Yesterday was a busy day...we did laundry (David hangs jeans, bedding, towels, etc. on the clothesline), I made four loaves of my really good home-made bread, gave David a hair cut (I've been his barber for 40 years...and so far, no one has said he needs to find a new barber!), and I finished printing out an entire package of 4x6 photos of the Civil War battle sites we visited on our recent trip for my cousin, Jim Cooper, who also does genealogy.
My bread recipe is printed at the end of this post. It is taken from The Tassajara Bread Book, which was published by Shambhala Publications, Inc. in Berkeley, California in 1970 (and reprinted for several years after that...)
Today, I got my teeth cleaned as part of my 'spring tune-up.' I always hate to eat lunch after that because those fantastically clean teeth just start getting gummed up all over again.
Tonight were invited to have dinner with several other couples who are also clients of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The location was Montage in Cedar Falls, a very nice and elegant eating establishment. We had a good time, talking, laughing, and enjoying the company of the two nice (young) agents who invited us to the dinner, along with their pretty spouses. It was also nice to meet some other folks from the area who also have insurance and investments with Thrivent.
Tassajara Yeasted Bread
(Four loaves.)
I. 6 c. lukewarm water (85-105 degrees F.)
2 T. yeast (2 packages dry yeast)
1/2 to 3/4 c. sweetening (honey, molasses, brown sugar - I use honey from a bee-keeper here in Iowa)
2 c. dry milk powder (optional)
7-9 c. whole wheat flour (I use a mixture of grains and seeds here - about 1 c. rolled oats, some sunflower seeds and some pumpkin seeds, about 1/2 c. of flax seed meal, some gluten flour - but you don't have to add that, wheat germ if I have it, about 1 - 1 1/2 c. rye flour, and good quality whole wheat flour - organic, if I can get it)
II. 1 T. salt (I use sea salt)
1/2 - 1 c. oil (I use peanut or some other oil that is high in omega 3)
6-8 c. additional flour (depending on what I have on hand, this could be bread flour or more whole wheat flour - using bread flour makes the loaves a bit less 'heavy' - I go light with the additional flour until I see how quickly it seems to 'firm' up... you can always add more flour, but once its in there, you can't remove it!)
2-3 c. whole wheat flour (for kneading - just spread out part of this amount...depending on the humidity in the air, flour can be dry or more moist, and it is better to knead in more flour if the dough is sticky than putting in too much flour, which can make the dough more tough)
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water (if the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your bread will be hard and won't rise much)
Stir in sweetening and dry milk.
Stir in the first amount of whole wheat flour (and/or other grains/seeds) until a thick batter is formed. I use a large whisk to get all the ingredients well mixed.
Beat well with a spoon (or a whisk!)
Cover your bowl (I use a very large Tupperware bowl with a matching lid), and set your timer for 60 minutes, to let the 'sponge' rise.
Fold in the salt and the oil.
Fold in the additional flour, except for the amount you are using to knead the dough. Stir with a wooden spoon (the whisk won't make it through this thick dough at this point...) until the mixture is well-combined and the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead the dough on a counter top or board which has been well-floured with some of the 'kneading flour.' I keep adding more of this flour until the dough is no longer really sticky, and starts getting smooth and 'elastic.' Continue kneading your bread for 10-15 minutes total, until the dough feels and looks 'smooth.'
Put the dough back into the big bowl, and cover it. Let it rise (preferable in a warm spot) for 50 minutes (set your timer again.)
Punch the dough down, and put the cover back on the bowl.
Let rise 40 minutes.
I knead the dough briefly, and then gather it into an oval shape, and cut the dough into fourths, once from top to bottom and once across the middle, trying to get approximately the same amount of dough into each segment.
I shape my loaves by taking each segment and starting at one end, I make a roll of dough with my fingers, and then continue rolling the dough toward the opposite end to form a loaf. This loaf will have somewhat elongated ends. Just fold them under slightly, and put each loaf into a well-greased bread loaf pan. Repeat with the other three segments, and place the bread pans on top of your oven, which has been turned on to 400 degrees to preheat.
Set your timer, cover the loaves with a clean tea towel, and let them rise 20 minutes, or until they have begun to rise above the top of the loaf pan a bit.
Bake the loaves until they are golden brown on top, and sound 'hollow' when you tap the top of them, about 45 minutes. Check to see if they seem 'done,' and put them back into the oven if they are not. At this temperature, they will bake rapidly from this point on, so be careful to not let them burn. (Sometimes the bottoms of my loaves look pretty dark, but often they are not really burnt, but just a nice, firm crust on the bottom....you will learn how to tell when they are 'just right!')
Remove the loaves from the pans onto a wire rack and let them cool, or eat some right away (with butter or honey!) I let the loaves get completely cool, and then put them into clean bread bags, or other plastic bags that can accommodate a loaf of bread. We put three into the freezer and eat from one loaf at a time.
Note: Sometimes I mix an egg and some water, and use that to coat the tops of the loaves before I bake them. After brushing on the egg mixture, I sprinkle the loaves with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, oatmeal or other nice topping. Then I brush them once again with the 'egg wash' to seal the seeds in so they won't fall off after the bread is baked.
So, there you have it...the Rueber secrets to make a healthy, tasty loaf of home-made bread!
Have at it!
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