Late Winter Motivation
I don’t know about you, but since our snow has melted, and the sun is shining a little bit brighter, I have gotten inspired. Maybe it’s the thought of Springtime and garden time just around the corner, but I have felt the need to get growing and to make something with my hands.
During gardening season, I try to can and dry as much food as is reasonable, which makes it more relaxing during the Winter season as I can pull from our pantry for many foods. One thing I have not done much of recently is baking bread, though.
During our 5 1/2 years living as a family in our camper, we had very little storage space for extra foods, and our oven was tiny. Bread baking did not happen, and our whole family has missed that.
For many years prior to the camper and homestead years, I regularly milled fresh flour and baked it into delicious bread. All the years of not baking bread, both because of our homestead project and due to eating several years gluten free, I have found that now, the thought of baking bread has become more intimidating. It is a skill I one possessed, but fear I lost.
I wanted to change that.
Yesterday, I milled a load of both corn meal and prairie gold wheat berries into flour. I also unearthed a five gallon bucket of whole wheat flour in our pantry. I will be using that for baking breads, but today, I wanted to make a successful loaf or loaves.
My husband does love to eat good bread. I decided to let go of my inabilities. I have learned to bake bread before, and I know I can perfect it again. It will be a labor of love for him, although I also enjoy a good slice of homemade bread.
AdI set that bucket of flour aside. Sometimes older flour tastes bitter, and I can work that into other recipes in smaller amounts. Today’s bread is all freshly ground. The good stuff.
In the past, I have used a combination of hard red winter wheat and the prairie gold, which is a softer wheat. I will take inventory of what we still have, and order accordingly.
I love to keep a good supply of wheat berries on hand. I order in bulk, and we in the past have mixed in a little diatomaceous earth with the berries to keep any critters at bay.
Since our yeast has been stored in the fridge for months, I was unsure of its potency. I decided to bloom it before using it. I added some warm water, yeast, and honey and set it aside to test it.
I found out almost right away that the yeast was just fine, as it bubbled right out of the container and oozed onto the sink. At least I know it works!
Honey Wheat Bread
Today I am following Kathy Nomura’s honey wheat recipe. I figured I should practice with one recipe until I get it right rather than trying out new ones for now.
I followed the recipe to a T. I believe the dough turned out well. It seems light, and that has been a problem for me at times—adding too much flour. I decided to just trust the process. She would normally make 7 junior loaves, but I divided my dough into 4 portions to fit my Lodge cast iron bread pans, and then I had one left over.
I have never baked in a covered Dutch oven, but decided, why not try? The last portion went into my preheated Pioneer Woman flower Dutch oven, and I popped it into the oven with some trepidation.
Unfortunately, I had one oops, that I don’t consider my fault. My vintage oven does not always keep a constant temperature, and I found out that while I set it to bake at 350, it decided to jump up to about 425-450, which caused the tops of my loaves to darken. They still smell amazing! They puffed up quite nicely too, which I am pleased about.
The flower loaf looks wonderful, and I will definitely try that again.
Baking bread is one of those tasks that just feels homey. I definitely feel like I am in my crunchy wife era while baking. But the strongest thoughts pass through my mind as I knead bread, shape it, and bake it. I think of my dad, who many times turned the whole kitchen upside down with his bread-baking escapades. He did make a royal mess, but every bite was worth it.
I am glad to have the modern conveniences of my Bosch mixer to knead the bread, but I will say that back in the 80’s Dad and Mom had am Oster Kitchen Center that certainly rivals what we have today.
While the bread baked, I pulled out another project that I’ve been itching to get going. I long for the garden, but I’m not quite ready for all that work yet. Making sprouts indoors scratches that itch to grow stuff, and gives you crunchy, green, super-nutritious fresh veggies in about five days, without ever having gotten your hands dirty!
Since I am making the sprouts, I am making my favorites. Red clover in two trays, and a tri-colored mix in the last one. I definitely will be placing an order soon for more alfalfa and red clover seeds. Maybe next time, I’ll add in some of the strong ones, like broccoli, radish, and the like.
My husband came home, spied that bread on the counter, and swung me around in a great big hug. He does love to eat good bread, and I am happy to have some actually good bread to give him.
Incidentally, he stopped by Aldi while in town and bought some bread, which went straight into the freezer, since we now have the good stuff.
I’ve heard it said that there is more religion in a good loaf of bread than one may think. Ponder that for awhile.
Little things matter. Conquering latent skills also feels good.
I hope you get inspired to try something meaningful, for yourself or another.
Until next time, I’m signing off.
Stay safe, be well, and may God richly bless you today. Keep practicing that bread.
