Wanting to Make Bread, but I Have a Clingy Baby.

I don't have any bread recipes for you, but I can recommend the Ergo Baby carrier. I LOVE mine - it's the only carrier I find comfortable enough to use often. Most of the baby's weight ends up on a well padded hip strap, and the baby can ride in front or on your back. My babies were also big and the Bjorn just did not work for us, nor did two or three other carriers I tried. But the Ergo has honestly changed my life because it has freed up my hands without killing my back, and my baby likes it too. Maybe getting the right baby carrier could help you with lots of tasks, not just bread baking. Good luck!

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Get a mei tai (Asian baby carrier). It is snug, secure, easy to wear your baby. I made one following direction on the Internet, and my boy LOVED it! He would get so excited when I got it out.

Or, get the Ergo baby carrier. It is designed like a back pack, with a sturdy hip strap to bear the weight of the child.

The Bjorn is really not that great because the child actually hangs all their weight from their crotch, which is very hard on the child's back. Either of the carriers I mentioned distribute baby's weight across the bottom and thighs of the child.

That said, a good carrier gives you two free hands. I loved my mei tai and my Ergo. The allowed me to do lots of things with my boy that I might not have been able to otherwise.

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Go to Pantrysecrets.net. This lady lives in Pleasant Grove and has a $20 class you can take to learn how to make bread in 1 hour-it only has to rise once) (or go for the starter kit, which has a CD you can watch, the recipe, special yeast, lecithin). It is great, but only works if you have a KitchenAid or Bosch. We love it here...you just use the mixer to knead it, and you would only have to put baby down for a minute to take it out of the mixer and shape loaves. I can make it pretty easily and I have a crazy 3 year old and a 17 month old toddler that climbs on everything and is VERY high maintenance. I LOVE this recipe!!!

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I just got this book and made the first basic recipe. The bread was PHENOMENAL and as easy as you could imagine. It took a few minutes to stir to incorporate and then leave it in the fridge for up to a week before baking.

I checked it out of the library if you want to test drive it before buying it.

200 Fast and Easy Artisan Breads: No-Knead, One Bowl - Judith Fertig

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This recipe is best if you grind your own flour from hard red or white wheat. It makes EXCELLENT bread. I have been making it weekly for nearly 30 years.

4 c water
2 T yeast
1/3 cup gluten flour (optional, but makes nicer, moister, fluffier bread)
6 c whole wheat flour
Mix for 1 min or until blended in your bread-maker mixer or in a large bowl.
Allow to double in size (about 30 min)
Add:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/1/2 T salt (I prefer Real Salt)
4 to 6 cups whole wheat (or any other whole grain) flour
Mix well. Knead for approx 5 min on the knead cycle on your mixer (I recommend a BlendTec mixer) or 8 to 10 min by hand, until springy and elastic.
Allow to raise until doubled.
Divide into 3 loaves. Shape into 3 loaves and raise in greased bread pan until loaves are 1" above the top of the pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 min.
Remove from oven. Butter top and throw a towel over the top until cool.
Enjoy

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Check out these sites or so a search for Five Minutes a day Artisan bread. They have a wheat one too. Actually they have a couple books full of different kinds of breads even gluten free. It is soooo Delicious! My husband found it and now because it is so easy... He makes the bread not me! :) no kneading, just mix it up, let it sit for 2 hrs bake some if you want or let it sit in the fridge up to two weeks. The longer it sits in the fridge the better it tastes. Because it is a sponge bread (wet and you let it rise for a few hours) is actually has less carbs and more protein.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMxJgIpe38Q

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In...

It is Awesome!

Have fun and good luck!
E.

P.S. for the baby carrier, Try a wrap that you can put on your back. you can actually watch videos on you tube on how to use a long piece of cloth. (which you could purchase for about 10-15 dollars or use an old sheet cut to your dimensions). just search for "homemade baby wrap"
It really works great and then you have much more arm movement with the babe on your back.

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I agree with your parents, hand-kneaded bread just tastes better! But it does take two hands.

I don't have any suggestions for making bread (my brother always makes ours, he loves to do it, and I don't enjoy making bread). But I do know that if money is the concern, you can get some really good bread at the Sara Lee store. It's about $0.80 a loaf for the whole grain kind. There's one at 1363 N State St in Orem.

I second Dita's answer, that is exactly what I was going to suggest. Do you have a babywearers group in your area? You can check on meetup.com and yahoo groups to see if there is a group near you. They often have meetings and you can try different carriers out before you buy them, and sometimes find them used from a member. Or check craigslist for them. Either of those carriers are good. I have an ergo, but think I like a mei tai better after using a friends. It isn't quite so bulky feeling. But they are both much better than a bjorn for comfort and for baby too, and you can use them for a long time. The ergo is guaranteed up to 40 lbs.

http://www.thebabywearer.com/
http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/

I put bread ingredients in the breadmaker and set it to the "dough" cycle. It does all the kneading and rising! When it beeps (1.5 hours later), I dump the dough onto a bit of flour on the counter, knead it a bit to make it look nice, and put it into a sprayed loaf pan. Let it rise while the oven heats and then bake. I always get compliments on my "homemade" bread. It has the taste and texture of homemade bread without all the work!

I love my Moby Wrap because I can carry my baby a variety of ways and also our Kelty backpack when the babies get bigger. Also, as Amanda L. said, babies do need to learn to entertain themselves. It won't hurt your son to hang out in a safe place near you while you do work in 10 minute spurts. I'm not saying to leave him screaming in an exersaucer for an hour, but it'll be good for both of you to be doing your own things for a few minutes at a time, several times a day

Good luck!

Several of my younger friends who love to cook wear their babies in slings and have both hands free. There are a variety of designs that seem to work.

Good luck finding a solution.

There is a book called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day... I have heard lots of good things about it. You may want to look into that. Or just buy your bread until you baby gets old enough to help you make it!

If you have a bread machine, you could try letting it rise until after the first rise, then shaping it by hand into a loaf pan and baking it in the oven.

Another option is to try the "no-knead" cold rise option but it has to bake in an awkward shaped pot, not a loaf pan. Here's a recipe, but I haven't ever made it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1021...

Buy/Borrow a wrap for carrying your baby. That's what I did. DS#2 wanted to be held all the time, so I bought a carrier that allowed me to carry him on my back. He loved it, and I was able to go back to cooking.

I make mine with 1 hand, and I put baby down for some parts. It just has to be that way. We went against a bread machine b/c I don't want to eat so much bread, all those carbs. :)
But, making it myself means I work for it, so we get a loaf a week and don't feel we eat too many calories that way.

I agree...love my ergo carrier!!!! Can't help you with the bread thing, though.
J.

For the carrier get an ERGO. My daughter is 2.5 and I still carry her. With a little practice you can put him on your back and can get anything done

As for the bread, I make it at home a lot. I use the bread maker for the dough only I got it a few years ago, but I just don't like how the bread comes out (why make your own if it tastes like it came from the supermarket).
Anyways if you can get a used or cheap one (garage sale, free cycle), I find it very convenient not having to break my back kneading the dough and you don't have to watch the clock for 2 hours making sure you knead and let it rise again...
Any recipe will work this way, since you can form it and bake it according to instructions.
Good luck and have fun!

Updated

For the carrier get an ERGO. My daughter is 2.5 and I still carry her. With a little practice you can put him on your back and can get anything done

As for the bread, I make it at home a lot. I use the bread maker for the dough only I got it a few years ago, but I just don't like how the bread comes out (why make your own if it tastes like it came from the supermarket).
Anyways if you can get a used or cheap one (garage sale, free cycle), I find it very convenient not having to break my back kneading the dough and you don't have to watch the clock for 2 hours making sure you knead and let it rise again...
Any recipe will work this way, since you can form it and bake it according to instructions.
Good luck and have fun!

I would get a lightweight Gerry carrier for your back, so your baby can continue to hang out while you do what you need. I used mine indoors and out all the time, and it was great. You can probably find a used one on craigslist or a consignment store - I've seen them around a lot.

This is just me- but maybe you need to put your sweet baby down long enough to knead some dough with both hands regaurdless. I think it sounds like you need to let him do his own thing for a while so you can have some "alone" time. If not now for short amounts of time- when? Hope this helps- I'm not trying to be rude by saying that. Try putting him in a little bouncer, or walker right next to you on the floor that way you are still right by him and you can talk to him and soothe him. good luck!

Buy Rhodes frozen bread loves and plop them in a bread pan aNd bake. Just like home made!!!

M.
Boise Id
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I have used a bread maker all the time for my bread and haven't ever tasted an after taste. If you could find a used one, it might be worth trying. WIth a bread maker it is so easy !

oh well gad i read before posting. I was going to say use your breadmaker. That is what I did and it worked great for me.

But this will be of limited help, but i saw a book recently full of recipes where you just combine everything and let it go. Look for it on amazon.

Can you put your baby in a carrier on your back? Or in the baby swing? Move it to the kitchen so she can see you..

Could you borrow a bread maker? That is what I do when I make Christmas breads as gifts..