Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/623197
Foryears,I'dhada love-hate relationship with baking bread. It's a domes- tic skill I could never master, and that both- ered me. When I tried, four out of five loaves flopped. Then, in an act of mercy from the yeast gods, I'd turn out a speci- men fit for judging at the Iowa State Fair. Eventu- ally, the outrageous price of store-bought bread led me to a method and book with the same title: "The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." Sure. Like anyone in her right mind would be- lieve that. Five minutes a day? If this book were touting some prepack- aged mix or pricey piece of equipment, I wouldn't be interested. But in no time at all, the verdict was in. It's true. Authors Jeff Hertz- berg and Zoe Francois have taken the home-bak- ing world by storm, hav- ing created a method that takes out all of the vari- ables of baking yeast breads: the time, the has- sle, the waiting and the worrying. And the book includes gluten-free rec- ipes! I stand before you a changed woman, and a consistent home baker of artisan bread. It's the rustic, beautiful kind of bread you see in a Euro- pean bakery. It's the kind of bread that is made once a day, consumed by the family and then re- placed the following day. Every day. I am as busy as I ever was, and even I have five minutes a day to bake bread. While I had to put my daily baking ef- forts on the shelf, so to speak, during the many long months of our out- of-state transition and move, gluten-free reci- pes: I'm back! I'm quite possibly the most enthu- siastic member of the BYOB movement (bake your own bread). I'm toy- ing with the idea of mak- ing 2016 the year that we don't buy bread at all — and still have bread every day of the year. Here's my routine: On Saturday, I take about 10 minutes to make up the master recipe. The ingredients are simple: water, flour, yeast and salt. That's it. I measure the ingredients and mix to combine them. Then, I dump the dough into my "dough-rising box" (a 40-cup plastic con- tainer with a lid), leave it on the counter for two hours and then move it to the refrigerator. It makes enough dough for eight one-pound loaves. The dough will last for two weeks in the fridge. When I want to bake a loaf, I open the box, grab a wad of dough, dust it with a little flour, shape it and set it on a wooden pizza peel. There it sits for 40 minutes to an hour as the oven preheats and I do other things. I pop it into the oven on a bak- ing stone and 30 minutes later, we have fresh, Euro- pean bakery-style bread. Did I say no kneading? Since I became a BYOB-er, I've used the master dough to make breadsticks, soft pretzels, pizza and dinner rolls. Here's the best part: A decent loaf of bread at my store is now closing in on $4 per loaf. A loaf of my homemade artisan bread costs forty cents, one-tenth the cost and 10 times better. There's something more that comes with baking bread. It's soul- soothing. I love knowing that I have yeast in the freezer and flour in the pantry. It makes me feel self-reliant. I like that. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE BYOBClubmember in good standing Mary Hunt The Exchange Club of Red Bluff is will host its 10th annual Search for Tal- ent contest for young people betweentheagesof6and18. This event to showcase the talents of the youth of Tehama County has been getting better each year. Flyers and entrance forms have been sent to all of the schools in the county to promote the event. The deadline for entering this year's competition is Mon- day, Jan. 25. Entry forms may be obtained from your student's school, the Te- hama County Department of Education on Lincoln Street, Zelma's Trophy Shop at 206 Walnut St. or at the Sierra Central Credit Union at Adobe Road and North Main Street. Auditions will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30 and 20-22 acts will be in- vited to participate in the Gala Show and Competi- tion, which will take place on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 27, at Red Bluff's his- toric State Theatre. Last year, 22 of Tehama County's finest competed. The duet of Ellie Fletcher and Mitchell Sauve won in the Senior division and Ju- nior winner Mark Cohen and Primary winner Jordan Armstrong went on to com- pete in their respective divi- sions in the competition at the Sierra District Conven- tion at Oroville, where Co- hen won his division. So, talented young people of Tehama County, brush up your acts and join the 10th Annual Exchange Club Search for Talent. EXCHANGE CLUB SearchforTalentseeks top young performers COURTESYPHOTO The 2015Search For Talent Senior winners Ellie Fletcher and Mitchell Sauve singing "Lucky." Take a deep breath. From the crisp mountain air atop Shasta Bally to the refresh- ing earthy smell along the many creeks running to the lake, Whiskeytown is known and appreciated for its stellar air quality. Spring adds the fra- grance of wildflowers; sum- mer delivers the warm spice of ponderosa pine and in- cense cedar; fall offers the subtle hints of the oak woodlands; winter delivers the cleansing smell of rains. These are the things that Whiskeytown National Rec- reation Area seeks to pre- serve for the health and en- joyment of its visitors. In 2010, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area adopted a smoke-free pol- icy for its four designated swimming beaches. This was well-received by the public and has been suc- cessfully implemented. Af- ter much consideration and public discussion, Whiskey- town is now proud to be- come the first smoke-free unit of the National Park Service. Beginning Jan. 1, smok- ing of all tobacco products and electronic cigarettes is allowed only in designated areas. The new policy bans smoking on all beaches and trails. Smoking is allowed in your personal vehicle and within 5 feet of your per- sonal vehicle while on paved and gravel parking lots. Smoking is also allowed on boats, at your permitted campsite, and in designated smoking areas. Designated areas are signed locations at Brandy Creek Beach, Oak Bottom Beach, the Oak Bottom Marina Office area, the Visitor Center and the Maintenance Yard Loading Dock at Park Headquarters for park employees. Whiskeytown's num- ber one litter challenge re- mains cigarette butts. Last summer, a fire destroyed the historic 1852 black- smith shop at State Route 299 and Trinity Mountain Road. While the exact cause of this fire was not deter- mined, a careless cigarette butt was the likely cause, as was the case in the devas- tating 2004 French Gulch Fire. Whiskeytown has a strong record of preserv- ing the health and safety of its visitors. The park shifted its recreation program to encourage more "human- powered" recreation, such as swimming, kayaking, mountain biking, trail hik- ing and trail running and sailing. In 2005, Whiskey- town became a partner in the Healthy Shasta ini- tiative, which promotes healthy eating and in- creased physical activity to address childhood obesity. In doing so, the park has developed its free ranger- guided kayak programs during the summer and the park's celebration of Earth Day with "Waterfall Week" in mid-April. While motor boating, wa- ter skiing, wake boarding and trolling for fish remain integral parts of Whiskey- town's recreation program, the park prides itself in en- couraging healthy living and healthy life styles both within and beyond park boundaries. For more information, call Superintendent Jim Milestone at 242-3460 or visit http://www.nps.gov/ whis. RECREATION AREA Whiskeytown announces smoking ban SACRAMENTO The Fran- chise Tax Board Tuesday announced it was accept- ing 2015 state tax returns for a filing season that ex- tends through April 18, three days beyond the tra- ditional deadline because of a federal holiday. EITC Starting with calendar year 2015 tax returns, Cal- ifornia is offering its own Earned Income Tax Credit. This credit is in addition to the existing federal EITC. The Cal EITC is refund- able, meaning that taxpay- ers will receive a refund if the credit is greater than taxes owed. The credit is available to California households with adjusted gross incomes of less than $6,580 if there are no qual- ifying children, less than $9,880 with one qualifying child, or less than $13,870 with two or more. Unlike the federal EITC, California's credit is based onlyonincomereportedona W-2form,suchaswages,sal- aries, and tips, and was also subject to California with- holding. Income from self- employment cannot be used toqualifyforthestatecredit. Taxpayers can learn more about the credit at ca- leitc4me.org. Free tax preparation is provided through the Volun- teer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly Programs. Many military bases also provide this service for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. For information on locations, go to ftb.ca.gov and click on free filing assistance. Credit increases The standard deduction for single or filing sepa- rately tax statuses for the 2015 tax year increased to $4,044. For joint, surviving spouse, or head of house- hold filers, the deduction grew to $8,088. The dependent exemp- tion credit increased to $337 per dependent. The personal exemption amount for single, filing separately, and head of household fil- ers increased to $109. For joint or surviving spouses, the exemption grew to $218. Disaster relief When the Governor de- clares a disaster area to be in a State of Emergency, af- fected taxpayers may claim a disaster loss in either the year the disaster occurred or the prior year. The latter option can generate a quick refund by reducing or elim- inating the previous year's tax liability. Taxpayers who have al- ready filed returns for the preceding year can claim a disaster loss against that year's income by filing Form 540X, Amended Individual Income Tax Return. A new law created by Senate Bill 35 automati- cally allows loss claims any time the Governor declares a State of Emergency be- tween January 1, 2014, and January 1, 2024. Previously, taxpayers could only get re- lief if the President declared a disaster or the Legislature approved a special measure. Electronic services The Franchise Tax Board has enhanced the MyFTB website to provide greater access to online tax ser- vices. Once registered for the program, taxpayers can use the site to: Send a se- cure message to FTB staff or chat online with an FTB representative; skip an in- stallment agreement pay- ment; protest an income tax audit; access helpful tax calculators and file a Power of Attorney declaration. Walk-in service is still available at six regional field offices weekdays be- tween 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The field offices are in Los Ange- les, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Ana. Cash payments are no longer accepted at field of- fices, but taxpayers may still pay using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, debit card, check, cashier's check or money or- der. A service fee of 2.5 per- cent is charged for credit card transactions. 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