baking Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

Homestyle Skillet Pizza (Video)

Who doesn’t love pizza? Ordering in from your local pizzeria is great, but like so many things in life, homemade is always better. You get fresher dough, you can tailor ingredients to your personal A really fun and easy way to make homemade pizza taste delicious and cook perfectly is to cook it in a skillet, like this video shows. Cast iron skillets are so useful in the kitchen, but they don’t have to be restricted to stir-fries and bacon! Baking in cast iron is a great way to add some versatility to your dishes and your cooking talents. Enjoy, […]

How to Bake Bread in a Toaster Oven

It’s great having fresh baked bread every day, and while one of the wonderful things about homemade bread is that it contains no chemicals or preservatives, it also doesn’t stay fresh very long. Also, if you live in a warm place or somewhere with high energy costs, you might not want to heat your whole house up every day just to have fresh bread. The solution? Baking bread in your toaster oven. It’s totally possible, and works great! Here’s how: On the weekend, make yourself a large batch of dough. You will probably want to double or triple your regular […]

How to Make Homemade Almond Extract

I love DIY everything, and extracts are surprisingly easy. At the store, extracts for baking and flavoring foods can be surprisingly expensive, especially if you’d like organic or natural extracts of any kind. Almond extract is great to have for baking of all kind as the subtly sweet flavor of almonds makes for delicious cakes and cookies. The process for making your own is very simple. Since it only requires 15 raw almonds, it shouldn’t be too expensive to make this organic and natural, with some decent-quality vodka as well. You could make this large batch and put into smaller bottles for gifts […]

Cultivate Your Own Wild Yeast Starter (Video)

As homesteaders, we’re used to growing our own food, raising animals, even fermenting and preserving. But something really cool you can cultivate is wild yeast! You are probably used to baking with active dry yeast that you buy in packets at the store, but did you know you can harvest the microorganisms that naturally occur in any environment to make your own active starter? It’s really cool! And if you don’t already homestead, it’s a very fun way to grow “food” right on your countertop, needing little more than flour, water, and time. Check it out! If you liked this, you […]

How to Make A Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starters can be purchased online or you might even have a friend or relative who’s already making them who’d be willing to share. They’re easy to pass around, and you can use just a small amount to grow as much as you want! That’s the beauty of sourdough. To grow your own, you don’t need anything more than flour, water, and time. Let’s begin! What you need: a mason jar or similar sized glass or plastic container, no metal measuring cups and spoons plastic wrap flour (at least a pound to be safe) What you do: Combine 3/4 cup of […]

A Simple Guide to Alternative Flours

There are many reasons people are flocking to alternative flours today. Gluten intolerance is becoming very common, but there are also many diets that eliminate wheat or grains, such as the whole 30, primal or paleo diets. There are a few reasons gluten-free and grain-free diets can be beneficial for your health, but that’s another post for another today. Today we’d just like to discuss a few of the basic non-wheat flours. This is useful to know for homesteaders, in case you’re interested in growing and milling some of your own flours. A note: all grain-free flours are also gluten-free, […]

Crock Pot Sourdough Recipe

Sourdough bread is delicious, and nutritious! When made with a real sourdough culture, it breaks down the anti-nutrients in the wheat that are commonly attributed to gluten intolerance and allergy. There’s also no better-tasting sourdough than when it is made fresh at home. A very easy way to make sourdough is right in your crock pot! If you don’t have a bread maker or don’t want to heat up your kitchen in the hot summer months, crock pot sourdough is a wonderful option. It also makes for a very easy way to rise the sourdough. First, you’ll need your culture. […]