Double-batchin' it!

This is a recent batch of bread I made. I've decided to double-batch it! It's easier and I freeze extra loaves for the week. My husband got me looong loaf pans and I love them! The outside loaves are made in those! I got a little artistic and carved out some designs during the second rise in the pans! The other quarter of the dough was turned into buns... which are oh so difficult to shape! The standard recipe I use is an Amish White Bread recipe I found at allrecipes.com. I substitute sugar with honey and I often mix in some whole wheat flour. I've used this recipe to make 100% whole wheat. I LOVE the method of proofing your yeast in warm water mixed with honey/sugar. I always adapt any yeast bread recipe to use that method! Still, I am trying to acquire a grain mill and hoping to really experiment with fresh-milled whole-wheat flour!

Julie-Anne

M(i)lling over some things:

There it sits. Over 300 lbs of wheat. It all started when I read about the health benefits of milling your own flour for baking bread and other goodies. I knew I needed to find some wheat and a home flour mill to grind it! I found a local farmer who sold me over 300 lbs of wheat. If you're thinking, hmmm, that sounds like a lot of wheat, you are beginning to gain insight into my personality! And, being the adventurous type who dives in with both feet, it would not have been right to come home with a pound less! I did get a chance to try baking with it when I borrowed an old flour mill from my in-laws. It was amazing and inspiring. My neighbours began asking to buy flour from me and I have people waiting to buy bread. Alas, that mill was a temporary loan and I am desperately trying to find a good flour mill (preferably stone) for a great price. I have lost 2 heartbreaking auctions on e-bay for mills since.

For more info on fresh ground flour and the problems with commercial flours and breads read this PUBLICATION by McGill University (Montreal, Canada) or Google it!

Here's an excerpt from the McGill Publication:


"Many factors affect the nutritional quality of bread. Consumers need to be aware of these to make wise choices as they decide upon purchasing breads, so as not to deceive themselves. It is advisable to avoid refined, bleached flour, even if it is enriched, and to chose whole wheat flour. However, store-bought whole wheat flour is likely to be void of the germ and a part of the bran, in which the nutrients are most concentrated. Also, it is usually treated with the same chemical improvers as white flour, and may have been irradiated. Only organic, stone-ground, whole wheat flour can be complete and untreated by chemicals. To obtain maximal nutrition from bread, a traditional sourdough bread is best, since the mineral-binding phytates have undergone more breakdown and have freed minerals, so that they may be absorbed. The mineral and vitamin content may also be enhanced with other ingredients that also add variety. For better utilization of the protein in bread, it should be consumed in combination with complementary proteins, which are better sources of the limiting amino acid - Iysine - in wheat. Examples are milk products, nuts, legumes, meat or fish. The protein quality of bread itself may be enhanced by adding soya flour since it is made from a legume."

The following comment on the soya flour addition was made by my close and knowledgeable friend: "The only problem with that article is that new research shows soy to be a low grade food with estrogen in it - bad especially for men and causes imbalances in women. It can also affect fertility. So I would prefer to add a different flour or add flax seed/meal or sunflowers to my bread to enhance the protein." For more info, visit the Soy Online Service or Google it!

However, this publication is, for the most part, extremely informative and important in understanding "bread" health!

ps. if you can help me in my search for a flour mill, let me know!!

The Quest for the Perfect Loaf!

It's been two months since we've bought any bread from the store (with the exception of one package of sausage buns). My husband laughs and calls any store-baked goods CONTRABAND! The kids are really enjoying the home-baked goods I am making. There is a revolution going on in my kitchen. And, the home-baked bread is a big part of it! Of course, my "white" breads are always a hit. I just have to find a convincing recipe of whole wheat bread. When I started baking bread, my goal was (and still is) to mill my own flour. I bought over 300 lbs of wheat in faith! I borrowed an old stone mill and began learning to bake with fresh milled wheat flour. Fresh milled flour in whole wheat bread is delicious and extremely nutritious. It was easier to convince my family to eat that whole wheat bread. But, that mill began to burn my wheat and before I damaged the borrowed mill, I returned it to its owner. I am still looking for my own flour mill. In the meantime, I have been using enriched flour (white and whole wheat) for all my breadmaking. The recipe I used today seems to be the fluffiest whole grain bread recipe to date. It uses whole wheat flour, white flour, ground flax seeds and other seeds. I usually omit all of the seeds except I occasionally add the whole flax seeds in addition to the ground flax seeds (flax meal). This recipe is at the bottom of this post. These days, my kitchen is a busy and warm place... full of life! I feel so blessed. I am learning so much and some tips I have tried I will use for life and others I will leave behind. More on that later.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread

3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
Combine in a mixing bowl and stir until dissolved. Set aside until bubbly. 5 mins.

3 cups whole wheat bread flour
3 tablespoons honey (note: I find dissolving the honey in the warm water at the beginning to
help activate the yeast works best)
3 tablespoons oil
Add and stir until smooth

2-3 cups bread flour (I use the all-purpose I have on hand)
1 1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons salt (I have put a heaping tablespoon of salt because it turns out quite sweet).
1/3 cup flax seeds
Add, stirring in enough flour to make a stiff, smooth dough. Knead about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, divide in half, let rest 5 minutes, shape into round loaves and place on a greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise again about 1 hour. Bake in pre-heated oven at 375 F for 30 minutes. (I usually use loaf pans and never tried the cornmeal or any of the seeds except flax seeds. Also, I usually knead slightly as I shape into loaves and I find this helps with the second rising).

Source: Simply in Season: A World Community Cookbook. Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. Herald Press: 2005.