Part 1 of the series: Why People Add Too Much Flour to Bread Dough Most of the time, people don’t add flour because the dough needs it—they add it because the dough looks wrong to them. Each week, I’ll share one common reason this happens. Today’s topic is #1: Judging the Dough Too Early. If you open your bread machine in the first 10–12 minutes of the kneading cycle, the dough will usually look rough and sticky. That’s normal. The gluten hasn’t developed yet. In other words, it’s not...

Easter always sneaks up on me. I know many of you are gardeners and are already planting—or at least planning what to plant next. Here in North Texas, we’ve had a warmer-than-usual spring, so I want to be outside instead of in my kitchen. Even pulling weeds with the weed popper my husband bought on a whim feels rewarding when you’re not sweating. But Easter is only one week away. Time to plan a menu. I pulled together a few favorites from my kitchen that work especially well this time of...

Do you like avocados? I eat half an avocado every single day for lunch at home using my recipe for Bread Machine Classic Sourdough Bread or this Sourdough Bread Machine Sandwich Loaf as a base. The challenge is saving the other half for the next day. Cut avocados can turn brown in what feels like a terrifying minute! I've tried: Plastic wrap pressed against the flesh (didn’t work well) A small avocado-shaped plastic container 👎🏻 Storing the half avocado in water in a Mason jar (works OK, but...