Woodie - Funny, I just made these this weekend for the first time, too! YUM. Agree? I'll be making them regularly. So yes, I obviously did find the lemon curd. Wilkins or something, an English brand. Also found the Jules Destrooper cookies. I didn't notice what I paid for creme fraiche, but I did notice, as I have in the past, that I've only seen 8 oz containers but so many recipes call for 7 oz. What's up with that? Not that it mattered in any way... What did you think about the pistachios? Mine barely stuck once the sandwiches were frozen, so after the first round I didn't bother and didn't feel like I was missing anything more than perhaps presentation. (I'm not big on nuts in my food anyway...)

1. Add 1/8 t. ascorbic acid per loaf to the dough (anytime there is whole wheat flour or wheat germ in a bread recipe). 2. Make sure the dough is well-hydrated. 3. Are you using the correct size loaf pan for the amount of dough? How much flour is in your recipe and what size pan are you using? 4. Did you test the bread for doneness with an instant read thermometer? This is the only accurate way to determine doneness. Somewhere between 195-205 degrees F. 5. Make sure the loaf is completely cool before slicing. Slicing into a warm loaf of bread will destroy the crumb. 6. Should you let it rise longer? Not if that means it rises past "double". Bread doesn't rise to a clock, but rather according to the ambient temperature, moisture in the air and the dough, and strength of the yeast. It's "double" when it reaches double and you need to judge that by looking at the dough. It should rise faster at your high altitude than down here on the flat-lands, and it may actually be beneficial to reduce the amount of yeast. 7. Chilling (retarding) dough enhances flavor, but it also reduces ovenspring and loaf volume. It also opens the texture slightly, and that's not necessarily what is wanted for sandwich bread which is typically considered a close-grained crumb. An open texture is better used for toasting, which is great for holding butter and jelly. If you'd really like to make a true sandwich loaf, a Pullman (Pain de Mie) Pan will get that crustless square loaf. These pans have a lid which prevents the dough from rising over the edge of the pan for that characteristic square loaf. This also compacts the crumb so it can be sliced into thin slices and will hold spreads (butter, mayo, etc.) on the top and not get soggy. It is substantial enough it won't fall apart when held in your hand. A more open texture bread will tend to fall apart. A sandwich bread will also have a fairly high amount of milk and butter in the recipe, and both will help tenderize the crumb - even though it's a close-grained crumb. Some potato water, potato flour, or mashed potato flakes can also aid that perfect sandwich bread texture. -Grainlady

I've been working on these myself today.. I reduced the sugar to 2/3 each, used Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for the AP and diced a 1/2 c of apricots instead of raisins.. Hubby said "tell the boys they are no good". (so he can eat them all) LOL They are for tomorrows desserts..we have 9 coming, plus our 5. I'm glad they made quite a bit. I think they will freeze just fine..in fact..I may just wrap one up for my lunch box on Monday and tuck it in the freezer.. Good idea!

Adding insulation, or a longer freeze proof hose bib, will only work if the garage is heated or otherwise stays significantly above freezing in really cold weather. Of course, the hose should be removed from the spigot before weather reaches freezing so that the water can drain. If the garage doesn't stay significantly above freezing, then you need to install heat tape or a shutoff inside the house with an air break so that you can drain/blow-out the line. Those are really your only two options -- other than completely relocating the hose bib to a heated part of the house. Relocating the hose bib would avoid a lot of maintenance problems later. Heat tape will require that you run power to it. Perhaps the new stuff is more reliable than the old stuff, but I've seen heat tape fail too often. Installing the shutoff and blowing out the line is reliable if you do it well-- but it takes time and is easy to forget. If you are going to stay there, relocate the line.