EASY ARTISAN BREAD

I have been wanting to try to make Artisan bread for quite some time now. We make all kinds of bread around here on the homestead but not Artisan.

I found a super easy recipe from here and thought I would give it a try. Well guess what? It turned out great!

Here are a couple of  pictures I took of it before I give the ok to devour it! That is just what happened. I don't think it lasted more than 5 minutes.

Here is the very easy and yummy recipe.

EASY ARTISAN BREAD

3 cups flour (calls for all-purpose, we use freshly ground hard white wheat)

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Add-ins: Cranberry/white chocolate/pecan

Cranberry cinnamon

Rosemary

Cinnamon Raisin

1. Put first 3 ingredients in bowl and stir until incorporated.

2. If you are going to use add-ins, put them in now.

3. Add the lukewarm water.

4. Cover the bowl with saran wrap. Set aside and let rest for 8-20 hours.

5. After dough has rested, flour a surface or a bowl. Wet hands and pat into a ball-try to get as round as you can. Let it rise for an hour.

6. Meanwhile, preheat you oven to 450 degrees F.

7. Place your pot into the oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

8. After the bread has risen for an hour, take your pot out of the oven and place bread in the hot pot.

9. Bake for 30 minutes. Take lid off and bake another 10-15 minutes.

10. Let cool before slicing.

This is an awesome artisan bread recipe. Try it, you will not be disappointed.

God Bless!

Homemade French Bread

Today the little ones helped me grind grain and make a loaf of homemade french bread.

They are so curious about things. Earlier they were sorting different colored beans for some of their  school today and I explained that the beans they were sorting could be put in our Nutrimill and ground into powder. I guess they were curious how something as hard as beans could be turned into flour. They have seen me grind grains before but not up close like today. The had fun. After we had ground our grains into flour, we decided to make some french bread for supper tonight. I used a different recipe than I usually do. I turned out pretty good. I am still getting use to how different things taste when you use freshly ground flour. I have had this recipe for a long time. I cut it out of a magazine I used to get in the mail. Here it is....

French Bread

2 cups bread flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

(I used fresh ground soft white wheat)

1 Tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons organic sugar, I have also used Sucanat

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water and oil. Mix until it is incorporated. It will be sticky. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead , adding flour to prevent sticking. Knead about 10 minutes and then transfer to greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise. When it has doubled in size, punch down, divide dough in half and shape into loaves. We made one large loaf but I think two smaller loaves would be best.

 Transfer to french loaf pan or baking sheet. Place bread in cold oven and turn on to 400 degrees and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until loaves are puffed, golden and sound hollow when tapped on bottom.

(Personally, how do you tap an extremely hot loaf of bread on bottom!!!!!) Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.



NUTRIMILL!!!!!!!!

Well, we finally got a grain mill. It was a gift from my father and mother-in-law for Christmas. Thank you!!!!

 I have been talking about getting one for a while now. I did quite a bit of research and decided the Nutrimill would be the one for me. We went to a homeschool convention in Memphis, TN this year and I got to see one up close. I am so excited about being able to grind fresh flour each time we make bread, cookies, anything that takes flour. I purchased some grains through one of our food co-ops a while back. My friend was nice enough to bring her mill over and grind some for me. I still had some grains left in the freezer so tonight, the girls and I got them out for a test run.

We decided to grind some hard red wheat.

It is amazing how these little grains can be ground so fine by this awesome machine.

We are looking forward to tomorrow so we can bake some delicious, fresh, whole grain bread. We will be using the bread recipe from the West ladies on our Homestead Blessings DVD, "The Art of Bread Making". Here is the recipe. It is delicious!

Bread Dough

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1 Tablespoon yeast

Mix the warm water and yeast in a bowl and let proof for about 5 minutes. Then mix in the salt, oil, honey and 2 cups of flour. Mix well and then add more flour until you have a nice dough, about 4 to 5 cups. Knead and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes in a warm place. Punch down and form into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and use a fork to poke several holes into the top of the dough. Let rise for about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

We have even added 2 eggs to give it a little different texture. More like a sandwich bread.

With the flour we milled tonight, I plan on making some yummy Raisin Oatmeal Scones for breakfast in the morning.

God Bless!

Yummy Rolls!

I have been baking for quite some time. We love baking in our kitchen, especially bread. We always try to bake some kind of bread every few days. We have so many recipes for bread, rolls, pizza bread, and cinnamon rolls . Here is one of our favorite roll recipes. I ran across this recipe in a magazine a long time ago and kind of made it my own. We use a variety of flours and sweeteners in bread dough for these kinds of recipes. Enjoy making these rolls and let me know what you think.

NO-KNEAD DINNER ROLLS

2 cups warm water, around 110 degrees
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup sugar, I usually use sucanat or honey
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
6 cups flour, (I used organic, unbleached all-purpose and organic whole wheat in this recipe.)

Pour warm water into a large bowl and sprinkle with the yeast and let stand until foamy. Add sugar, butter, eggs and salt; whisk to combine. Add flour (in this recipe I used 4 cups of the all-purpose and 2 cups of the whole wheat). Mix until a sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and set aside in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface and roll into a thick log.

Cut the log into about 20 equal pieces.

Brush a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. One at a time, flatten each piece of dough, then fold edges toward the center, pressing to secure, until a smooth ball forms. Place dough balls in prepared baking pan, smooth side up. Cover with dish towel and let rise until doubled in bulk.

These have already doubled in size and ready for the oven.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake until golden brown, about 34 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven.



Here is my little helper today in the kitchen. Isn't she so cute in my apron! I am so blessed, I always have little helpers around here.



O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 34:8