A key secret: Use a Sun Oven. There's more secrets: read on!
The staff of life is bread and there is nothing better than home-made bread. It 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, Bosch Mixer and Global Sun Oven (or a regular oven).
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 white flour and it took a lot of kneading (your finger nails got clean though - bad joke) with two "rises" to make the bread. Probably one of my fondest memories on this earth is Mom's home-made bread. Absolutely nothing tastes or smells as good! I mostly make fresh ground whole wheat bread now and in my old age I let a machine do that hard kneading.
Whisper Mill
I grind my wheat in a Whisper Mill (now called a Wonder Mill). It takes just a few minutes, and fresh milled wheat is much better for you than anything you can buy in a store, even health food stores. The Whisper Mill is supposed to be quieter than other brands but it still will wake up the house if I use it too early in the morning. It is an impact grinder instead of a stone grinder. It produces very fine flour and takes only a couple of minutes to grind the wheat. 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 kernel offers. Though we can't really notice it, the oil in the wheat kernel goes bad in just a day or two, and it is said that fresh ground wheat should be used within an hour or so after milling.
I know fresh ground wheat bread tastes better than anything you can buy, even those six dollar loaves in health food stores. The reason it tastes better is because more of the good stuff is in the bread. It has been said that almost all of the good stuff has been taken out of white flour. The wheat germ is gone, the oil, the bran and other stuff.
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).
While I am grinding the wheat, I usually throw in a small handful of barley, oats and flax seed for a little extra nutrition and flavor. I don't use too much of the grains besides wheat because they don’t have the needed gluten. The gluten is what makes the dough sticky and pliable. The flax seed has a lot of oil in it so I add it and the other grains while I am grinding the wheat. I use Montana wheat because the protein is higher than most brands and they say it is the best wheat in the nation.
I have mixed in some of my red turkey storage wheat from Utah and other types of wheat with my Montana stuff and everything turns out fine. Other brands and types do not have as high of protein and some have said that other wheat doesn't rise as well, though I have not tried other brands alone. In Vegas I buy my wheat at WINCO. The price is darn low compared to years past prices!
I grind about six cups of raw wheat. It makes about 9 or 10 cups of flour. The way I was taught to make this recipe you do not use an exact measurement of flour. Each time the amount of flour varies slightly. So, if I don’t have enough ground wheat flour I add a little white flour until the dough is just right. If I grind too much for that day then I freeze the remainder and hope I use it within a couple of weeks.
Bosch Mixer
I use a Bosch mixer for the mixing and kneading. It is expensive, but worth every penny. It is now sold under the Wonder Mill name. The Kitchen Aid mixer is just not strong enough for whole wheat bread, as the motor gets hot and will shut down or burn out if you are not careful. The Bosch eliminates the need for kneading. The Bosch is so powerful; it only takes ten minutes after the ingredients are in it! And NO double rising period is needed. It would take three hours to form the proper gluten in whole wheat dough with a Kitchen Aid mixer, or more if kneading by hand. In a powerful Bosch it takes only ten minutes to form the gluten in fresh ground wheat dough. Of course, when using high gluten white flour you can do it by hand or in a regular mixer.
First you put in 4 cups of very warm (not HOT) water into the Bosch bowl. I try to keep it between 105 - 112 F. Next add a half of a cup of butter or oil. Any oil you like will do. I use olive oil but vegetable oil or butter will work fine. Butter seems to make the bread a little moister and rich.
Next add a half of a cup of honey. I next add a tablespoon of brown sugar and if I want the bread sweeter I add a little more sweet stuff. I put the honey in the same measuring cup after the oil, because the honey doesn't stick as much.
Next add the yeast, 1½ to 2 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. They say that the yeast only keeps for a few months, but I am using 6 year old yeast and it works just fine. It is dryer here in Vegas, so that could be a factor. 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. WINCO and Sprouts has the high gluten flour.
Next, add four tablespoons of non fat powdered milk. The machine is off now and the powder stuff is 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 though now I use a little less because of my low salt diet and the bread turns out fine. 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 the mixer 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 maybe. 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 and keep mixing.
Cooking Spray (oil)
Spray your hands, knife (to cut the dough) and bread board with cooking spray. Do NOT use flour on your bread board. Empty dough on board and cut it with a sharp knife, dividing into loaves (more below). Put about half of what the size of loaf you want in the loaf pan. Let it rise in a warm area until it has doubled in volume. I use the microwave as it is a perfect environment (Don't let anyone turn on the microwave, ha ha.) I use a small digital scale so I get the exact same weight for each loaf.
If it is chilly I put a pan of hot water on a shelf to add humidity. Most of the time, in this desert climate, I spray the top of the loaves with a quick shot of cooking spray. There are specialty sprays that are better, but I find any cooking spray works great. This prevents the rising dough from drying out and gives it a softer crust. Some people like tofu powder instead of powdered milk, but I have a lot of powdered milk in my food storage so I use the milk.
As mentioned above, I cut the dough with an oiled sharp knife or a pastry scraper, and then form the dough 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 for about 30-40 minutes in a regular oven until it looks done. When using the Sun Oven it takes a little longer, usually about 50-55 minutes. Let it cook until the bread is golden brown. Keep in mind that after pre-heating the Sun Oven, when putting in the loaves you let out most of the hot air and it will take a little while to get hot again. This makes the dough rise a little more than in a regular oven.
The Sun Oven keeps the moisture in the bread and other food so everything cooked in it naturally tastes better. Cooking bread in a Global Sun Oven is almost magic. You may not believe it until you try it.
Think about it: That wonderful smell you get when cooking bread (or anything) in a regular oven is actually moisture molecules from the food that is being released into the air. With a solar cooker, the moisture stays in the food, therefore it doesn't dry out as easily, doesn't stick to the pan (no hot spots), and tastes better than any other form of baking.
It all sounds complicated, and at first it kinda is. But ohhhh that taste. Nothing quite like fresh ground whole wheat bread! It tastes even better when piping hot. I can eat half of a loaf when it is hot.
This recipe makes about 7-8 small loaves but the Sun Oven will only fit three loaves at a time so I put the others in the refrigerator to slow down the rise.
If using the Sun Oven you may be tempted to open the glass door while the bread is cooking. I did that a couple of times, just to smell the bread. Well, when you do it will take a little longer to cook, and some of the valuable moisture is released when you do. I think that hot humid environment is part of the magic of cooking with the sun. When the glass gets a lot of moisture (droplets of water) on it then you know your bread is cooking real nice. It becomes a little hard to see the food being cooked when this happens, but trust me, everything is just fine. You will see the loaves gradually getting darker and darker. Take the bread out when ever you think it is the right color. I have NEVER cooked a bad loaf in the Sun Oven.
Two Bakers Secrets
Oh, a baker gave me a secret. He said, don't wash the pans with soap. If you have to, rinse them off with warm water and a little soft brush if needed, but keep the pan cured like a cast iron Dutch oven. Best to wipe the loaf pans without water, keeping them oily and ready. Using this method I never had a loaf stick to the pan. I clean the pans myself because someone might put them in the dishwasher, and that’s the worst thing for them.
The baker taught me another secret. He said put the loaves 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.
Don’t let warm bread sit in a bag at room temperature as moisture will form in the bag. This quick freeze method makes for a fresh loaf when you want it for dinner later in the week. Yum
I hope you try this! Happy cookin' in the sun. Mike
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