten minutes in a baking machine the temperature will raise several degrees and to give the yeast the best environment the dough should not be warmer than 37 degrees.

Happy baking everyone!

2 loaves of light bread with wheat and rye flour
5 deciliter 34 degree water (easiest way is to use a digital thermometer under the water tap)
50 grams fresh yeast
0,5 deciliter oil (I used rapeseed oil but you can use any oil you like)
2 teapoons salt
1 tablespoon honey
390 grams of wheat flour
390 grams rye flour

1. Dissolve the yeast and the honey into the water by stirring with a spoon.
2. Add oil, salt and then the flour little by little while kneading the dough properly. If you use a baking machine, when all the flour is added let it knead the dough for about 10 minutes on medium effect.If you knead the dough by hand you should do it for about 15 minutes.
3. Leth the dough raise (twice it's original size) for 45 minutes under a towel.
4. Grease two bread pans or if you don't have that you can just put baking paper on a baking tray.
5. Put the oven on 225 Celcius.
6. When the dough has raised, put it on the floured table with floured hands and with light moves you just divide the dough into two pieces and put them into the baking pans or just put them side by side on the baking tray.Let the bread raise for 30 minutes under towel.
7. Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for 17 minutes (or if you have a baking termometer the inner temperature should be 98 Celsius).

Homemade paper

Sometimes it is fun to just do things your own way even if it is easier to just buy something. In this case I am talking about paper. Yes, it is very easy and comfortable to buy nice paper in the store but if you don't allready know it - making your own paper is pretty easy AND it gets a very personal touch to it if you use it for a handwritten letter or labels on birthday gifts! I used ordinary newspaper for my paper sheet but if you would like something more colorful you can choose old colored paper such as an old telephone directory and some newspapers have colored pages.
I didn't have a frame with thin net which is the usual tool for doing this kind of thing. However, I found a letter tray in my home and used that instead :) You need to use your imagination to solve problems sometimes!

You will need:
1 scabbard which is a bit wider and longder than the frame with net
1 ordinary photo frame with a thin net tensioned on it on one side. You can staple the net on the sides of the frame.
Water
Towels
Sponge

1. Cut or tear small pieces of a newspaper and put them in a bowl together with water. Let the paper swell over night.
2. If the mixture is still a bit lumpy you ca use a mixer or an electric beater to make it smoother. Add water if needed.
3. Pour water in the scabbard and then some of the paper mixture and let it distribute in the water.
4. Lower the frame into the water and catch up the paper mixture. Shake the frame a bit until the paper mixture evenly distributes in the frame.
5. Lay the frame with the paper side down on a towel. Use a sponge to press the water out of the paper from the backside.
6. Gently remove the paper from the net and let it dry on a towel.
7. When the paper is almost dry you can iron it to make it flat.

Happy paper-making!

Homemade Citrus Marmelade

On Christmas Day we visited my brother in law and met the whole family on my husband's side. It has become a tradition to play a special game when we meet at Christmas. The special game is called "The Present Game" and is as follows:
Each person brings three presents all wrapped in fancy paper with a cost of about 5 dollars each. We all sit down at a big table and put all the presents in a big pile in the middle. Then each one of us in clockwise order get to throw a dice and if you get number six or number one you get to take one present from the pile. When everyone has three presents each it is time for the next part of the game. Someone set the alarm to ring in about 10 to 20 minutes and then no one gets to the see how much time is left. Then we start in clockwise order again to throw the dice. If you get number six or number one you have to exchange one of your presents with anyone else's. This is so much fun because it is often one or two presents (often the largest and has very inviting paper) that everyone wants and no one knows how much time is left until the alarm clock will ring so it can get a little hysterical haha... When the alarm is ringing the time is out and the game is over. Now it is time for everyone to open the presents and look what they got :)

For this game I did not want to buy something, I wanted to make someting, and today I am going to show you what I came up with! I was really surprised to realize that it was not that difficult to make and it did not take alot of time either :) The glass jars are bought at IKEA and they are called RAJTAN, here you can find them on the Swedish site!

Homemade Citrus Marmelade (about 2 L depending on the size of the fruits)

800 grams of oranges
400 grams of lemons
4 deciliter water
1 kilo jam sugar (contains sugar, pectin, citric acid and potassium sorbate)
Clean glass jars put in oven for about 20 minutes 75 Celsius (not the lids) so they are warm when you pour the marmelade in them

1. Wash the fruits well in hot water. Dry them with a handcloth and cut both ends.
2. Cut the fruits in small pieces and remove any seeds. Then use a food processor or a stick blender to mix the pieces to more of a puree consistency.
3. Boil the citrus mixture together with the jam sugar and the water in a large sauce pan for 15 minutes. 
4. Take the hot glass jars out of the oven and use a large spoon to pour the marlelade into the jars. Be careful because it will be very hot! Fill the jars up to the upper edge of the jars and put the lids on immediately. Put the jars upside down. 
Let the jars cool in room temperature and then store them in a cold environment.

Knitted Pink And Purple Striped Cap

I hope you have had a lovely time during the Christmas and New Year holidays! I celebrated in my couch watching movies and video games while knitting :) My husband is currently playing a quite new game called "Lords of the Fallen" and that is, along with "Dark Souls" and "Demon's Souls" the type of games I really like watching because there is a story and it is a reason why you should go to certain places. Knitting is a very good occupation while watching TV and this cap I will show you today is a easy project even though you have to count sometimes. The original free pattern you can find here at Drops Design Studio and it is not striped but in the picture below you can find my homemade striped pattern. I really like to take a pattern and change it even if I do a very small change - I like to do it my way.
The reason why I decided to make a cap was because I got my hands on yarn in such beautiful colors some time ago and I just had to make something of it and I also really needed a new cap. I did these knitted slippers in a previous post and it is the same yarn I am using for this cap. I gave those slippers to my sister in law as a Christmas present so I hope her feet are getting warm this winter :)

I hope I get you inspired to try make your own cap, it may take a while to finish it but you will feel proud wearing it all winter :) Today I am taking mine out for a walk!

Happy Knitting!

I used needles no 5 and in 10 cm2 I knit 17 stitches and 36 rows.