Bake on Saturday

I love to bake. It makes me happy to bring happiness to others by creating goodies in the kitchen. In order to conserve propane, which is quite expensive in the Arctic, I do a lot of baking at one time. And, since time is limited during the week, I generally end up doing my baking on Saturday, in keeping with the adage ("...clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, rest on Sunday.")

I baked today, though not to the extent which I do normally. This afternoon I baked only four loaves of bread and one dozen muffins. The bread (two loaves cinnamon, two loaves raisin-pecan) will be flying away to Barrow on Monday. My dad is attending a mission's conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Barrow next week. He will be taking the bread and some cookies (which I plan to bake tomorrow) with him. Although I wish I could take them myself, I'm glad I can help the pastor's wife by sending some baked goods for the conference. (In the picture below is a loaf of cinnamon bread... it turned out just beautifully!)

In one way, I'm thankful for the inconvenience of expensive propane. I believed, at first, that baking a massive amount of goods in one day was an impossible undertaking. It was indeed difficult to manage the first few times but, as they say, experience is the best teacher. I've been convinced that establishing a baking day is ideal. With a bit of organization, careful planning, and time management, baking day can be a day to enjoy your kitchen -- rather than a time to frantically rush about in an effort to beat the clock! (I know whereof I speak. =)

Here's the plan...

Decide on your recipes. I find it convenient to use recipes which share ingredients, such as applesauce or raisins.

Line up your bowls, placing your recipe cards next to its corresponding bowl (you counted right -- there's six bowls in the above photo.)

Measure the dry ingredients in "assembly line" fashion. Begin with flour -- measure the correct amount into each bowl -- continue on with baking powder, spices, etc. As you finish using each ingredient (or sets of ingredients), return it to its home in your cupboards (to save on counter space and to prevent confusion).

Beginning with the first bowl, stir the contents of each to combine the ingredients.

To free up your mixing bowls, store the dry ingredients in separate Ziploc bags, making certain to indicate which bag is for which recipe. This step is especially handy if you are short on time. Sometimes I mix up my dry ingredients a day ahead or, as in this case, set them aside while the family eats lunch.

Now is a good time to prepare the baking dishes. Grease and flour them as necessary and place them where they will not be in your way.

Set your bagged dry ingredients aside and line up your bowls once more. As in the manner described for assembling the dry ingredients, measure the wet ingredients and combine.

You have both your dry and wet ingredients individually combined and are ready to mix them together. Now is the time to focus on one recipe at a time. As soon as you get one batter mixed up, pour it into its assigned dish. Place the empty bowl in the sink. Move on to the next recipe and repeat.

When you are 10-15 minutes away from completing the above step, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Even if some recipes may differ in designated temperatures, they will not affected by a variation of a few degrees. Simply adjust the baking time.

Bake your goodies.

Turn the contents out of the baking dishes to cool.

Sample your goodies. Be sure to get your family involved in this step. =) Above is two loaves of cinnamon bread, two loaves of raisin bread, three mini loaves of apple bread, two dozen cinnamon muffins, and a sheet of oatmeal crackers. (All of these recipes can be found on my recipe blog.)

Store excess baked goods in freezer-safe bags or containers. A straw is helpful in extracting air from Ziploc bags, ensuring that your baked goods will remain fresh and tasty.

Place the baked goods in the freezer.

Pull the baked goods out of the freezer as needed. To prevent your thawing food from becoming soggy, open the bag slightly to allow excess moisture to escape.

I might add that it is absolutely essential that you clean up after yourself as you work. You spare yourself a lot of stress and time if you keep your working space tidy. Wash a few bowls now and then so you won't be so overwhelmed when it comes time for the final clean-up.

Thus ends a delightful day of baking! Now, put your feet up and treat yourself to a nice cup of tea and a slice of fresh, warm bread. (sigh)