I have been searching for the perfect whole wheat bread recipe for years. I am no longer satisfied with "store bought" brands that say they are whole wheat and no additives, but are not. After reading recipe after recipe for , and many, many blunders and inedible concoctions, I stumbled upon the perfect recipe and the best homemade WW bread ever without using a bit of white flour!!!!!!
If you have ever made WW bread, you know that it can very wrong very quickly, and the frustration can be maddening. As I added each, ingredient I waited for that moment of failure, and waited and waited, but it did not come. Even after it was in the oven baking, in the back of my mind, I thought this effort was just another brick for the garbage. To my absolute delight, when I pulled the loaves from the oven, they not only looked great, but the texture was perfect and flavor was fabulous. Even my husband, who is a die hard for the white gooey Schwebel and Sunbeam bread that sticks to your teeth with every bite, ate a whole loaf.
Here it is, let me know how it worked for you. I use all organic flours, but you decide for yourself.
Mix together:
2 cups organic stone ground whole wheat flour
1 cup organic potato flour
1 cup organic rolled oats, ground into flour (I use a coffee grinder to make my own oat flour)
1 cup white whole wheat flour (made by King Arthur and it is whole wheat flour made from a white wheat germ)
1 teaspoon baking power
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Heat 2 cups water to 110 F and add two packets of yeast (not the rapid rise) mix and cover it until it foams, about 10 minutes.
To the water/yeast mixture, add 2 tablespoons of honey (or to our taste) and 2 tablespoons olive oil
using food processor or mixer slowly add dry ingredients, one cup at a time and mix until incorporated. When it comes together, move it to a floured area and knead it, adding flour, for about 5 to 10 minutes, until it is tacky but not sticky.
Place in oiled bowl, cover with cloth or plastic wrap until doubled, approximately 1 hour. Bunch it down and place it in loaf pans, I made 1 large loaf and 2 smaller loaves.
Bake 425 F for 30 minutes, or until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped.
My bread came out soft and golden brown and delicious.
Good luck.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO TREAT YOUR BODY RIGHT
I assume it is because my body is aging that I am inundated with new aches and pains on a daily basis. That, and an additional something something pounds I have gained over the years, is why I have decided to pay attention to what I am eating.
I have heard the adage, would you put the wrong gas into your car and expect it to run, but never paid it much attention. Lately, this adage has hit home. Because of this, I have been a quest to educate myself on the value of the food I am ingesting. After weeks of reading and research the one thing that make so much sense has been a constant message, why put something into your body that has no nutritional value? I understand that these non-nutritional foods are tasty, but anything in excess.....
For example, it makes sense not to eat anything that has preservatives such as sodium sulfites, benzoated and butylated hydroxyanisole/hydroxytoluene (mystery ingredients hard to pronounce and man made). Think of it this way, if there is an ingredient that extends the shelf life of a product for a year or two, how can your body possibly process it and get anything nutritious out of it? Right, it can't. Not to mention the fact these preservatives have created free radicals and cell damage causing cancer in humans.
The most important thing I have consistently been doing is READING PRODUCT INGREDIENT LABELS. I have always done this, and tried to stay away from anything that has more than 2 lines of ingredients and contains ingredients I cannot pronounce, but many times my cravings made it easy to ignore that standard. I would say, oh I deserve this treat, even though it is poisoning my body.
I have decided to cut out entirely dairy, processed foods, anything and every "white" (flour, sugar, splenda, salt) and try to go organic as much as possible. I have cut my alcohol intake two drinks a week, trying to choose the least damaging beverage, ie vodka and water. I have not been exercising as much as I should, but do try to walk for 15 to 20 minutes 3 times a week.
I have been doing this for 2 weeks, and have lost 12 pounds without really trying. I am not hungry, I eat every 2 hours. More importantly, I find that my chronic headaches have lessened, my aching joints are not as achy and overall I am feeling more energetic.
I have been eating fresh fruits and vegetables, even corn on the cob. I eat a whole grain bread with only 4 ingredients and no sugar. It is great toasted,with a little freshly ground peanut butter, only peanuts as ingredient. I eat whole grains like oatmeal and barley, and brown rice is a staple. I have not, or should I say cannot, give up my pasta; I am Italian after all. I have tried many types of alternative pasta, and the best I have found is a gluten free brown rice and hulled hemp brand. Whole grain corn pasta is good too.
I have my herb garden, thank goodness. Either dried or fresh, the use of herbs helps negate the use of salt. This year I skeptically planted sweet herb, and was pleasantly surprised to find it is great! I have been experimenting on proportions and have had a few failures, but am getting it down. In this case, less is better.
Believe me, I am one of those people who can justify eating junk food as a reward and telling myself that it is not really hurting me. I guess since I have gained more weight than I care to share, but may some day, this plan is not working, and it is time to switch gears. I am sharing these experiences with you for purely selfish reasons; to help keep me on track.
There are so many things in the world that are poisoning us, industrial pollution, pesticides, fertilizers, cosmetics, that it is frightening to leave the house. It is a difficult task to stop these corporations from making their products, although we do have the power. I thought it would be easier for me to stop poisoning myself first, then move on to the big boys.
That's my two cents for today. I'll keep you posted.
Tina
I have heard the adage, would you put the wrong gas into your car and expect it to run, but never paid it much attention. Lately, this adage has hit home. Because of this, I have been a quest to educate myself on the value of the food I am ingesting. After weeks of reading and research the one thing that make so much sense has been a constant message, why put something into your body that has no nutritional value? I understand that these non-nutritional foods are tasty, but anything in excess.....
For example, it makes sense not to eat anything that has preservatives such as sodium sulfites, benzoated and butylated hydroxyanisole/hydroxytoluene (mystery ingredients hard to pronounce and man made). Think of it this way, if there is an ingredient that extends the shelf life of a product for a year or two, how can your body possibly process it and get anything nutritious out of it? Right, it can't. Not to mention the fact these preservatives have created free radicals and cell damage causing cancer in humans.
The most important thing I have consistently been doing is READING PRODUCT INGREDIENT LABELS. I have always done this, and tried to stay away from anything that has more than 2 lines of ingredients and contains ingredients I cannot pronounce, but many times my cravings made it easy to ignore that standard. I would say, oh I deserve this treat, even though it is poisoning my body.
I have decided to cut out entirely dairy, processed foods, anything and every "white" (flour, sugar, splenda, salt) and try to go organic as much as possible. I have cut my alcohol intake two drinks a week, trying to choose the least damaging beverage, ie vodka and water. I have not been exercising as much as I should, but do try to walk for 15 to 20 minutes 3 times a week.
I have been doing this for 2 weeks, and have lost 12 pounds without really trying. I am not hungry, I eat every 2 hours. More importantly, I find that my chronic headaches have lessened, my aching joints are not as achy and overall I am feeling more energetic.
I have been eating fresh fruits and vegetables, even corn on the cob. I eat a whole grain bread with only 4 ingredients and no sugar. It is great toasted,with a little freshly ground peanut butter, only peanuts as ingredient. I eat whole grains like oatmeal and barley, and brown rice is a staple. I have not, or should I say cannot, give up my pasta; I am Italian after all. I have tried many types of alternative pasta, and the best I have found is a gluten free brown rice and hulled hemp brand. Whole grain corn pasta is good too.
I have my herb garden, thank goodness. Either dried or fresh, the use of herbs helps negate the use of salt. This year I skeptically planted sweet herb, and was pleasantly surprised to find it is great! I have been experimenting on proportions and have had a few failures, but am getting it down. In this case, less is better.
Believe me, I am one of those people who can justify eating junk food as a reward and telling myself that it is not really hurting me. I guess since I have gained more weight than I care to share, but may some day, this plan is not working, and it is time to switch gears. I am sharing these experiences with you for purely selfish reasons; to help keep me on track.
There are so many things in the world that are poisoning us, industrial pollution, pesticides, fertilizers, cosmetics, that it is frightening to leave the house. It is a difficult task to stop these corporations from making their products, although we do have the power. I thought it would be easier for me to stop poisoning myself first, then move on to the big boys.
That's my two cents for today. I'll keep you posted.
Tina
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