Bread Making
In emergencies, as well as daily life, the staff of life is bread. Home-made bread is healthier than store bought and it is cheaper and better tasting. Here is a recap of my method of making fresh-ground whole wheat bread using the Whisper Mill and Bosch Mixer. The quantities will be verified in the next day or two as I wrote this from memory.
The way I make bread was taught to me by a friend in Las Vegas. I originally learned to make white bread from my Mother where we used plain ole white flour and it took a lot of kneading with two "rises" to make the bread, but I do it differently now.
Whisper Mill
I grind my wheat in a Whisper Mill. It takes just a few minutes, and fresh milled wheat is soo much better for you than anything you can buy in a store, even health food stores. Once the grain is milled into flour, it starts to loose its vitamins immediately. Even store bought whole wheat grain flour is missing a lot of the real value that the wheat kernal offers. Though we can't really notice it, the oil in the wheat kernal goes bad in just a day or two, and it is said that fresh ground wheat should be used within a half an hour after milling.
I know fresh ground wheat bread tastes better than anything you can buy, even those four dollar loaves in health food stores. The reason it tastes better is because more of the good stuff is in the bread.
I make different size batches, depending on my method of cooking. If I am cooking in the Global Sun Oven, I make a smaller batch because the darn little cooker only cooks so much. When using the Sun Oven I usually make 6 loaves and cook three at a time. This last time I made 8 loaves, three large and five small loaf pans, because it was cloudy and I like the smell of cooked bread in the house anyway. We immediately freeze the loaves for fresh taste and just take out a small one a few minutes before dinner (more on that later). I will post the exact (almost) recipe later. I say almost, because the amount of flour changes every time you bake. You will see what I mean.
Bosch Mixer
I then use a Bosch mixer for the mixing and kneading. It is expensive, but worth every penny. The Kitchen Aid mixer is just not strong enough for bread, as the motor gets hot and will shut down or burn out if you are not careful. The Bosch eliminates the nead for kneading. It is so powerful, it only takes ten minutes after the ingredients are in it.
While I am grinding the wheat, I usually throw in a small handfull of barley and oats just for fun. Don't use too much of the other grain, as it will take away from the gluten. The gluten is what makes the dough sticky and pliable. It would take three hours to form the proper gluten in a Kitchen Aid, or kneading by hand, that is produced in ten minutes with the Bosch. The other grains (any will do) just add a little flavor and healthy stuff to the mix.
First you put in 4 cups of warm water into the Bosch bowl. Next a third of a cup of butter or oil. Any oil you like will do. I've used olive oil, vegetable oil or butter. Butter seems to make the bread a little moister and rich.
Next is about a third of a cup of honey. I sometimes add a tablespoon of brown sugar and if I want the bread sweeter I add more sweet stuff. I put the honey in the same measuring cup after the oil, because the honey doesn't stick.
Next the yeast. About two tablespoons is great. I turn on the machine for a second or two to mix up the yeast with the water and sweet stuff. This gets the yeast going and bubbles start to form in the goop. I use the granular stuff and buy it by the pound in the vacuum bags from Sam's Club. The little packets are way too expensive. Keep yeast refrigerated.
Then you add a couple of tablespoons of "dough enhancer" and "gluten". These are not essential but I like to use them. They should be available from a kitchen center. I always get mine from a local store, so I really don't know where you get the stuff in other communities.
Next powdered milk. I can't remember the quantities, I think it is about four tablespoons. The machine is off now and the powder stuff just sitting on the water goop. Next I put about six cups of my fresh flour to cover the water. I then put in the salt. It's about 1 1/2 tablespoons. I don't put the salt in the goop because salt kills the yeast. I put it on top of the first batch of flour so it will be mixed up gradually when I mix up the flour with the liquid.
Turn on machine and the mixture will be very soupy or thin. Next you add flour until the mixture is right. No, you don't measure the flour. You just scoop it in. That is what I meant about variable measurements. Every time it takes a different amount. I can't explain it, it just does. Something to do with the humidity, or something.
Keep adding flour until the dough gets thick and starts to separate from the side of the mixing bowl. Be careful here, watch it close and when it is getting close, just add flour a tablespoonful at a time. Watch the lower edge of the bowl, and when the dough just stops sticking to the bowl, stop adding flour. If you run out of ground wheat flour and it is not at the right stage, don't stop and grind more wheat. You don't have time. Just have a little white flour handy and add a little until the mixture is right.
When right, set your timer for ten minutes. Not a minute less or a minute more.
Spray Pam (oil)
Pam your hands, knife (to cut the dough) and bread board. Do NOT use flour on bread board. Empty dough on board and divide into loaves and put into pammed loaf pans. Put about half of what the size of loaf you want. Let it rise in a warm area until it had doubled in volume. I use the microwave chamber for a couple of loaves, as it is is perfect environment.
If it is chilly I put the pans in the cold oven with a pan of hot water on a shelf to add humidity. Sometimes, in this desert climate, I spray the top of the loaves with a quick shot of pam. There are other sprays that are better, but I find pam works great.
Some people like tofu powder instead of powdered milk, but I have so much of the stuff I use the milk.
I cut the dough with a sharp knife, then form into a ball by rotating it on the oiled board with the palms of my hands, all the time pushing in at the bottom forming a perfectly smooth, round ball of dough. Gently squeeze the ball to form the loaf with a slight pulling motion to form a small loaf. Put in pan and let rise.
Cook at 350 degrees F until it looks great. I usually cook it for less than a half an hour, but others have said that it takes up to 45 minutes. I also use the sun oven and let it cook until it looks good and golden brown (about fifty minutes). Not a real timed thing. I am just used to cooking that way.
It all sounds complicated, and at first it kinda is. But ohhhh that taste. Nothing quite like hot bread! I can eat 3/4 of a loaf when it is hot.
Two Bakers Secrets
Oh, a baker gave me a secret. He said, don't wash the pans with soap. Rinse them off with warm water and a little soft brush if needed, but keep the pan cured like a cast iron dutch oven. Oily and ready. Using this method I never had a loaf stick to the pan. I clean the pans myself cause my wife will put them in the dishwasher. Worst thing for them.
The baker taught me another secret. He said put them in a plastic bread bag just before they get to room temperature, not AT room temp. This goes against everything we have been taught. While they are still a LITTLE warm on the wire bread rack, put them in a bag, seal them and put them in the freezer immediately. All except the ones you are munching on, of course. This makes for a fresh loaf when you want it for dinner later in the week. Yum
Got to go, I will see if I missed anything on the recipe, but I do it without thinking, so I think it is right. Different when you try to tell someone else how to do it. Easier just to do it.
See ya. Mike
