The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Hello From Lansing, MI

lawrence1l's picture
lawrence1l

Hello From Lansing, MI

I have found reading the posts on TFL quite interesting.  I had some ridiculous notion of getting into the home made bread business when I retired.  I even picked up a Blakesley 20qt. mixer, on a cart (for nothing, no less).  I got from a lady that was going to get into the organic dog biscuit business when she retired.  She realized that she had worked enough, so it was in the front yard, with a sign 'Free' on it.  I'm always a sucker for 'Free'.  I brought it home, cleaned it up and turned it on.  I couldn't believe how quiet it was.  Alas, my wife got home from a business trip and quickly ascertained that it was too big to have in the house.  I sold it in the local Craigslist to a young family that was in the farm market business.  She was getting by with a KA of some sort, but it was hard to keep up with the demand she had.  Anyway, they were ecstatic to find this, at the price I was asking, and never batted an eye.  It was ok to be without it for the next nine months while I was working.  I hadn't given up on the foolish idea of the bread business yet.  I was pretty busy with my new retirement for a year after that.  Now, two years after retirement, I have dabbled at bread, played at sourdough, and been gone from home a lot.  My wife retired about 5 months after I did, and we have traveled a fair amount.  Bread was not a major consideration.  Now, I stumbled across a refurbished GEM 110, and just couldn't help myself.  When it finally got here, it seemed like it was about twice as big, and twice as heavy as I thought the advertisement said it was.  I haven't used it yet.  I did make some cinnamon/raisin bread yesterday.  I used my favorite basic bread recipe, and a filling from one of the TFL recipes for cinnamon swirl/bourbon soaked raisins.  It is good stuff.  We used the recipe a few weeks ago.  Cut the dough into slices, let it rise again, and called them cinnamon rolls.  My wife pronounced them 'wonderful'.  This is turning into an epistle, rather than an introduction.  This is me.  A little long winded.