Wednesday, September 23, 2009

fruity, nutty 350

I have joined up with Transition Milwaukee and The Victory Garden Initiative to challenge Milwaukee to plant at least 350 fruit and nut trees bushes or vines by Oct 24th the international day of action. Join Us. you can plant one on your own or check the VGI website if you want to volunteer to plant else where. We are working on setting up a few actions people can join in. http://thevictorygardeninitiative.com/ Minors Harden center told me they have lots of good edibles left and they
also my favorite Milwaukee group; http://transitionmilwaukee.ning.com/ hope to post more about this later!
make an actio yourself because this in the number we all need in our heads to save our world!! 350.org

Saturday, September 5, 2009

How I do the no knead bread recipe

             This recipe was based on the New York Times no knead bread recipe when I started.   Now I make this bread mainly with fresh rolled grains; oats, wheat, barley, a little flax, lentils, and sunflower seeds etc mixed with some store bought flour for lightness.  Whole grains spoil quickly once they are milled, so it is hard to buy fresh and tasty whole wheat flour and bread.  I believe that this is the main reason many people think they don't like whole wheat.  They most likely just don't like the taste of spoiled grain which gets bitter and dull and makes dry bread.   (Listen to Michale Pollan and Amy Goodman talk about this on D.N)   I make my batches with as much as 4 and 1/2 cups grains and I let it sit sometimes for 2 days, it is not as light but it has a nice mild sour taste.
I recommend making this recipe as I have it below first, learn that texture of the dough then make it bigger.   I don't have exact measurements for a larger batch at the moment.   I like this bread more than kneaded yeast dough that I was making with the bread machine. the crust is a little harder sometimes but it tastes less yeasty and slices nicer. If you bake it just a little on the under done side and add a tad more water the crust can be softer.

3 Cups grains and flour.  Rolled grains have more air or space in them, when I started I did about half flour, half home rolled grain.
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 & 1/4 teaspoon salt ( I use a little less)
just a hair over 1 & 1/2 cups warm water

mix together until it is all wet
put it in greased baking dish or glass bread pan
cover it and let it sit 12-20 hours, I put it on top of the fridge.
bake at 350 - 400 for around 45-60 min,
Take out of pan but don't wash your pan, after a few uses it get easier to get the bread out.

For a while I made two loaves at the same time because they go so fast.    I also mixed all the dry ingredients together for 6 batches at a time and put the extra batches in jars on a shelf then the next morning I only need to add water and put it on top of the fridge for the next batch while I am baking that days. SO EASY.   for treats add raisins, cinnamon spices etc.

After doing this for a few months I know the right texture and have learned that you can be a little loose with the measurements. ( like I put in a tad less salt a bit more flour and water sometimes...)
here is a link to the grain roller I use.
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Natural_Goods___Hand_Cranked_Items___Roller_Mill_for_Grain___16595?Args=&customField1=W9

Here is my prescription for the vast majority of us: You need to be in a relatively safe place outside with others