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Newsletter>
More Bread Baking Tips
August 16, 2007
Dear Friends,
Now is the time for me to get a bit more specific for those
of you who are really in to baking bread! I know that many
of you want to soak your grains, but you still have
questions. Let's see if I can answer a few more of your
questions and I will try to be more specific than I was in
the last newsletter...
When you soak your grains, you are actually soaking your
flour. Your grains have already been ground. When you
combine your flour with liquid for soaking, you should
always add some kefir, yoghurt, whey, buttermilk, cider
vinegar, kombucha, or lemon juice. Kefir, whey, and
buttermilk are my personal favorites and I would suggest
any of the three. You want to add one or two tablespoons
per 3 cups of flour. You will also add additional water to
form a sticky lump of dough. Let this lump of dough sit for
18 to 24 hours. It should be covered with a damp towel.
When you are ready to proceed, you will mix the remaining
ingredients together with some additional unsoaked flour.
Combine the two lumps of dough. Add some additional flour
and knead for 10 to 15 minutes by hand until you have a
satisfactory dough. Proceed as you would for any other
loaf.
Always take care not to add too much additional flour when
you are kneading the dough. This is a very common mistake
that bread bakers make. You should add small amounts of
flour at a time while kneading. It is better that your
dough remain somewhat sticky.
Most of us are only familiar with whole wheat bread or
white bread, but once you own a grain mill, you have so
many other options available to you! You can make breads
with a variey of different grains which are nourishing and
full of nutrients! A few of my favorites are spelt,
millet, rye, barley, and kamut. Kamut is an heirloom wheat
and is my personal favorite grain, although a bit
expensive. You should always add some hard red or white
wheat to your other grains when making bread. This will
give you a nicer loaf. Of course, if you don't care so
much about the texture and rise of your bread, feel free to
experiment without the addition of wheat. This is also a
good idea for those who are gluten intolerant. You can
make fine unleavened breads, too. Kamut and millet make a
wonderful loaf of bread together and you do not need to add
any additional wheat. Millet alone would not be suitable
for a loaf of risen yeast bread because of the lack of
gluten. However, you could make millet cakes, which are
very nice.
Research the grains on your own to find out about the
various gluten contents.
If you are interested in catching some wild yeast for a
sourdough starter, it couldn't be easier! You will need
some fresh ground rye flour and water. Add two cups of rye
flour to two cups of water. Mix this soupy mixture into a
glass jar and cover with cheescloth. Leave this outdoors
in a shady spot for a day. If you have access to some
fresh picked grapes or berries, add a few to the mixture.
When you have "caught" your yeast, you will notice lots of
little bubbles in your mixture. This may take only a few
short hours, or it may take you much longer. Once you have
an active starter, you can refrigerate it. Feed your
starter with additional flour and water every few days.
When you remove two cups of starter for baking, always
replace it with a cup of flour and a cup of water.
One book that I heartily recommend for bread bakers is The
Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, by Laurel Robertson.
Thanks to those of you who sent me your own "tips". I love
hearing from you!
Check out my new blog at
www.homesteadblogger.com/fromfieldsandgardens
Hope you are having a great week!
Blessings,
Jennifer Ferris
www.fromfieldsandgardens.com
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