# Preserving Bread



## cazetofamo (Mar 18, 2012)

Does anyone have any information on storing bread? Can i vacuum seel it? Can i do the same with similar things like muffins, cake, pancakes, etc?


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

stin, we were talking about this bread a while ago. It is really a wonderful, easy recipe.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f35/my-daughter-called-today-4147/index2.html

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2...ues-to-create-a-great-loaf-in-5-minutes-a-day

(Y
I found these links on a search for "Preserving Bread".
Vacuum seal sounds good to me.
I have frozen bread for 30-60 days.
I can not find it, but their is a link to a preparedness site, that sales flour.
They say put a tablespoon of potato flour in one cup of wheat or any other flour to keep it from drying out.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Long term storage? Ain't many breads what will last fer years. Hardtack be one what'll keep fer a real long time. There also be I thin a jewish bread recipe what keeps perty well to.

Hardtack stored in a airtight jar, bag er even not will keep. It were used during the early wars an on ships. Many had maggots in em what came out when soaked in coffee er soup. Ya gotta soakem in sumtin otherwise yer gonna bust a tooth. I make some with a few seasonins in em ta add a bita flavour.


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## cazetofamo (Mar 18, 2012)

What about crackers?


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

I've heard a folks oven cannin crackers an they seemed ta last several months but taint never tried it.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

http://thehomesteadsurvival.com/storing-crackers-long-term-food-storage-preppers-tips/#.UnbENpGEwYU
This is what I found.
Turn your sound down before you start the youtube, they have a bird that is loud.


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

In January and February 2013 I vac packed 2 brands of crackers, Keebler and Nabisco. We opened both brands last month. The Nabisco Krispy brand was as fresh as when I vac packed them. The Keebler in the red box was rancid.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

OldCootHillbilly said:


> ....Hardtack stored in a airtight jar, bag er even not will keep.....


I've read ....somewhere......ancient Babylonians (and others since) baked surplus grain into brick hard loaves and kept in storehouses for up to two years; seems the main use for these loaves was to make a kind of crude rough and ready beer, or kvass, that is still very popular in Russia and Eastern Europe today. (I make [Ukrainian style] beet kvass myself)


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## cazetofamo (Mar 18, 2012)

kyredneck said:


> I've read ....somewhere......ancient Babylonians (and others since) baked surplus grain into brick hard loaves and kept in storehouses for up to two years; seems the main use for these loaves was to make a kind of crude rough and ready beer, or kvass, that is still very popular in Russia and Eastern Europe today. (I make [Ukrainian style] beet kvass myself)


Friends have told me about this and a couple have tried it. All of them said it tastes like crap, but hey, everyone has their own taste


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Heheh, kvass ain't for everyone, period. It's sour, and folks accustomed to sweet are turned off by it. It's mainly LACTO fermented, NOT yeast fermented; that means main by product of fermentation is LACTIC ACID (bacteria) and not alcohol (yeasts).

Exact same process/bacteria that ferments sauerkraut, or kimchi, or kefir, or yogurt, or sourdough bread starter, or deli half sour pickles, etc., etc.

IME, ice cold kvass is a killer thirst quencher.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

If frozen breads seem stale, they freshen up a bit when oven/campfire warmed. 
I've heard of commercially canned brown bread (plain or raisins) and Japanese canned breads, but never tried them. I have tried #10 cans pilot crackers and MRE breads, crackers, loaf cakes and they are all edible and tasty IMO. Anyone tried the canned breads I mentioned and can give feedback?
Will follow thread for more home preserved methods, since we usually fall back on freezing extras.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

You can can bread, bake it in wide mouth pint jars then put the lids on. I water bath the jars for half an hour but many dont.

Quite a few people here do cakes the same way and it works well for them.

If I have bread that is stale, I dehydrate it(sometimes just toast it), run it through a food processor and store the crumbs vacuum sealed or in a sealed bag for later use.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

We freeze bread and bagels for months at a time. When we take a loaf out of the freezer we remove the bread from the freezer packaging and then shake the ice of and transfer to a large zip lock bag. Seems to work well.

Another tid bit that I learn when I was a semi truck over the road driver. If you can't refrigerate or freeze the bread then if you purchase bread that has honey in it (honey enriched) it will last twice as long before it turns bad.


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## BlackDogWV (Jun 3, 2013)

Lake Windsong said:


> If frozen breads seem stale, they freshen up a bit when oven/campfire warmed.
> I've heard of commercially canned brown bread (plain or raisins) and Japanese canned breads, but never tried them. I have tried #10 cans pilot crackers and MRE breads, crackers, loaf cakes and they are all edible and tasty IMO. Anyone tried the canned breads I mentioned and can give feedback?
> Will follow thread for more home preserved methods, since we usually fall back on freezing extras.


The canned bread I am familiar with is made by the B&M Bean people. It can usually be found in the canned baked bean section of the grocery store.They make brown and brown with raisins, though my local stores now only stock the raisin variety. It's very heavy and (to me) delicious. Especially with a thick slathering of butter! It keeps for years and I've always kept some on hand most of my adult life...just because I like it. Now, I store a dozen or so cans. Ready made bread would be a nice thing to have in tough times.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Davarm said:


> You can can bread, bake it in wide mouth pint jars then put the lids on. I water bath the jars for half an hour but many dont.
> 
> Quite a few people here do cakes the same way and it works well for them. ...


Wow, that sounds like it should work well. What's the longest stored that you've 'taste tested'?

Any estimate as to how long this would keep and be tasty/palatable?

If it's that simple wonder why BBB or NCHFP wouldn't have an approved recipe (not that I'm an avid adherent to either mind you) along these lines?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

kyredneck said:


> Wow, that sounds like it should work well. What's the longest stored that you've 'taste tested'?
> 
> Any estimate as to how long this would keep and be tasty/palatable?
> 
> If it's that simple wonder why BBB or NCHFP wouldn't have an approved recipe (not that I'm an avid adherent to either mind you) along these lines?


I've only kept the yeast bread for about 6 months or so, did it for an experiment and just never followed up on it.

I've had cornbread for over a year now and have 2 jars left from that test, I'm going to open one of them in about 6 months and another at the 2 year mark.

I also have 2 more jars of pound cake that have been in for about 1 1/2 years, opened one up last month at the Meet-Up and it was just as good as the ones that were only a few weeks old.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

Cool! I'd love to know how this is done. Direct me to a thread on it? There's got to be some tricks to doing this.


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## Topmom (Feb 16, 2012)

cazetofamo said:


> What about crackers?


I put some saltine crackers in a canning jar with a CO2 packet then vacuumed sealed it with my food saver back in Sep 2012....as fresh as the day I put them in the jar. I can stack a regular size sleeve of crackers in a quart jar...of course, a wide mouth jar works best.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

kyredneck said:


> Wow, that sounds like it should work well. What's the longest stored that you've 'taste tested'?
> 
> Any estimate as to how long this would keep and be tasty/palatable?
> 
> If it's that simple wonder why BBB or NCHFP wouldn't have an approved recipe (not that I'm an avid adherent to either mind you) along these lines?


Here be a link ta the canned cake:
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/canned-cake-13657/

Why it ain't a "approved" method I don't know. Some sorta goobernut beuracricites I be sure.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

BlackDogWV said:


> The canned bread I am familiar with is made by the B&M Bean people. It can usually be found in the canned baked bean section of the grocery store.They make brown and brown with raisins, though my local stores now only stock the raisin variety. It's very heavy and (to me) delicious. Especially with a thick slathering of butter! It keeps for years and I've always kept some on hand most of my adult life...just because I like it. Now, I store a dozen or so cans. Ready made bread would be a nice thing to have in tough times.


Yup good stuff. Like yall say it be perty dense, but real tastey. Bad fer the sugar count though.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Boston Brown Bread?*



BlackDogWV said:


> The canned bread I am familiar with is made by the B&M Bean people. It can usually be found in the canned baked bean section of the grocery store.They make brown and brown with raisins, though my local stores now only stock the raisin variety. It's very heavy and (to me) delicious. Especially with a thick slathering of butter! It keeps for years and I've always kept some on hand most of my adult life...just because I like it. Now, I store a dozen or so cans. Ready made bread would be a nice thing to have in tough times.


Back in the college/hippy days, we ate vegetarian and cooked lots of stuff from scratch. We bought wheat, ground it, and made our own bread.

We took turns making dinner for the house. One time I made Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread for dinner. That was a few decades ago and I do not have the recipe, but it had raisins in it and was made in a can that was steamed in water. I do not remember the exact process now.

That bread resembles what you are talking about.

Preserving bread? There must be a reason you want to do this and I am curious about your reasoning. I grew up with home made bread and have made some bread as an adult. Fresh bread is one of my favorite things in the world. In times of austerity that we might be facing, a loaf of fresh made bread, cinnamon rolls, some naan (Indian flat bread) to go with some dal, or a loaf of fresh made French bread for me will go a long way to lift my spirits and to fill the stomach. I have some butter, but I know nothing goes better with most fresh bread than butter. I do have some jams, jellies and peanut butters, but fresh bread and butter, yum!


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Sailor Boy Pilot Bread is a favorite in this country. It is a hard tack so it keeps well on a boat or in a cabin. Many times it has been the only bread available on a long trip or if freight is delayed due to weather.

Here is one link. http://www.samsclub.com/sams/sailor-boy-pilot-bread-2lbs/156666.ip

Here is a discussion about the stuff. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?19934-Sailor-Boy-Pilot-Bread


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

kyredneck said:


> Cool! I'd love to know how this is done. Direct me to a thread on it? There's got to be some tricks to doing this.


Coot explains it pretty well and I like the way he wrote up better than how I did, the only thing I do different is I often water bath the jars for 30 minutes.

It's probably overkill but I just started doing it to see if it would make any difference in the way it came out, it didn't but I just kept doing it.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I need to dig up Coot's hard tack recipe (I know he's posted it before, maybe even some varieties?). Sounds like a good thing to keep next to the chicken broth in the pantry - could be good comfort food during flu and cold season.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

goshengirl said:


> I need to dig up Coot's hard tack recipe (I know he's posted it before, maybe even some varieties?). Sounds like a good thing to keep next to the chicken broth in the pantry - could be good comfort food during flu and cold season.


I added sugar and a little cinnamon to the recipe I use and we used em for teething biscuits for the grandson, worked great. We would cut them in pieces big enough so that he wouldn't choke on them and he never would chew them down small enough to be a worry.

We would find peices those things all over the place before he stopped gnawing on them.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

goshengirl said:


> I need to dig up Coot's hard tack recipe (I know he's posted it before, maybe even some varieties?). Sounds like a good thing to keep next to the chicken broth in the pantry - could be good comfort food during flu and cold season.


Not Coot's..


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Thank you!! :2thumb:


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

I don't know about storing it, because it would go stale seems like. But it's be easier to store the ingredients to bake bread and bake it. Plus with self baked bread, you're in charge of the taste and the texture. I like baking my own. Plus it makes it easier storage. But I can also see the perks of storing bread so you could just break the seal and eat up. Maybe freeze-drying, to keep it from growing any molds... But with it during our and getting stale, maybe you're better off with another method. 

However I did not help you at all, you did bring a new idea to me so thank you! Hahaha.


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## Halloween (Nov 24, 2012)

I swear to god as a pastry chef since I have been 16 - now 41 I make dense bread !!!! Wife hates it 
It is like I m genetically cursed to make dense bread


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

I love a heavy hearty bread; years ago when we were members of a food co-op my wife would make an unyeasted Tibetan barley bread (and others also) from the Tassajara Bread Book that's probably my favorite bread in the whole wide world, mmm mmm, I may just dig that book out and bake some bread sometime soon.


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## gam46 (Jan 24, 2011)

Bumping up. While I realize that many may not care a whit for either of these suggestions, I offer them as ideas.

First, as I was shopping the local salvage grocery, also known as the second hand food store, I found Wasa brand flatbread. I was delighted as I well understand that the stuff keeps "forever." I like its high fiber crispness.

Pursuing the idea, I found a site for making my own Norwegian flatbread.

http://mylittlenorway.com/2012/11/norwegian-flatbread/

Hope someone finds this helpful.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Back when I was on a commercial fishing boat the canned brown bread was a staple. While I would never consider it for a sandwich I did use it for a breakfast bread or to eat with something like beans or a stew. I am not overly fond of this bread as I find it a bit strong but many times I have found it to be the best available option, okay the only option. To use, open both ends of the can and push out as much as you want then cut your slice. Some butter does wonders.

I prefer a lighter beer over something like a stout. If all I have is a stout then so be it. The brown bread is much like that for me. Many people like a stout and many of the crew that I worked with loved the brown bread. Try a can and see where your preferences are.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

gam46 said:


> Bumping up. While I realize that many may not care a whit for either of these suggestions, I offer them as ideas.
> 
> First, as I was shopping the local salvage grocery, also known as the second hand food store, I found Wasa brand flatbread. I was delighted as I well understand that the stuff keeps "forever." I like its high fiber crispness.
> 
> ...


My family would take me out back to the wood shed if I produced what that link is calling Norwegian flatbread (Lefse). Somebody doesn't know how to cook.

"Real" Norwegians would not go near that. Lefse is a mashed potato dough and it is rolled very thin and fried on a dry pan. It is soft and very flexible and not burned to a crisp as shown. The traditional way to eat it is spread with butter and sprinkled with a little sugar; not intended for anyone on a diet. It is pretty good used dan bing (pekin duck wrap) or frajita style if you swing that way. Turkey dinners work well for that.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> My family would take me out back to the wood shed if I produced what that link is calling Norwegian flatbread (Lefse). Somebody doesn't know how to cook.
> 
> "Real" Norwegians would not go near that. Lefse is a mashed potato dough and it is rolled very thin and fried on a dry pan. It is soft and very flexible and not burned to a crisp as shown. The traditional way to eat it is spread with butter and sprinkled with a little sugar; not intended for anyone on a diet. It is pretty good used dan bing (pekin duck wrap) or frajita style if you swing that way. Turkey dinners work well for that.


So you are saying to forget the link?
If so, please give this poor red neck a better link to a baker who can make "real" Lefse.
I would like to try it.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

crabapple said:


> ...... please give this poor red neck a better link to a baker who can make "real" Lefse.
> I would like to try it.


Me, too. Anything involving potatoes just has to be great! I wonder if this is a version of adding flour and eggs to mashed potatoes and "frying it up"???? I look forward to the recipe!


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Country Living said:


> I wonder if this is a version of adding flour and eggs to mashed potatoes and "frying it up"???? I look forward to the recipe!


No. Let me clarify that. NO!!!:eyebulge:

Lefse is not a potato cake. Lefse comes from heaven and is doled out by old Norwegian ladies that have spent a lifetime perfecting it.


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## gam46 (Jan 24, 2011)

Clem K wrote, "Lefse is a mashed potato dough and it is rolled very thin and fried on a dry pan. It is soft and very flexible and not burned to a crisp as shown."

I am somewhat familiar with the soft bread of lefse and did not understand the linked info to suggest that the dry flatbread was to be confused with same. I read the recipe guidelines to be all grain, very thin, very dry breads to be used for long storage. I do know that lefse is made from potatoes and is quite rollable, much like a flour tortilla.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

My apologies.

You have inadvertently stumbled upon a topic about which wars have been fought. You are correct in your assesement about what the link was referring to, but the last kid to bring one "those" flatbreads to school, way back in the day, never lived it down and my mother paid a visit to his mother and set her straight. :shtf: It was a truamatic time at the two room elementary school back in the bush. I bet that kid is still hearing about the travesty to this day. I admit I don't know how goes the battle these days but as you can tell, I learned my lesson well.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> My apologies.
> 
> You have inadvertently stumbled upon a topic about which wars have been fought. You are correct in your assesement about what the link was referring to, but the last kid to bring one "those" flatbreads to school, way back in the day, never lived it down and my mother paid a visit to his mother and set her straight. :shtf: It was a truamatic time at the two room elementary school back in the bush. I bet that kid is still hearing about the travesty to this day. I admit I don't know how goes the battle these days but as you can tell, I learned my lesson well.


Do you have a recipe you can share with us?


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

The following is a link that covers the steps of making lefse along with photos. Its does a pretty good job of explaining the process. They have you making 12 patties but those are huge and then you need the specialized lefse making griddle that isn't really needed and some evil b****d is bound to think one = one serving. Thats just fine if it happens to be you, not so fine if you are at the end of the line.

Make smaller patties maybe 4 to their one. You need a large round griddle (12"-16") that sets on your stove burner be it gas or electric. If you don't want to be making the stuff for 24 hours instead of 12, only a slight exaggeration, two griddles is better once you get the hang of rolling the dough. The dough should be rolled paper thin and boy it can be frustrating to get the dough just right so it it doesn't stick to the roller.

Do not cut corners on refridgeration where it says to refrigerate. Do not put it in the refrigerator until it has cooled down completely. NEVER, NEVER get the roller wet or it won't work. If you have even a smidgeon of a potato lump in the dough, it will cause a wet spot which will embed itself in the roller grooves and make your life a living hell.

When the job is finished use a pointy steak knife to clean the grooves in the roller without wetting. Brush it really well and then you can maybe give it a wash if there is minimal flour visible. Remember, flour + water = glue.

A lefse roller is essential. The groove can go across the roller as shown, or if you were given great grannies roller, the grooves will go around the roller. Obviously, great grannies roller is the only correct one to use.

You can buy a lefse stick on the above web site or you can whittle one from a thin piece of lath. It should be rounded on the end; no points. Think of two dinner plates face to face for the shape of the stick length if that makes any sense.

Seems simple enough, eeh? The bad news is, you must find the right potato to make your dough. The potatoes widely available today just don't cut it. A light fluffy baking potato is needed, not a waxy type. The potato can make or break a lefse recipe; it should have a good flavor all on its own. I have been growing some potatoes trying to find the perfect one. It may be too late; I don't think anything measures up to past memories.

You can try the recipe given in the link. Don't add the sugar. Do make as rich a mashed potato mixture as you can without making it wet because the flavor will be subdued when the flour is added. I like loads of butter and I use 5 cups of potato. Sometimes I have to chuck the lot because the consistancy didn't work out. Do not try adding more flour if you mess up and get the potatoes too wet. It won't work. The level of rolling difficulty goes up as you change the proportions.

My recipe is generations of tweaking and it won't be seen on the internet. Probably, no one else would really know the difference, but I don't want grannie rolling over in her grave.

You will notice that most descriptions of lefse state that it is a holiday food. It actually used to be made every day back when they also ironed sheets and underwear. It is time consuming and therefore, the cook eventually wised up and said to heck with it and the holiday season thing got started.

https://www.lefsetime.com/how-to-make-lefse/


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> My recipe is generations of tweaking and it won't be seen on the internet. Probably, no one else would really know the difference, but I don't want grannie rolling over in her grave.
> 
> https://www.lefsetime.com/how-to-make-lefse/


Thanks for the link. The only recipe that I have known to be more closely guarded than lefse is fishcakes.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I really like Siljans Crisp Bread. Once opened you can put it in a ziplock bag and it lasts for years. I can eat it with butter/margarine, peanut butter or with nothing on it. I have to say that real crisp bread is only made by Swedes!


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

A Lefse Recipe for Thanksgiving
https://www.sofn.com/norwegian_culture/featured_recipes/lefse/
Also you cam add some mashed potatoes to a flour tortilla recipe ,good eating folks.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

*Bread ,essence of life.*

Growing up without electricity was an experience and making things last was a lesson we all had to learn, living far up in the mountains and away from town we needed ways to make our food supply last but flour bread was the one thing that got hard quick and sometimes moldy that`s why we always had bread pudding. The oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from a 1,400-year-old Maya site, we made a flat bread from the yucca plant (cassava) no fats or oils, sold in Latin stores, it lasted for a long time, we also had crackers made from lard and flour they also lasted longer if allow to dry by the heat of the wood stove and stored in metal cans. But with all honesty since flour is one of the basic staples of survival and every house should have it; flour, water, salt makes for a instant bread with no need for storage. If you want to get fancy sift 1/4 cup cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons baking soda through fine strainer 3 times into small bowl for homemade baking powder. And don`t forget our corn bread , dated back a few years also.:laugh:


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