I decided that I wanted to be better at making things from scratch. I get tired of all the hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and other unnatural ingredients in all my foods. When we got to Oregon, I made a list of things I wanted to learn to do at some point in my life. A few of the domestic-type things were: make bread, learn to sew (I once learned this, but haven't done it in so long, I would be relearning this once-common activity), can (fruits, vegetables, etc), plant a vegetable garden, and grow my own herbs to use fresh and/or dry them for later use.So since we live 10 steps from the library, I decided to pick up a few books on baking bread. I found one called, "The Bread Bakers Apprentice." It is pretty in-depth; I had to learn a whole new language to really understand it all, but I decided to give it a whirl. It took me two days.
Day 1, I made what is called a soaker and a poolish. Basically, some flour, grains, water, yeast that had to sit overnight.
Day 2, I made the bread. There was a lot of specifics of how long to knead it, let it rise, divide, rise, bake.
As you can see from the picture above, I ended up with two, whole-wheat loaves that were really yummy! I was really proud of my first bread-baking attempt and turns out it was really fun! It's so cool to eat bread that wasn't bought in a store, but that I made in my own kitchen. I can't wait to try the next kind!
6 comments:
Good for you! I use my breadmaker a lot, but that's totally cheating when it comes to baking bread. The breadmaker bread is a little dense, though, and someday I want to try making a lighter bread from scratch.
Have you ever used white whole wheat flour? I know King Arthur puts it out and I'm not sure who else. It's amazing. All the nutrients of whole wheat without the heavy, bitter taste. I use it in everything I bake including pancakes and muffins. I love it.
Jess-
I would highly recommended to you my best wedding present and fav cooking book - "More With Less" (Mennonite cookbook). In it's mennonite way, it focuses on healthy ingredients, eaten in season, with a consideration of the world's poor in how food is grown and consumed. Seriously worth the investment.
Becky and I have experimented with canning these last 3 summers and add a couple new fruits/veggies each year (as well as gardening strategies, although maybe not applicable to the NW). We could let you know about all the mistakes we've made so far :) ...
mmmmmmmm... save the crust for me.
Jessica - good for you - I've never made bread from scratch. Your dad and grandma Mary can tell you all about gardening, canning & growing herbs. Your dads favorite are garlic chives.
Love, mom
Nice work!!! i have a few similar interests...so sad you dont live closer, but Oregon sounds like fun.How is everything going out there?
yum, I want a piece!
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