Blech. And Yum.

Posted on Friday 11 May 2007 at 06:34

Blech. It is a yucky, cold, rainy, cloudy day. I planted strawberries and garlic and trees, my hands got stiff, and my rubber boots nearly got sucked down into the mud. But that's okay.

Yum - it's a perfect day for baking bread. Here's my tried-and-tested original hodgepodge Wholegrain Bread Recipe. I snagged the best elements of two separate recipes and out came this. If it works, credit my mother and the Roger's Dark Rye Flour people. If it fails, you can leave me a sad comment and I'll commiserate.

Cat's Wholegrain Hodgepodge Bread

mix well:

2 cups warm water
1 TBSP honey
1 & 1/2 TBSP yeast

beat in:

A total of 4 cups of wholegrain flours - rye, homeground wheat, etc.; you can include 1/2 cup of bran and 1/2 cup of oats for variety.

2 TBSP lemon juice

Beat for 2 min. to soften gluten. This allows the bread to rise better.

add in:

1/3 cup of oil
2 cups milk, warmed to body temperature
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
unbleached flour to make a soft dough

Knead lightly, leaving dough soft. (Bread will go through stages of tough and relaxed as you knead. If you stop while it's "tough," it won't rise properly.)
Let rise for 30 minutes. Knead for about 10 minutes.
Let dough rest for 20 minutes.

Put in pans and rise till doubled in size. For rye bread, I like to make long loaves and bake them on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350F for about 90 minutes - keep an eye on it and figure out your time based on your own oven and bread-making methods.

Use this recipe to bribe disgruntled family members whenever necessary. The taste of wholegrain bread is irresistible.

Recipe

Posted by Chas on Friday 11 May 2007 at 08:15 - Link

That recipe sounds wonderful! I will give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
Have a great weekend!
Chas

Planting trees

Posted by Musketman on Friday 11 May 2007 at 11:10 - Link

What kind of trees did you plant?