Our daily bread

I got a request to share our weekly bread recipe. I don't expect most people to want to make it this way because you need a grain mill and a variety of grains to mill, but none-the-less this is the way we do it...

Multi grain bread (makes 3 large loaves)

Add to grain mill, typically we set it on fine:
1 c Prairie Gold wheat berries (Hard white spring wheat, known for it's light color)
1c Hard Red wheat berries (I use this because a friend gave me hers, she didn't know it was flour, another reason to have a grain mill, you can score free food...)
1 c Spelt berries (ancient type of wheat, nutty flavor, high protein, not gluten free, typically paired with Kamut)
1 c Kamut berries (another type of wheat, high protein, not gluten free, typically paired with Spelt)
-we grind these 4 cups of wheat berries in our NutriMill grain mill-

4 kinds of wheat berries made into flour

Combine flour with 3.5 cups of water and cover with a plate, let sit overnight. (I have done a decent amount of research and have discovered that whole grains have Phytic acid in their hulls. This is not good for you and prohibits your body from absorbing the good nutrients in those same grains. Soaking or sprouting those grains breaks it down making it better for you and easier to digest. Not to mention that it makes a much nicer loaf of bread. The easiest way I have found to soak is after grinding, that way I don't have to soak the grain, then dry it then grind it. Saves many steps for us.)

here is the wheat soaking in the water, getting all soft and good for us

Add to grain mill:
1/2 c lentils (what ever I buy in bulk, I believe they are green or brown lentils)
1/2 c millet (this is a gluten free grain, is a complete protein, high in nutrients and much less expensive than quinoa)
1/2 c brown rice (I personally don't love cooked brown rice...perhaps I even hate it, so I add it to my bread)
-grind, this acts as my "white" flour that I add in later, these grains probably *should* also be soaked, but the recipe only calls for 3.5 cups of water and I'm trying to eliminate extra white flour)

Next day add to the dough:
1 heaping Tablespoon of yeast
1/4 warm water, proof

1 heaping T of salt
1 scoop (maybe 1/4 or 1/2?) of white sugar (this is clearly not the best sugar for us, but it's cheaper than honey or maple syrup so I use it because of cost and ease)
1/2 c ground flax seeds
1/2 c whole or quick oats
2-3 glugs of oil (that might be 1/4-1/3c oil? I use olive oil but any oil will do, I won't get into the trans fats oil thing today...)
--mix--
(we use a large Kitchen Aid mixer, this recipe fits the normal large size, I have seen larger Kitchen Aid's just recently but this recipe is to the max of my large one, my sister does a large recipe in her Bosch mixer)

Gradually add your lentil/millet/rice flour. When it needs more flour start adding white all purpose or bread flour, you should only need one or two cups of this to make a nice, not sticky dough. Knead the rest of the way if you think it needs it. Let rise for 1.5 hours.

Grease 3 large loaf pans (I should measure mine, but I believe they are "regular" sized loaf pans, not mini size). Divide dough into 3 parts, shape into pretty oval loaves, flour, put into pans and let rise for 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Let preheat for another 10 minutes, don't let the bread rise for more than 45 minutes. If you do, pop them out, re-grease pans, reshape loaves and let them rise a third time for only 20-30 min. It will rise much faster this time.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350. Remove loaves and pop them out of pans right away, they should be nice and brown on the bottom. Let cool on their sides. Put in bags when cool and eat within a couple of days or freeze. There are no chemicals so it WILL mold if it sits out for too long in a bag.

As is most bread, it's best enjoyed warm. You can also shape into rolls instead or create cinnamon/raisin bread with it instead of regular bread.

We typically start our bread on Thursdays and bake it on Fridays so we can have a yummy fresh loaf every Friday night.

As you can see it has many grains, thus the "Multi grain" name. I like using different grains in my cooking because they are a great way to get extra protein, minerals and nutrients into our diet. A better balance, if you ask me, than just plain wheat bread. I like knowing that even if my kids only put some butter and cinnamon/sugar on top they are still eating a "healthy" snack and they won't be hungry in 5 minutes.

The grain mill in an investment to be sure, but any whole grains are better for you if you grind them fresh and wheat flour can become rancid if it sits for too long after being ground. I originally split the mill with my sister and we'd share it, but she has since bought a hand crank mill (which I envy) and her little boys enjoy grinding her wheat for their weekly bread.

I have used the mill to make my own gram flour (not to be confused with graham flour). Gram flour is made from garbanzo beans or chickpeas or chana dal. Also called garbanzo flour or besan. Used a lot in Indian cooking and I've seen more in gluten free recipes. It grinds up those large beans no problem. If you are on a gluten free diet I would imagine that a NutriMill or something similar would be a great investment. Those tiny bags of specialty flours in the health food stores are expensive! But beans and rice are not. You just grind up what you need and you have your flour. I have a coffee grinder for the stickier (more oils) nuts and grains and spices. So if I need almond flour or to grind some flax seeds I use my coffee grinder for those.

Like I said before, this recipe will be way out of the league of many people and it certainly was for me a few years ago. But getting a system down really helps. And having a 9-year-old who only wants kitchen jobs (no animal jobs for her) is a great way to get my bread made weekly.

And I forgot to take more pics the day of baking. But here's the finished product.
Soft and extra delicious with homeade fireweed/rhubarb jam on top.

Silly Chicken Soup with special guest star of Grains

I'm having a blast cooking my soup today because I decided to take pictures of it along the way.  It's much more fun, I should have done this long ago. I don't know why all of my pictures got turned upright! :(


Silly Chicken Soup with special guest stars of Grains.

Part 1, make your Basic Chicken Stock:

Making basic chicken stock: chicken carcasses, bay leaves, peppercorns, a few carrots, three onions, celery if you have some. Simmer overnight.

Next day: strain your stock. Above is stock that is ready. I don't skim my stock...I am a believer in animal fat being healthy for us.

The remains, just throw in the trash cooked bones are bad for dogs.

The dog with the stock. She looks guilty because she knows it smells good and she wants to eat it all. The bungee cord is my dog "insurance".

Part 2: Assemble ingredients, use what ever you have (recipe listed at the end)

I didn't have noodles, therefore I'm using my plethora of grains.

One of my favorite cooking methods is the "Ingredients in Google" game:  Don't know what to make for dinner? Need to use up what you have? I go to Google, type in my ingredients and pick a recipe out of the hundreds that pop up.  I usually have most of the other things that are needed to fill in the rest of the recipe I choose. 

Today I did this, but using chicken soup as my base idea.  I found someone who had made chicken and barley, but I can never pick just one grain so I'm using a medley.

Thanks to my friend, Steph, I'm giving Lard a try in my cooking life...goes with the animal fat being good for us theory...I have converted to mainly using bacon grease for most bases. So today in goes a scoop of lard...I'm sure olive oil or butter would do the trick as well.

Wow, onions cooked in lard, can you smell that?! (Don't worry kosher friends, I won't feed this to you.)

 Take a moment to watch the little one pour milk onto the table.

Add the carrots then spices...here I decided to add parsley, pepper corns, celery seed (since we don't have any celery), a bit of tarragon, a little pepper and salt. 

Then I rinsed and added 1/3 cup of both barley and wheat berries...

I should have added the chicken with the spices, but forgot to add it 'till I had put in a bit of broth...

Fill pot with yummy broth and let 'er simmer.  The kosher salt is a bit ironic...





Hubby comes home and brings groceries including celery...to late, haha.
Add soup to the larger pot, add 1/3 c quinoa and 1/3c millet...let 'er cook more...she tastes GOOD!

Add more broth to fill your pot, add more salt and pepper to taste.

Feed hungry children who have enjoyed the snow all day...then finish said blog and take the kids to church.

*After seeing this page has gotten the most hits out of any on my whole blog and I don't have a very good recipe written, I'll post one here. This is approximately what I did, but remember this recipe is flexible and it's all about using what's in your pantry. -Anna 8/18/2013*

Silly Chicken Soup with Grains Recipe: (yield appx 5 quarts)

1/2 c lard or butter or olive oil or coconut oil (these are Anna approved oils) 

~heat in heavy bottom pot~

2 onions, diced

2 or 3 carrots, chopped

2 or 3 stalks of celery, chopped

~put these veggies into your oil and cook for 5 or so minutes~

~Season these veggies while cooking with:

8 or so peppercorns

tarragon

celery seeds (if you don't have celery in your soup)

some fresh ground pepper

1/3 c barley

1/3 c wheat berries

~rinse these and add to the pan~

2 lbs shredded chicken 

~add to the pot~

3-4 quarts chicken stock

~add to the pot and let simmer 30 minutes~

1/3 c quinoa

1/3 c millet

~rinse these and add to the pot and let simmer 30 minutes~

salt (you will have to taste this based on how much salt is in your broth, don't be afraid of salt, especially if you're using sea salt, it will make or break this soup or any meal really)

And more broth (or water) as needed. Be sure your grains are cooked before serving. Add salt and more pepper if needed. Let this simmer all day or cook it up quickly. The wheat and barley take longer to cook so you could exclude these if you need a faster cooking time. Use what ever grains you have, just be sure you know how long they need to cook. 

If you soak your grains overnight the day before it will make your grains much more digestible and let your body access more of the nutrients in the grain. If you cook the chicken stock the night before, just soak the grains as well in another bowl. If you add a bit of yogurt to your soak water it breaks them down faster and further and makes them even more nutritious. (like a quick/mini ferment)

Here's the link to the pot that I own. I got it 20 years ago and still use it regularly. I had to get an 8 quart one too in order to accommodate for our growing family. 

This bad boy is 13 Quarts!!!!!!! Holy cow. I'm thinking this would look lovely next to his little brother. Drool. 



I didn't own this pot yet when I posted this blog...I got it in 2012. I LOVE it for a stock pot but it's actually a canner. It's stainless steel and has a nice thick bottom to help in not burning giant batches of chili. I use mine regularly.