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Baking Bread: Oatmeal and Black peppered Cashews


Baking Bread: One Loaf at a Time
Entry Six


Memory: Enjoying a spring afternoon in front of the Peace Center.

Let’s face it. No one was too sure about that last loaf’s texture. We’d been out of oatmeal, so I substituted quinoa, thinking it’d soften over the 4-hour process. It did – somewhat, but the whole wheat studded with quinoa threw off the family. Although it was truly fine, delicious even, no one touched it but I.

Another attempt.

Step one: Use oatmeal.

Step two: layer the ingredients, avoiding surprise. With the exception of using black peppered cashews, the final product should be rather predictable.

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