So it was really chilly and rainy again today, and Kim and I both love pea soup. We wanted to eat it as soon as we saw Tom’s post. But we had eaten all of our Birdsong Farm peas, so I just made the old fashioned kind with dried peas. I added leeks and fresh spinach. Yum. The real treat for us was that I made Dakota Bread in the bread machine. It’s our favorite, and Tom and Jeff tasted it, and they agree, right, boys? Now there can be some debate that making it in the bread machine does not count as real breadmaking, but at least we know what we are eating and what is in it, right? The real breadmaker in the “family” is Elyse’s friend Alycia! Post one of yours! By the way, Kim and I went to sleep in a food coma because after we walked Kennedy, Tom gave us warm home made rum cake! It seriously was the very best ever. I felt like June 24 must be a holiday of some kind!
Dakota Bread from Beth Hensperger’s cookbook The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook
1 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. honey
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup raw bulgur cracked wheat
2 tsp. gluten
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds, chopped (woops, I didn’t chop them)(I never do either-Kim)
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. SAF yeast or 2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast
Place all ingredients in pan in order. Set crust on dark and program for basic cycle; press start.
Note: We buy these ingredients from a little store in Uniontown called Beiler’s Market. They have baking ingredients in bulk and it’s only about a half hour from Kent.
Lettuce Never Squash Our Love 
This bread was to die for. I have never had bread from a break maker that tasted so yummy! I’m so happy I crashed your dinner for a cup of sugar 🙂 You’re the best neighbors!
Friday was truly a magical night. I had put in 13 miserable and totally frustrating hours at work and had arrived home over an hour later that I had expected. I walked into the fragrance of the home made bread and the fragrance of the leeks and the soup. I nearly cried. In true fashion I wolfed it down eating far more than I should. As to the bread machine issue Carolyn and I would never have the time to bake bread if we did not use the bread machine so it is a reasonable compromise to get a quality, healthy product in our home. The trick is finding recipes that work well with the machine and the Dakota bread is one of them. Care thanks for taking care of me yesterday I don’t think I can make it some days with out these little things. Kim
I must say that the bread is so delicious as to defy description. I was lucky enough to have some for breakfast this morning!
Also, it was so fun to taste Carolyn’s soup and discover both how great it tasted and how different it was from mine. It’s neat that the same general ingredients and the same inspiration can lead to such different dishes.