Homemade bread

I think a lot of people are afraid to attempt homemade bread.

Do not be afraid, its not really that hard

and it tastes so amazing!

Now my family does not eat enriched flour or white flour 

so for this recipe I use white whole wheat flour.

My favorite brand is King Arthur, I don't know what

makes theirs different but I find it rises consistently better

than the few other brands I have access to here in the middle of nowhere.

This recipe took me a few months to perfect,

so you are very welcome for saving you the time!

It works fantastically in a bread machine but can be done easily by hand.

The rise times will vary and you should pay more attention to

the size of your dough than the times I list here 

as out door temps, humidity, the age of your yeast 

and the color of the sunset and style of your underpants can all affect this.

(yes...I am joking about the last few) 

Here is what you need:

1 1/4 cup water (80-100 degrees)

2 1/4 tsp active yeast (or 1 packet instant yeast)

pinch of sugar

2 TBS coconut oil or olive oil

1/4 C pure maple syrup or raw honey

3 1/2 C 100%white whole wheat flour

1/4 C flax seeds (optional)

1 TBS vital wheat gluten

1 1/2 tsp salt

The first step is to put on your cutest apron:

 

Now you need to activate your yeast.

Turn your water on and warm it up to around 90 degrees

if its too cold your yeast won't activate and if its too hot you 

will kill it and either of these will lead to your dough not rising and dense

cardboard like loaves.  No thank you!

Gently stir the yeast into the warm water until it dissolves 

and then let it sit until it starts growing.

 

I try to avoid adding the sugar if possible but if after a few minutes 

you do not see a thick foam starting to form 

on the top of the mixture than 

add a pinch of sugar and gently stir it in, 

this 'feeds' the yeast and can help it activate faster.

Here is what the top should look like if its working:

Whatever you do, DON'T continue until your yeast is working!

I do this step first because its easy to discard the yeast and water and start over.

Do not be afraid to do that. Better to waste a little yeast

than ruin your bread!

Now is where the instructions separate.

If you have a bread machine:

Pour the water and yeast mix in the loaf pan,

then add the oil of choice and syrup or honey.

Next add the dry ingredients in the order they are listed.

My machine has settings for Wheat or White bread,

make sure you choose wheat as it usually has a time to preheat the 

machine allowing the yeast more time to grow

which helps give the extra rise that the denser heavier wheat flour requires.

So on my Breville I select Wheat bread (regular not rapid)

1.5 lb loaf and light crust.

Turn it on and walk away and in 3.5 hours you will have delicious bread!

 

If you do not have a bread machine:

buy a bread machine.

Haha!! I'm just kidding (sort of)

You can certainly make this by hand but after about 6 months of 

trying to knead bread dough with carpal tunnel I thought

my bread machine was truly a gift from God and

not just from my wonderful husband

In a big bowl,combine all of the dry ingredients and 

In another large bowl or stand mixer add the oil and honey or syrup into the yeast mixture.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ones mixing well as you go,

stir until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. 

This takes ALOT of elbow grease to incorporate all the flour so add it slowly while you stir

or rely on the power of the mixer with a dough hook attachment.

Let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes in the bowl.

Turn your oven on to 

preheat to 200 degrees

Once it reaches 200 degrees turn it off,

you will use the leftover built up heat

to help your dough rise.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also use your electric mixer for this step) 

At this point the dough should be soft, but still firm enough to knead. Adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary. 

The more you make this bread the better you will be at 

judging the perfect consistency at this point.

Now, transfer the dough to a lightly greased glass bowl, cover it with either a clean cloth or greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

I find that where I live I get a much more efficient rise if I place my bowl in my warmed up oven for this time. However if you live in a warmer climate or are making this in the summer the 

preheated oven may not be necessary for you.

After the rise time your dough should be large and airy,

Place your dough on a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. 

Transfer the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for another 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan. This can be done either on the counter

or again in a slightly warmed oven 

(do not leave the oven on while it is rising or 

it will start to slowly bake, 

just use the leftover heat from a low preheat as above)

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, 

tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent a crusty edge.

The finished loaf will register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center. 

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Cool completely before slicing and store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

I promise it sounds way harder than it is and the more you do it

the easier it gets! 

Good Luck.

~eat well, be well

Patty

Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Marinade

Happy Monday everyone!

Right now I am hosting a 3 week clean eating challenge

and while my family and 

I try to eat clean most of the time

it is easy to get stuck in a recipe rut.

I decided to use the group to test out some new recipes

and inject a little more excitement into

my kitchen than the last 

month or so.

Here is a non slow cooker chicken meal

bursting with flavor-

It does need some time to marinate

though so its not a last minute meal.

Here's what you need:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 C EVOO

1 large lemon (juice and zest)

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp Cumin

 

I was so excited to have a reason to use my new zester!

Zest the whole lemon into the olive oil and then add in the juice from the lemon 

make sure to squeeze it good- the more lemon the better I say!

(it should yield you about 1/4 cup of lemon juice

if your lemon is very small I would use 2)

whisk the oil and lemon together

and mince the garlic

(if 3 is too much garlic for you 

or your cloves are large only use 2)

Add the minced garlic, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes

and mix it well. 

cover your chicken with the marinade

and cover and refrigerate it

for at least 4 hours.

When you are ready to cook the chicken,

discard the marinade and grill the chicken

or cook in a frying pan for about 5 minutes/side 

or until it is cooked through.

This chicken should be moist and full of the subtle but 

zingy flavor of the lemon, garlic, cumin combo.

You can serve this any way you like-

we ate it over zucchini noodles

with pesto sauce and it was AMAZING!

If you make it let me know how you like it-

~eat well, be well

Patty 

Homemade Granola

 

The weather here this weekend was so yucky.

Ice falling from the sky and coating EVERYTHING.

It was definitely not the kind of day 

you run out to the grocery store

for no good reason so when I had

a giant craving for some granola I went scavenging in the pantry.

All I could find were some fiber one oats and chocolate 

granola bars that my kids love as a treat and that is not what I was hoping for.

A quick look on the Internet for clean granola landed me with

loads of recipes that used stuff I did not have already

and since I wasn't going out they were off the list.

I looked at my old favorite recipe for homemade granola bars

from The Pioneer Woman but was hoping to 

make something with less molasses and stuff, no chocolate

and of course I did not have any apple juice so that one

was out also.

So I decided to make up a recipe and 

surprise...IT WORKED!

Here is what you need:

2 3/4 C Old fashioned Oats

1/2 C Wheat germ

3/4 C chopped walnuts

1/4 C all natural Honey

1/2 C Unsweetened applesauce*

2 tsp cinnamon

*I used 3/4 C of applesauce but think it came out a touch gummy 

even after the egdes were starting to burn a bit so

I would try using just 1/2 C and only add a touch more if

you are having trouble wetting all the dry ingredients.

 

Preheat the oven to 325

and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the Oats, wheat germ and walnuts 

(you can use whatever kind of nut you have or like here

I just had the walnuts- mine were big though so

I put them in the food processor to chop them down to small bits)

in a large bowl and mix through.

Add the honey, applesauce and cinnamon into a smaller bowl

and whisk until smooth and well blended.

 

  

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients

and using your hands or a fork stir together

until the oats are covered evenly.

Spread the mixture out evenly onto

the parchment lined baking sheet

and place in the oven for about 60 minutes.

Be sure to stir it around every 10-15 minutes to ensure it gets

equally crusty and break up any large lumps.

 

Once it is dry and starting to look golden brown pull it out, let it cool

and then eat!!

 

(ok- you don't want to eat it all right away so

you could place it on an airtight container and save for later.)

I put mine in a mason jar and placed it in the fridge to make sure it

stays fresh but I don't expect it to last long as my 

first grader thinks it is a new exciting candy.

Score for me!! 

~eta well, be well

Patty