Sunday Funday - Doughboys!

It's another cold Sunday in Calgary, the kind of winter day you want to stay in your jammies all day, keeping the house warm from the heat of the oven.  A perfect day to share another one of my favorite childhood activities with my own littles.  

Of course it revolves around food...my mom making loaves of bread.  We always made our own growing up - no store bought bread in our house growing up - imagine that!  My mom is super resourceful, I remember she would even bake the bread in old coffee tins! We lived in the boonies, vegetables from the garden, fruit from the trees, handmade clothes, before the internet, and with no cable TV - gasp!

So with me and my sister in and out of the kitchen, and probably more likely driving her crazy, she would always give us our own pile of dough to keep us busy and we could make our own doughboy creations.

We would use chocolate chips for eyes, and raisins for buttons - but my kids don't enjoy raisins, so I gave them some coloured chips I had on hand, and then let them use their imagination!

Presley wanted arms and legs first - so much fun to eat!   The dough recipe I used made enough for two HUGE doughboys and a loaf of bread we can enjoy with Sunday dinner!

Honey Wheat Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup honey
1Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp dry instant yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups all purpose flour - plus 1/2 cup extra for kneading

Whisk warm water, honey, butter, salt, and yeast until ingredients dissolved.  Gradually add the flours into the bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine.  Place the dough on floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth.  Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with tea towel, and put in warm area (I use top of stove) for 1 1/2 hours to rise - should double.  After the dough has risen, divide into two, one section for dough boys, and one for a loaf.  Let the kids play with their dough, and place second section into loaf pan, cover again with tea towel allowing to rise for second time.  Brush the dough with melted butter before placing in oven.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375.  The doughboys took approximately 30 minutes - but they were huge!
And the loaf, I baked after the doughboys took about 40 minutes.

Enjoy!