The Best Online Classes for Learning Traditional Skills – Bread Making, Fresh-Milled Flour, Homemade Cheese, Herbal Medicine, Canning, Preserving, Gardening, and More…

Traditional Skills That Are Making a Comeback

If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that I love the classes at Homesteading Family. I’ve learned so much from them – bread making, sourdough, homemade cheese, canning. Their classes on herbal medicine, preserving, and permaculture are a great starting point if you are wanting to learn more about traditional homemade skills. The skills that our grandparents knew are becoming less commonly known, if not forgotten altogether, but they are so much more important to our daily lives as grocery prices soar and uncertainty looms around the corner. Consider these Homesteading Family Classes as a way to take back some of your independence and the skills we have lost.

Read to the end for a special coupon code! Take advantage of this discount code just for Maggie Lane subscribers!

Traditional Food Preparation Skills

1. The Art of Homemade Bread

This course covers yeast and sourdough. It is broken down step-by-step so that anyone can do it. If you’ve tried to make bread before and failed, this course is for you. By the end you’ll know just what to do to achieve the perfect loaf every time. What’s the secret? Knowing how to read the dough. The course gives you benchmarks at each step to know when your dough is ready for the next step.

2. Homemade Dairy Masterclass

Think you can’t make use of this class because you don’t have a cow? Think again. You can make all the recipes in this course using store-bought milk. Every recipe I’ve made have been made with milk from the store. The course starts out simple and builds your skills so that you can make the simplest fresh cheese all the way up to mozzarella or hard cheeses like cheddar and parmesan. No special equipment needed. You can use the things you already have in your own kitchen.

3. Baking with Home-Milled Flour

Want to learn the ins-and-outs of milling your own flour at home. This mini-course is a great companion to the Art of Homemade Bread class and gives you even more tips on using fresh-milled flour at home.

Food Preservation Techniques

4. The Abundant Pantry Canning Masterclass

Learn how to safely water bath and pressure can in this masterclass. This comprehensive course gives you step by step instructions in over 70 lessons. You’ll get all your questions answered and learn to can with confidence. This class will remove all the doubt in eating your home-canned food.

5. Preserving Eggs & Wild Milk!

If you have your own animals, these two classes will help you know what to do with all those eggs from your chickens and milk from your cow rather than give them to the neighbors. Learn to preserve your eggs like they are fresh for over a year, and find out how to use the good bacteria naturally present in your raw milk to your advantage.

Medicinal Herb & Garden Skills

6. The Herbal Medicine Cabinet

Discover how to grow, harvest, and prepare your own herbal remedies. This beginner course is just what you need if you’ve been wanting to learn how to make your own teas, tinctures, gylcerites, syrups, herbal vinegars, oxymels, and steams, but don’t know where to start.

7. Permaculture

Learn how to work with nature in this introductory course to growing a productive and sustainable garden. Gain the basic skills you need to maximize your food production and provide your family with good home-grown food.

Household & Kitchen Resources

8. Handmade Home

This course is part of Homesteading Family’s Homestead Kitchen Membership. It covers soap making and making your own herbal oil and salves.

9. Home Management

Gain tips on managing a busy home, homeschool, and homestead. From tips to streamline breakfast to managing your time and finding joy in your day, let this course guide you to peaceful productivity.

10. In the Homestead Kitchen Magazine

This digital and print magazine is a beautiful addition to your coffee table and a valuable resource to your kitchen. The kitchen is truly the hub of the home. Whether your homestead is acres of land or a tiny balcony garden, you can make use of these tips and recipes in any kitchen. Take your cooking from scratch skills up a notch. This will soon become your favorite cookbook!

Want access to all these classes and more?

Homesteading Family offers a monthly or annual membership to their Homestead Kitchen Community. Membership offers you all these classes plus access to members-only content and challenges.

Whether you’re seeking greater self-sufficiency, trying to balance the budget, or simply wanting to experience the joy of making things at home, these online courses offer guidance and experience that makes traditional skills accessible to anyone.

Special BONUS for Maggie Lane readers!

Enter your email below to get the Homesteading Family coupon code.

View Homesteading Family classes here.

Not ready to sign up for full class? These FREE trainings might be just what you need.

FREE Dairy Training – click the link to sign up.

FREE Canning Training – click the link to sign up.

FREE Bread Making Class – click the link to sign up.

FREE Herbal Medicine Training – click the link to sign up.

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Pumpkin Bread Resurrection – Wheat and Gluten-Free

I resurrected what is probably the first recipe I ever put on my blog. I made pumpkin bread this week. Back in 2010 when I starred my blog, I made this every week as a snack for my kids. I hadn’t made it in a while, so I pulled these recipes out of the files to celebrate 3 anniversaries – the anniversary of starting my blog, the anniversary of the day we moved to our first house, and the 1 year anniversary of the day we moved to our new house.

I made the wheat version (large loaves)for the family and the gluten-free version (mini loaves) for me. If you want to try it, the wheat recipe can be found on the Family Favorites page, and the Gluten-Free version can be found on the Allergy-Friendly page. I also use one of my favorite substitutions for this batch. I substituted puréed butternut squash rather than using canned pumpkin. I actually like it better with the squash. The color isn’t as dark orange as with canned pumpkin, but I think the texture and flavor is better.

Gluten-Free Graham Cracker and Graham Cracker Crust

I admit that I typically do without when it comes to some gluten-free items. I often assume that they just won’t be as good and I’ll just skip it. I may need to change my attitude on that though. I was skeptical at going to the trouble of trying this GF graham cracker crust, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is flavorful, the correct texture, good leftover even after sitting with filling in it for two days, and it held together. And honestly, my non-gluten-free family preferred this pie to the one I made for the rest of them with regular graham crackers.

Here’s the recipe. Try it out. It was certainly a treat for me to have dessert that I could eat and even feel good afterwards.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust Recipe:

Begin by combining the following in a small bowl…

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1 cup teff flour (or millet if you prefer a lighter color)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

4 tsp cane sugar

Note: This dough will be dark in color because of the teff. If you prefer a lighter color cracker or crust substitute millet for the teff flour.

In a separate bowl combine the liquid ingredients.

2 egg yolks

1 tsp molasses

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

3-4 tbsp milk

Combine the wet and dry together. It should be thick and soft dough. Err on the side of it being sticky rather than dry.

Roll or press on to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Try to get it thin – like 1/2” or thinner, but don’t worry to much about it being even. They still turn out to be tasty even if they are different thicknesses. And if you plan to turn these into a crust then it really doesn’t matter anyway.

Cut through the dough to make cracker sections using a knife or pizza cutter. Then bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Check and if they haven’t browned, turn the heat up to 350 or 400 for 5 minutes.

Remove and let them cool before breaking into crackers. If making a graham cracker crust follow the instructions below.

Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crust Recipe:

Place your most of your crackers in a food processor and grind into a crumbs and add the following…

1 tsp sugar

3-4 tbsp butter

Blend adding more butter until the crumb mixture sticks together when pressed between your fingers.

Press the mixture into a pie plate using the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove and cool before adding your filling.

I made an eggnog custard for this pie and it turned out delicious! Enjoy!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies up to share with a friend this week. I started mixing and realized that I had added dairy and that they needed to be dairy free. Whoops! So I made two batches. One with diary and one without. So my mistake means you get two recipes out of this one. 😊

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:

Whisk the following in a small to medium mixing bowl:

1/3 cup peanut butter (or almond butter or other nut butter)

1 egg (or 2 egg yolks)

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 tsp salt

Then add…

1/2 cup water (or mill alternative)

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk until combined.

Switch to a rubber spatula and add…

1/3-2/3 cups arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch)

1/3 cup white rice flour (or brown rice flour)

1/3 cup chickpea flour

1 tsp baking powder

Stir to combine. Add more flour or water as needed to reach a thick cookie batter consistency.

Add chocolate chips of your choice. And stir to combine.

If you need a dairy-free chocolate chip, I recommend the Enjoy Life brand.

Spoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Makes 12-18 cookies.

Now, here’s the version with dairy.

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Recipe:

Whisk the following in a medium mixing bowl:

2/3 cups peanut butter

2/3 cups heavy cream

2/3 cups honey

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 tsp vanilla

Then add…

2/3 cups arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch)

2/3 cups white rice flour (or brown rice flour)

2/3 – 1 cup chickpea flour

2 tsp baking powder

Stir to combine. Add more flour or water as needed to reach a thick cookie batter consistency.

Add chocolate chips of your choice. And stir to combine.

If you need a dairy-free chocolate chip, I recommend the Enjoy Life brand.

Spoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Makes approximately 24-30 cookies.

Cookie Comparison:

While both these cookies are good the ones made with the olive oil baked darker.

The cookies made with the heavy cream were softer and lighter.

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies with Egg-Free and Dairy-Free Substitutions

These are moist and hearty. They make a nice dessert or a high protein snack.

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe:

Whisk the following in a small mixing bowl until combined and creamy.

3 egg yolks (Sub: 2 tbsp ground psyllium husk and 1/4 cup water for egg-free)

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond, cashew, or sunflower butter)

1/2 cup honey

Then add…

1 cup heavy cream (Sub: water and 1/3 cup oil for dairy-free)

Whisk until smooth.

Now with a rubber spatula stir in the following flours:

1/3 + 1/4 cup tapioca starch (or arrowroot powder)

1/3 cup millet flour (or oat or sorghum)

1/4 cup teff (or quinoa)

1.5 tsp baking powder

Mix until all the flours are combined and there are no lumps.

Let the batter sit for 15 minutes and then re-evaluate its texture. It should be just slightly thicker than a pancake batter.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Cool and store in a plastic bag or airtight container.

Three-in-one recipe: Gluten-Free Egg Nog Biscuits, Cinnamon Roll Biscuits, or Gluten-Free English Muffins

This recipe came about by accident. I was experimenting with recipe that I could use for Christmas morning as a gluten-free sweet roll option, and happily my mistake turned out delicious. The nice thing is that this recipe is really a three-in-one recipe. With the same base recipe you can make a delicious gluten-free sweet roll or biscuit either egg nog or cinnamon roll flavored, but one little tweak and it is an excellent whole grain gluten-free English Muffin.

So if you have any leftover egg-nog from Christmas Eve, pull it out of the fridge and give this recipe, or one of its variations a try.

Gluten-free Sweet Egg Nog Biscuit Recipe:

Combine the following into a bowl:

1 egg yolk

2/3 cups egg nog

3 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon juice

Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl add…

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup teff

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp frozen or hard butter, grated into flour

After the butter has been stirred into the flour add your liquid ingredients and stir until all the flour is combined and the batter has a light and fluffy texture. It should be the texture of a thick cake batter. Add more flour or liquid as needed. Cover and let the batter rest for 30 minute. Don’t skip the rest period or the final texture will be sub-par.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour into greased crumpet rings laid out on a cookie sheet over parchment paper. (I like reusable parchment paper. Have you tried it?)

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Gently remove from rings and cool on a wire cooling rack.

These are delicious served warm with butter and a little sugar sprinkled on top.

Cinnamon Roll Biscuit Recipe:

For this version make the following changes to the above recipe.

Add 1 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients.

Use 2 egg yolks rather than one, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup of milk, and 4 tsp of sugar in place of the egg nog.

Gluten-Free English Muffin Recipe:

Follow the base recipe at the beginning of this post adding 2 egg yolks and subbing 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup of milk for the egg nog plus 1/2 tsp of sugar.

Whichever variety of these recipes that you choose, they will turn out dark in color due to the teff, so they will have the appearance of whole grain biscuits. If a lighter appearance or flavor is desired substitute millet for the teff flour.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄

If you missed the launch of The Art of Gluten-Free Homemade Bread, this is the gluten-free book that I wrote for Homesteading Family. It was so popular that it sold out in less than a week but you can get the digital copy or sign up for the wait list for a physical copy at the link above.

Other Gluten-Free Recipes You Might Like:

5 Minute Gluten-Free Crumpets

Gluten-Free Popovers or Dutch Baby Pancakes

Gluten-Free While Grain Seedy Bread

Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Batter Bread

Make Your Own Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter from Scratch!

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Gluten-Free, Sourdough Whole Grain Seedy Bread

I developed this sourdough bread recipe for a friend who requested a “Seedy Loaf.” I’d never tried this with gluten-free before, but it turned out quite nicely and she requests one every week.

Gluten-Free “SeedyLoaf Recipe:

Whisk the following in a small mixing bowl:

1 cup of gluten-free sourdough starter

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp honey

2 1/2 tbsp psyllium husk

2 cups water

Whisk together and let the mixture sit for 15 minutes to thicken. While your mixture is resting, collect the rest of your seeds for soaking. In a small bowl measure out…

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp of hulled sunflower seeds

Cover the seeds in the bowl with water and let them soak until just before your bread is ready to go into the oven the next day.

Now back to your mixing bowl. To the liquid mixture add…

1/4 cup quinoa flour

1/3 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch)

1/3 cup potato starch (or cassava flour)

1/3 cup sorghum flour (or chickpea flour or oat)

1/4 cup millet (or sorghum)

1/4 cup teff (or buckwheat)

1 tsp poppy seeds

Mix together until there are no more lumps. Batter should be the texture of a very thick pancake batter or thick oatmeal. If it is too thin add a little more of one of the flours until the correct texture is achieved.

Cover your bowl with a damp tea towel or lid and refrigerate for 24 hours.

On Bake Day:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Drain the water from your soaked seeds. Remove your bowl from the fridge and add your seeds to the batter. Mix well until they are all distributed. Then pour your batter into a greased loaf pan.

Next, with a rubber spatula, gently press down around all the edges about 1/4” pulling the batter at the top just away from the edge of the pan. This will help with the rise.

Immediately transfer to the hot oven. Bake for 1 hour. Internal temp when done should read 210 degrees on a digital thermometer. If it is not done, bake for 10 more minutes. Cool overnight or for 12 hours before slicing so that the texture of the bread can set.

The Art of Gluten-Free Homemade Bread Book by Homesteading Family:

It’s finally available! I created these recipe for Homesteading Family and the book is available just in time for Christmas. Order your copy from Homesteading Family!

And if you want a wheat based bread class that covers it all – yeast, sourdough, fresh milled flour, sprouting, and ancient grains, check out Homesteading Family’s The Art of Homemade Bread Course. Carolyn taught me how to make bread and sprout my grains. It’s the most comprehensive course I know of.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

“The Art of Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread” by Homesteading Family – now available!

The book I wrote for Homesteading Family is now available. The Art of Gluten-Free Homemade Bread is available now. The ordering window for the book is only available once a year so get yours early while they are available! The fort run sold out in a week, so grab yours now. They won’t last long.

Note: This page contains affiliate links.

Gluten-Free Popovers or Dutch Baby Pancakes

These are sweet little treats that are light with a slight nutty flavor. They are the perfect treat on their own or with some butter and jam or honey.

Gluten-Free Popover or Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe:

This recipe is quick to mix and bake. Combine the following in a small mixing bowl:

1 cup of heavy cream or half and half

3 egg yolks

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp sugar

Whisk until combined. The egg yolks add softness and some binding properties. The cream adds the liquid and fat. Next add…

1/4 cup millet

1/4 cup tapioca

1/4 cup white rice flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix with a rubber spatula until there are no more lumps. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes and then check the texture. It should be the texture of a smooth, soft icing.

Spoon into a greased mini muffin pan or I used these mini stainless steel ramekins to bake mine. They are the perfect little mini bite size.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Remove and cool.

Enjoy these little bites for an afternoon treat, quick breakfast, or dessert. If you want to bake as regular sized muffins, spoon into the greased pan and bake for 25 minutes.

This recipe makes about 9 mini popovers or 4-5 large ones.

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, Egg-Free, Dairy Free

We make egg free cakes all the time since my son can’t have egg whites. I have my favorite wheat based version of this (search for “cake pan cake” in the search box if you are interested in those. Here’s a gluten-free pumpkin spice version that is also egg-free, and dairy free that we made into cupcakes. Consider making these as an allergy-friendly dessert option for your Thanksgiving guests. And if you are looking for more good, reliable, healthy gluten-free recipes, scroll to the end. I have news on Homesteading Family’s new gluten-free book.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Recipe:

Add the following into a medium mixing bowl:

1/2 cup potato starch (sub arrowroot or tapioca starch)

1/2 cup chickpea flour (sub sorghum, oat or other legume flour)

1/2 cup white rice flour (sun brown rice flour)

1/2 cup almond flour (sub other not flour)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1.5 tbsp psyllium husk

1/3 cup brown sugar

Stir to combine. Make 3 small wells or depressions in the flour and add the following….

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Over all that pour 1 cup cold water.

Whisk it all together until smooth. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes.

After the rest evaluate the texture. It should be like a thin cake batter. It should be thick and not watery but thin enough to fall off your spatula. When I came back to my batter after the rest period it was thicker than it should have been so I added 1/4 cup more water 2 tbsp at a time until the texture was correct.

Spoon into muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes until browned. Cool completely before icing or serving.

Add some homemade pumpkin frosting and they are delish! 🎃

So, did you know that Homesteading Family is coming out with a new Gluten-Free book? The Art of Gluten-Free Homemade Bread should be released to the public some time this winter, unless you are a member of Homestead Kitchen that is, in which case you have early access to the e-book already. But Carolyn is offering a FREE bread webinar.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Want to make bread like this for Thanksgiving? FREE Bread Training this Thursday!

Want to make bread like this? Check out Homesteading Family’s free bread webinar! Just in time for Thanksgiving too. Carolyn gives away lots of great info. She taught me to make bread and can teach you too! Her classes are the best! And I hear that there may even be talk of the new Gluten-Free book which you can get early access to if you are a member of Homestead Kitchen.

This post contains affiliate links.

Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Discard Batter Bread

This is the perfect fall recipe. Suggested substitutions are listed in parentheses but you can substitute any flour if a similar type (whole grain for whole grain, starch for starch, legume for legume, nut for nut) with good results. My recommendations are just suggestions. Use the flours that your starter is made from and that you tolerate best.

Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Batter Bread Recipe:

Mix the following in a bowl:

– 2 cups gluten-free sourdough starter

– 1.5 cups peeled and chopped apples

– 1 tsp of salt

– 1/2 cup oil

– 1.5 tsp of vanilla

– 2/3 cups of honey

– 1 1/4 cups of water

Then add…

– 2 tbsp psyllium husk

– 1/2 cup chickpea flour (or sorghum)

– 1/2 cup almond flour (or other nut flour)

– 1/2 cup brown rice flour (or oat)

– 1/2 cup sweet rice flour (or tapioca)

– 1/2 cup potato starch (or cassava)

– 1.5 tsp cinnamon

– 2 tsp baking soda

Mix until well combined and let the batter rest for 15 minutes. The texture should be like a thickened pancake batter.

Pour into a greased loaf pan or casserole dish. Bake in a 400 degree oven covered for 40 minutes. A toothpick should not necessarily be clean but should not be wet when tested.

Cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

For a complete guide to heathy, gluten-free sourdough, consider joining Homesteading Family’s Homestead Kitchen Membership to get exclusive access to the new book that I have co-written with Carolyn Thomas – The Art of Gluten-Free Homemade Bread. It’s available as an exclusive, early release to Gold level Homestead Kitchen Members. Stay tuned for the print copy of the book which is due out this winter.

For full The Art of Homemade Bread Course click here.

And join in on the Free Bread Webinar coming up next week on Thursday, November 16, 2023.