Yum. I can still smell the aroma from the Sunflower Oatmeal bread we baked last night. We make a batch of bread at least once a week. It is part of our school “work”-and it is my belief that the process of baking bread is as nourishing to the soul as eating it is for your body. I am going to share the recipe below. Although this particular bread did not come from a book, if you are new to bread making, I recommend this great book called “Whole Foods for Whole People”. It teaches the process in a gentle way. I do not use the book so much for the recipes anymore (they are in my brain) but, I completely love to read and re-read the the text portions, focused on nutrition and menu planning. And I LOVE love love the simple art work on the cover and inside. This is one (of many) that I consider to be a ‘must have’ on your shelf. Here is a quick excerpt… (now, before you read…PLEASE know that this is a tiny bit old-fashioned…considering that it only mentions bread making as a sacred duty for females…I strongly disagree with this…in a non-feminist way-if that is possible. Simply put…my belief is that it is a sacred duty for all PEOPLE. So, here it is…of course I am typing it like it is in the book…just substitute for yourself to keep happy)…
“It is a sacred duty for every girl and woman to learn to make good, light bread from unrefined flour. Mothers should take their daughters into the kitchen with them, when very young, and teach them the art of cooking. She should instruct them patiently, lovingly, and make the work as agreeable as she can, by her cheerful countenance and encouraging words. If a love for cooking and other necessary domestic duties is once implanted, it will never be lost! It will also prove a real safeguard from idle moments during the restless teens and will help prepare a young woman for a happy home of her own. Today much worthless information is passed on to youth in the name of “education”, while the earnest duties of life are passed over, with hardly a mention. Good cooking is one of the most essential branches of education, especially for young women”
I think the second to last sentence there might just be why we homeschool!! Ok…I am a bit pressed for time this morning so instead of my usual rambling, I am going to post the recipe and get outside…we have sunny skies this morning and our bodies are in much need of moving in the light! Feel free to post a question, I will answer as quickly as I can.
Ingredients: (you will also need a good cooking thermometer and a flour sifter- I think these are the only two things that might not by lying around)
1 1/2 T dry yeast
1 Cup warm water (my yeast packets suggest “warm” to be 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit-if you are dissolving the yeast in the water like in this recipe-work fast to get the yeast in the water and keep it in a warm place so it holds the temperature for a bit.)
1 T honey (please use your local honey-more on that topic another day!)
1 stick of room temperature butter (do not melt it…just leave it out for a bit before you begin making it-or give it to your toddler to “play with” for a bit…it’ll warm right up)
3-4 T honey (Plus a little more to brush on top at the end)
1 T salt (Celtic sea salt is my favorite…)
3 cups warm milk (or water) (either one you choose, stick to the same temperature “rules” that you did for dissolving the yeast-I have ruined one too many loaves of bread by killing the yeast (too hot) or not growing the yeast (too cool).
4-5 Cups Spelt Flour (you will need 5 cups -maybe more- but, leave one of the cups aside)
4-5 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (you will need 5 cups -maybe more-but, leave one of the cups aside)
Sunflower seeds (about 1 cup plus a little more for the top)
Oatmeal (Quaker is fine-I like whole oats in bread-makes it more crunchy)( 1/2 to 1 cup…plus a little more for the top)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the 1T of honey in the cup of warm water. Then, pour the yeast in. Don’t stir it (tempting, I know). Set it aside for 10 minutes in a warm place and let it get foamy. Meanwhile, put the butter, the rest of the honey and salt in a large (save yourself time now…go for the big one) bowl. Warm the milk (or water) and pour it over the ingredients in the bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Add the 4 cups of Spelt flour and the 4 cups of Whole Wheat flour and the oatmeal and sunflower seeds. Stir it with a wooden spoon or you can mix it with your hands. Just combine the ingredients for now…don’t over work it. Cover the bowl with a cloth and place it in a warm place to rise for 10-15 minutes. Once this time has passed, uncover it and add the remainder of the flours (1 cup of each) and flour the counter top and your hands well. Your dough needs to be “knead-able”-if it is too sticky, add more flour-just keep the balance of the two flours). This is where the recipe literally needs your intuition…you must just “know” when the dough is the right consistency and texture…you cannot take out flour once you add it…so, a just add a little at a time. Once it is workable, knead it for 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic-not too sticky. Divide the dough in half- (I think next time I will divide it into thirds so my cooking time is shorter). Grease whatever you are cooking it in well. Once it is ready to bake, brush the top with honey and sprinkle it with oats and sunflower seeds. Cook one pan at a time-the rest can just sit on the counter and rise some more.
A couple of options…you can make rolls or loaves or whatever! I can not give you an exact cooking time…I use stoneware to bake in-so, my cooking time is always longer (50 minutes or so for a loaf-half of the dough). Rolls cook nicely in about 18-20 minutes. Really- bread is a lot intuition. Don’t assume your bread is cooked through in the beginning…cut into it and see if it is “doughy”-it is a real learning process and it will take a few times to get it down. Once you “get it”, you will not forget it! Write it down each time and make note of what you did differently and what worked or didn’t. I am constantly making changes in my recipe! I have no idea where this particular recipe came from…but I have it written down and would give credit if I could! I will say that I have altered it a bit and tweaked it so that it works for me…it was one of the first recipes I tried it was way too vague for me and I messed it up a bunch of times before I got it right!
Off to soak up the sun…Peace!
Just Plain Living... 