Whole Wheat Bread

I don't often do whole wheat bread.  I am picky.  I like a moist bread with a good whole wheat nutty flavor and with a soft crumb that slices well.  That takes a little time - not really more work, just more time.  There are a few tricks to getting the bread just the way I like it without turning it into a whole wheat brick.  It takes science.

I love science.

I am going to be teaching my 13 year old daughter the science of cooking for her science (home school) class next year.Here is some of what I will be doing.  Tell me what you think.

Making bread is basic.  Every culture on earth has some kind of bread.  In the USA, most people buy their bread.  You can get squishy bread, heavy bread, almost any kind you want.  We are going to concentrate on yeast breads.  Artisan breads use very little yeast, but they taste so good.  These breads are usually fermented with the little bit of yeast, the process taking a couple of days.  Not hard, but I usually make a "quick" yeast bread.  This type of bread uses more yeast, shortening the time.

Yeast is one of the common factors.  It works by converting sugars to ethyl alcohol and releasing carbon dioxide gas (the byproduct).  It is the carbon dioxide which makes the bread rise.

During this fermentation process, the gluten in the wheat relaxes and becomes more supple and elastic.  While this is happening, the carbon dioxide from the yeast is blowing air into the elastic dough like a balloon.  That is where you get the tiny "bubbles" in bread.  Each time the bread dough rises, you get a different elasticity and bubbles.  Even if you punch down the dough, effectively popping those bubbles, the yeast will continue to work and make more.  This happens even in the oven until the heat of the oven kills the yeast (yep, it's alive) - this last rise in the oven is called the "spring".

The lighter the flour (meaning how much of the actual grain bran was removed) the easier it is for the yeast to inflate the dough.  With whole wheat dough, there are some tricks to help this process along.

One of the tricks is to use a little bit of white flour.  I know, it is not 100% whole wheat, but it is still good.  Another trick is to soak the whole wheat flour in the milk for at least 8 hours.  This is what the artisan bread makers do.  We aren't going to do that this time.

One trick I do is to turn the dough during it's first rising.  This removes large gas bubbles and helps the yeast to ferment the dough more evenly.  I also make a shallow slash in the top of the dough right before sticking it in the oven.  Have you noticed the "slits" cut in most artisan breads?  This makes it easier for the dough to spring in the oven.

We also cover the dough while it is rising.  The reason we do this is to not let the surface of the dough make a crust in the air.  If it makes a crust, the job of the yeast is thwarted.  It can't rise to it's full potential.

Whole Wheat Bread

1 Tablespoon dry yeast (1 package)

1 can evaporated milk plus enough water to make 2 cups

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup molasses OR honey OR brown sugar

1/2 cup oil plus more for oiling the bowl

1 cup oatmeal

2 cups white flour

5 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) salt

1 Tablespoon butter, melted (optional)

Combine the milk, water, and molasses in a large mixing bowl.  Add the yeast a stir just to barely combine.  Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes.  You should see a bubbly concoction in your bowl.  This means that your yeast is alive and hard at work.  If it isn't bubbly, start over.

Add the remaining ingredients, except butter, to the yeast mixture.  Using a dough hook, knead until the dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl.

If you are kneading by hand, add the oil, oatmeal, salt and half of the flours.  Mix.

Turn out your dough onto a floured surface.  Add the flours, kneading the whole time, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Put the dough into an oiled large bowl.  Flip the dough so there is oil on both sides of the dough.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 30-40 minutes.  It should double in size.

Remove the plastic wrap and punch down the dough.  With a rubber spatula, fold the dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward the middle.  Turn the bowl and do it again.  You are going to do this 8 times.

Cover the dough with the plastic and let it rise again for about 30 minutes.

Grease 2 loaf pans.  Punch down the dough and divide it in half.

Press half of the dough into a rectangle and roll it into a loaf.  Put it in the pan.

Repeat.

Cover the loaf pans with plastic wrap and let them rise again.  You want them to rise about 1 inch over the edge of you pan, about 20 minutes.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

When your dough has risen, make a shallow slit in the top (this is totally optional, it will be wonderful without it.)

Brush the slit with a bit of the melted butter.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when gently tapped (the loaves should register 200 degrees if you want to take its internal temperature.)  Brush the tops of your loaves with the remaining butter.

Remove loaves form the pans and let cool to room temperature.

This will keep (wrapped) for about 3 days.  If you won't finish 2 loaves of bread in 3 days - not a problem in my house - wrap one of the loaves in plastic and foil and freeze it.

Lovely.

A+

Strawberry Lemonade Jam

We have been loving the Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate that I made.  Because we have been going through it, I decided to make another batch.  I pureed the rest of my strawberries, which came to 4 cups.  Fine.  I could deal with that, even though the recipe says 6 cups.  I could adjust.  Easy peasy.  Then, I juice the rest of my lemons.  I only had 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice.  Oops.

It was after the stores had closed, too.

Double oops.

Not wanting anything to go to waste, I decided to try to make the fruit into jam.

Eureka!

It is so good!  The color stayed more true to the strawberry color, probably due to the large amount of lemon.  It is sweet and tart.  Lovely.  My 18 year old daughter says that it is her new favorite.  High praise, indeed.

All of my kiddos have been eating it all week.  They LOVE it in plain yogurt.

Here is what I did.

You're welcome.

Strawberry Lemonade Jam

makes about 7 half pints

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 cups pureed strawberries (a little less that 4 pounds)

pat of butter (optional)

4 cups sugar

1 package (3 Tablespoons) low-sugar pectin

Prepare your canner, jars and lids.

In a large saucepan, combine the lemon juice, strawberry puree, butter and pectin.

Heat the fruit until it comes to a hard boil.

Add all of the sugar, all at once.

Stir until it comes to a hard boil, again.

Boil for 1 minute.

Remove jam from the heat.

Skim off the foam and let your kiddos taste it.  

Ladle the hot jam into your prepared, hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe the rim.

Center the lids on jars and screw the band down until fingertip tight.

Place jars in your canner, making sure they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes.

Remove from boiling water bath to a towel covered counter.  Cool and wait for the pings of your jars sealing.  Store sealed jars in your pantry.  If any jars don't seal, store them in your refrigerator.

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate

Finally it is June.  I planted my garden with the help of PapaH and the kiddos.  It has rained to water the garden.

And rained.

And rained.

*sigh*

I am thankful for the rain.  It makes everything so green and beautiful.  I would like to be thankful for the sunshine, too.  Soon.

Lemonade makes me think of sunny summer days.  Strawberry lemonade is a step beyond.  I am smiling just thinking of it.  Strawberries are also in season right now.  Go ahead, get a bunch.  This concentrate is so easy to do.  I got the recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  If you don't have it yet, go get it.

The recipe says to reconstitute one part concentrate with one part water.  This is a little too strong for me and my family (even the kiddo who likes things strong enough to dance on.)  I reconstitute it with 3 parts water and ice to one part concentrate.  Perfect.

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate

6 cups of hulled strawberries

4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 cups sugar

Prepare your canner, jars and lids.  This made 6 pints plus more to make a big pitcher of lemonade right away because who wants to wait.

Juice lemons and add to a large stainless steel saucepan.

In a blender or a food processor, puree strawberries until smooth.  Add to the lemon juice in the saucepan.

Add the sugar and stir it up.

Heat the mixture to 190 degrees, stirring occasionally.  This will be right before it starts to boil (you don't want it to boil.)

Ladle the hot concentrate into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe the rim and place hot lids and bands on the jars.  Tighten.

Place your jars in your canner, making sure they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes.  Remove  jars, cool and store.

Bread and Butter Pudding (plus healthy living hints from 1887)

A few years ago, my mom gave me a cookbook.  Okay, she has given me many cookbooks, but this one is like a history lesson.  It is a 2003 reprint of The Original White House Cook Book - 1887 edition

It has the original measurements, comments and recipes.  So cool!

This cookbook can be a challenge to use today, however.  Measurements are a little different.  Common measurements in this cookbook are a teacup, a coffee cup (and parts of each), a handful (whose hand?!), a dollop, etc.  I have loved playing with it.

There are many handy tips, too.  Tips for bread making, such as:

Home-made yeast is preferred to any other.  Yeast now sold in many grocery stores can make a fine bread, and can always be had fresh, being made every day.

Tips for knowing if your oven is the right temperature to bake a cake:

The heat should be tested before the cake is put in, which can be done by throwing on the floor of the oven a tablespoonful of new flour.  If the flour takes fire, or assumes a dark-brown color, the temperature is too high, and the oven must be allowed to cool;  if the flour remains white after the lapse of a few seconds, the temperature is too low. When the oven is of the proper temperature, the flour will slightly brown and look slightly scorched.

Awesome.

I don't know if I will ever use this information, but you never know.  There are instructions for carving, toast, recipes for everything, even suggestions in regard to Health, toilet recipes and the management of State Dinners.

I thought that I could tackle a recipe for bread pudding.  I will type the instructions from the book and then put what I actually did.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Butter the sides and bottom of a deep pudding dish, then butter thin slices of bread, sprinkle thickly with sugar, a little cinnamon, chopped apple, or any fruit you prefer between each slice, until your dish is full.  Beat up two eggs, add a soup spoon of wheat flour; stir with this three cupfuls of rich milk and a little salt; pour this over the bread, let it stand one hour and then bake slowly, with a cover on, three-quarters of an hour; then take the cover off and brown.  Serve with wine and lemon sauce. Pie-plant, cut up in small pieces with plenty of sugar, is fine made in this manner.

Bread and Butter Pudding

I made a huge pan of this to feed 18 people.  Feel free to scale it down.

12 large croissants, cut in half (You could use brioche, challah, or home-made bread, sliced)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 cups blueberries (or any fruit you want)

4 eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cups half and half (I didn't know what "rich milk" was)

I don't know what pie-plant is.  I guess I need to google it.

Generously butter your baking pan.  Mine was 16x11, half of the recipe should fit in a 13x9 inch pan just fine.

Butter the bread and layer half in the baking dish.  Sprinkle half of the sugar, half of the cinnamon and half of the fruit. Repeat.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl with the flour and salt.  Add the half and half and beat.  Pour over the bread.  Let the bread and egg mixture soak for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cover your pudding with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.  Let cool.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream, lemon sauce, or wine sauce if desired.  It think it would be good with lemon curd, too.

Here are the recipes (from the book) for Old-Style Sauce, what I used - except I used plain Greek yogurt because I didn't have any sour cream, and for Sauce for Pudding (Superior) which I would have used if I had had any wine.

Sauce for Pudding (Superior)

Cream together a cupful of sugar and half a cupful of butter; when light and creamy, add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs.  Stir into this one wine-glass of wine or one of brandy, a pinch of salt and one large cupful of hot cream or rich milk.  Beat this mixture well; place it in a sauce-pan over the fire, stir it until it cooks sufficiently to thicken like cream.. Be sure and not let it boil.  Delicious.

Old-Style Sauce

One pint of sour cream, the juice and finely grated rind of a large lemon; sugar to taste.  Beat hard and long until the sauce is very light.

PS - I just have to add these other helpful hints from 1887.

Leanness - Take plenty of sleep, drink all the water the stomach will bear in the morning on rising...cultivate jolly people, and bathe daily.  :)

Under the heading "Health Suggestions" - When your body is over-heated ... be very careful about sitting down to 'cool off', as the custom of some is, by removing a part of the clothing and sitting in a cool place where there is a draught of air passing over your body.  The proper way to 'cool off' when over-heated is to put on more clothing, especially if you are in a cool place; but never remove a part of the clothing you have already on.  If possible, get near a fire where there is no wind blowing.  (I wonder what they would have thought about todays clothing and air conditioning.)

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

I am doing pretty good on my life change, let's get healthy, I need to be a "normal" size journey.  I have been following the program I have chosen and I have dropped 24 pounds in 4 weeks.

Patting myself on the back

I feel better and I have more energy.  I still get hungry a lot, but that's okay.  I had a "moment" when I gave in to a little emotional eating - a favorite of mine-  but I am working through it.  

In the process, I am creating a bunch of new favorite recipes.  This was one of them.  It serves 6 because that is how many I cook for.  Cut down the recipe any way you see fit.  It's all good.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 cup of cooked spinach OR thawed frozen spinach

3 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

3 ounces low fat cream cheese, room temperature

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon seasoning, I used Emeril's Original seasoning

kitchen twine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pound the chicken breast flat.  I pounded them with my rolling pin.  It was oddly satisfying. It is easier if you do it between 2 sheets of plastic wrap.  I didn't.  I will next time, trust me.

In a medium bowl, combine the cheddar cheese, cream cheese and spinach.  Stir it up.

Divide the spinach mixture between each chicken breast.

Make rolls of each chicken breast.  Tie those puppies together with the kitchen twine.  Do your best.  It can get messy. I didn't have kitchen twine, so I used quilting thread.  It worked, but it was more difficult that it had to be.  I will be getting kitchen twine next time I go to the store.

Place the chicken in a baking pan.

Spread the olive oil onto each breast. (okay, I am snickering here. Don't judge me.)

Add the seasoning on top.

Bake the chicken for 35 - 40 minutes.

Untie those breasts before serving. (I am still snickering.  good grief. My mind is like a 12 year old.)

Mango Salsa

Last time I went to Costco, I bought a flat of mangoes.  Yummy.  Normally we would go through that flat in no time.  Alas, I forgot that 3 of the 5 of us at home are not eating carbs (that includes mangoes) for the time being.  

I hate to waste food.

I have enough jam.

I thought of chutney.  Maybe next time.

Mango salsa.  It is so good.  I like mine with a little bit of a kick.  If you are making it and don't want the picante kick, just use less jalapeños.  This recipe makes about 5 pints.

Mango Salsa

1/2 cup white vinegar

9 cups chopped, peeled, pitted mangoes (firm are great.  Mine were not firm and it was fine.)

2 cups chopped sweet onion, about 1 large

3-5 jalapeños, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon ground fresh ginger root

juice of 2 limes

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Prepare canner, jars and lids.

Get your boiling bath ready.

In a large sauce pan, combine the mangoes with the vinegar.  Give it a stir.

Dump in all of the other ingredients and stir it up.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Screw on band.

Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Remove to counter and listen for the ping.

Scallops with Pesto and Pasta (or spaghetti squash for me)

 

I have been craving seafood, among anything that sounds like it has lots and lots of carbs.  I am ignoring the carb craving, but there is no reason not to indulge in the seafood craving.  Yum.  When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to cook some kind of seafood tonight, she looked shocked.  It came out that she never cooked seafood.  She loved it.  Ordered it in restaurants frequently.  But, she was afraid to cook it herself.

Wow.

I had no idea.

I am poor financially challenged due to having 4 kiddos, one on a mission, one in college, one in high school (we all know that public school isn't free), and one home schooled.  What this translates to is that I don't often have the opportunity to order seafood in restaurants.  Not wanting to do without, I copy what others describe to me. ;)

You can too.  Don't be afraid.

The scallops I got at Costco.  They are pretty good there.  The pasta I used was whole wheat and I used jarred (Costco again) pesto sauce.  I made spaghetti squash for me and my oldest daughter (we are carb-free right now). I show you how to cook spaghetti squash here

http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/09/spaghetti-squash.html

Easy peasy.

Quick, too.

Scallops with Pesto and Pasta

24 large sea scallops (about 2+ pounds)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
1 pound pasta (I used whole wheat linguine)
1 cup pesto 

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and add pesto.  Mix and place the pasta in a large serving bowl.

Pat scallops dry.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until it ripples in the pan.
Add the scallops, a few at a time - they should sizzle as you put them in the pan.  Don't overcrowd or add too fast.  This will cool your pan and they won't brown properly.

Saute the scallops, without crowding them, 1 minute on each side or until browned.  

Set aside and keep warm.  Repeat the procedure until you have all the scallops browned.

Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.

Add butter to the pan and melt the butter.  To the butter, add garlic and parsley.  Cook 30 seconds.

Return scallops to the pan and toss to coat.  Heat for about 1 minute.  Add to pasta.