making it from scratch

When they were small my youngest 2 hated Sundays so I started a tradition that we kept for several years; ice cream to eat as soon as we got home. I usually heated up peanut butter to use for the sauce and it didn't take long for Sunday's to become more popular around here. The transition to bread was gradual once they got older and their older sister started making it every Sunday.
Now the 10 year old and 12 year old take turns making all our bread. We have been making all our bread for about 15 years. When there were 4 children at home and they all packed their own lunches we went through 2 loaves of bread a day. Brian made a loaf before he went to school and before he went to bed in our first bread machine. Before that I made it sporadically, in fact when our first child was born (1978) her labor was 'induced' by putting the bread on the floor (in a large bowl) to knead it, since I couldn't reach it on the table. I guess the scrunching of my body broke my water...well maybe it was time anyway :-)
This is the recipe I have posted near the bread machine:
water-12 ounces
salt-1/2 Tablespoon
olive oil-2 Tablespoons (we have a spout that measures it, so they just tip it over)
oatmeal-1/2 cup
whole wheat flour-1 cup (we grind our own wheat and keep it in a bag in the refrigerator)
flour-2 1/2 cups
dry milk-3 Tablespoons
yeast-2 1/2 teaspoons
sugar-2 Tablespoons (we like to use honey instead but I hate to measure it.)

(I really should have taken a picture of what the counter looks like after he measures everything...on the other hand maybe I don't want to remember.) I keep most of the stuff all together so it easier to make; Brian had it down to 2 1/2 minutes; Andrew takes about 30 minutes :P
Andrew made a loaf last Sunday before church so as soon as we got home they had a slice or 2 of bread and then I worked on dinner. Their favorite way to eat it is to fix a dip with olive oil, salt and garlic powder. They love it and if they don't make it we just wait to eat until I can get something fixed. I love when the consequence's of their disobedience doesn't have to be manipulated by me.