On Bread Making and Routines

Homemade multi-grain bread, fresh out of the oven on a Sunday afternoon.

Ah, the routine: a simple way of saying that while the world spins in craziness all around, there are certain things that stay the same. Even so, the beauty of a routine lies in its ability to evolve. I love a good routine.

In the kitchen, there are many routines that are part of daily life. Breakfast and coffee are made the same way every morning. We enjoy meals together as a family every day, the two of us and our sweet dog (who routinely rests her head on the table while we humans dine). There is a semblance of a routine as we cook, then clean, then start the process over again, though it's never quite perfect or finished.

Lately, Sundays have evolved into bread making day. It is a refreshing routine that at one time seemed so scary and daunting. But each time I've made a loaf of bread, I learn a little bit more. What used to feel like eons waiting for the dough to rise now feels like a sweet reprieve, a chance to do something else around the house for an hour or so. And when I come back to the dough, I'm pleased as pie to see that it's doubled—or more!—in size.

The reliable nature of this well-tested recipe sets me at ease. Each time I bring out the ingredients, I feel more familiarity with them. I have learned, just by looking, whether I need to add more flour or more water. I know exactly which dishes will be dirty, and when the yeast is done working. I know when the bread is done, and I know it needs to rest and cool before we enjoy it.

I have learned this routine.

This particular routine grounds me. It nourishes our family. It is simple, tried, and true. Sometimes I think I could live on bread alone, after all.

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Bread That Doesn't Taste Bad

Homemade multigrain bread with homemade peach preserves (Texas-grown, of course!).

"So, where did you find a recipe for healthy bread that doesn't taste bad?" Ah, just another glowing review from my husband to make my morning!

But truly, this was a special loaf of bread. It was (it's all gone now) fluffy and soft on the inside with a warm, nutty flavor and just enough tooth in the crust to make for perfect slicing. It toasted up great and made for a tasty sandwich bread that held together impressively well. All my previous multigrain attempts fell into piles of crumbs upon first slice, or didn't rise enough to qualify as sandwich worthy.

Admittedly, baking is not my strong suit, and I know exactly why. It's because baking is a science, and you can't just haphazardly substitute ingredients as if they were herbs, spices, or protein sources. Bread recipes are crafted because of the way a specific type of flour interacts with a specific kind of yeast; timing is important, patience is important, and following the rules is important. All things I struggle with.

Oh yes, baking bread is a great metaphor for my life that's not lost on me.

But I may have had a breakthrough this week, with my very first edible and healthy made-from-scratch loaf of bread. I didn't even use the bread maker (which was gifted to me by my husband a few Christmases ago, as a sort of polite way of telling me I needed help in the homemade bread department and would I please stop making him eat those dense whole wheat bricks that kept coming out of the oven).

Though I can't tell you how much discipline it took me to wait for the dough to rise; it involved forcing myself to watch some bad TV and I got up many times to see if it was rising faster than the recipe anticipated. Patience, patience.

Thanks to Cook's Illustrated, Pinterest, and one night at home alone with a pantry full of all the right ingredients, I had on my hands the perfect recipe for a good loaf of bread.

Here's where I found the recipe, which is from the always-wonderful Cook's Illustrated. But true to form, I made three very minor alterations to the recipe that did not seem to have an adverse effect on the outcome:

• Instead of whole wheat flour, I used whole grain spelt flour (personally I just like the flavor better). 
• Instead of 7-grain cereal, I used 5-grain cereal (which was readily available in the bulk bins). 
• And since I only have one loaf pan, I cut the recipe in half. 

A few more things I learned:

• Check the doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Turns out 200 F is juuuuust right! 
• Let the bread cool on the counter, uncovered, overnight. This helps the loaf develop a crunchy crust, cool completely, and remain soft on the inside. The next morning I was able to easily slice perfect pieces for toast. 
• It took the two of us about two days to go through one loaf of bread; breakfast two days, and lunch for me two days. It remained soft and delicious until the last crumb.
• If you're not going to eat this bread within two days, let it cool and then wrap it in two layers of plastic wrap and one layer of foil. It can then be frozen, for up to a month.

Overall, this was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to make another loaf. Not to mention, I'm working on the nutritional aspect of this bread; I hope to find out that it's significantly lower in sodium than its grocery-store counterparts (which come in at around 140 mg of sodium per slice!). 

Do you have a favorite bread recipe? Are you as impatient as me?

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snap cracker pop

A couple of weeks ago, on a whim (now really, does that surprise you?), I made crackers. Just your basic, run-of-the-mill, flour and water and salt crackers.

Let me tell you something....they were a smash hit. Probably one of the easiest recipes I've ever thrown together, it resulted in snappy, salty snacks that were tons better than their store-bought counterparts. And that's not all: at the cost of, oh, fifty cents, I made a batch of fresh crackers that would have cost (for organic and sea-salted, which is what I made at home) upwards of $2 or even $3.

This simple money-saving recipe is totally worth the 15 minutes. I can't wait to branch out into whole wheat, parmesan, cracked pepper... the possibilities are endless.

Where did this idea stem from? You guessed it... How to Cook Everything--thank you Mark Bittman. Here's a short adaptation of the recipe, but I recommend just going out and purchasing your own copy of this magnificent book. With all the publicity I'm shelling out, I ought to be getting free copies in the mail on a daily basis. ;)

Crackers, adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Makes 4 servings, takes about 15 minutes

1 C all purpose flour, plus more as needed
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter or neutral oil
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed

Heat the oven to 400. Lightly dust 2 baking sheets with flour or put a baking stone in the oven. Put the flour, salt, and butter/oil in the food processor. Pulse until the flour and butter are combined. Add the water; continue to add water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture holds together but is not sticky.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/4" or thinner (I rolled mine almost paper-thin), adding flour as needed. Score lightly with a sharp knife if you want to break the crackers into nice squares or rectangles later on.

Use a spatula, pastry blade, or peel to transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheets or stone. Sprinkle with sea salt or cracked pepper if desired. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temp, or store in a tin for up to a couple of days. (But trust me, they won't last that long.)

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good ole country BLT

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with my mom. When our schedules allow, it is wonderful to have time together to do a couple of the things we both love: cook and talk. It's always therapeutic to go home, and now that my mother's garden is flourishing with every variety of vegetable that can grow in black Texas dirt, the therapy is even stronger medicine.

My mother also has a wonderful knack for buying things at ridiculously low prices. I'd call it thrifting, but it seems so much classier when she does it that I almost want to assign it a more glamorous name. After I went on and on about how much I love my bread machine, she insisted upon getting one, in her own way. Not two days later, she called to tell me she'd found one at her favorite shopping venue, St. Vincent de Paul's Thrift Shoppe, and was curious to see if it worked. But for $3, really, not much would be lost. So part of my mission that day was to coach her on bread machine basics (on a dime). Since her bread machine was still in question, I brought a loaf of warm white bread to her house that day. She crisped up some bacon, sliced the last of the winter tomatoes, and had me go out to the garden to pick a spiky-leafed lettuce with a very peppery flavor (it wasn't arugula...). She whipped up some garlic aioli and warmed a pot of turnip soup (also from her garden), and oh... my...

Nothing--I repeat--NOTHING is better than a BLT straight from the garden, with extra-crispy bacon and crusty homemade bread and homemade garlicy mayo. Yum. I wish it weren't lunchtime as I write this, because I am beginning to drool.

To make the perfect BLT, here's what you need:
Thick slices of homemade buttermilk bread
Garlic aioli (try this recipe, but feel free to sub pasteurized egg whites for the eggs)
Fresh lettuce mix (a variety of crispy lettuces will bring more depth to your sandwich)
Thick slices of farm-fresh tomatoes
Several slices of crispy bacon
Salt and pepper to taste

Mmmm.

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The Quest for the Perfect Loaf of Whole Wheat

I'm a fan of whole grains. I really, truly am. And so it makes sense that after a couple of successful white loaves from the bread machine, I should be able to whip up some super-healthy whole wheat bread. Right?

Wrong.

It started with not a complete failure... I used some white flour and some stone-ground whole wheat. But what emerged was far too dense. And there was another hiccup: I wasn’t around to remove the paddle at the right time, so it baked right into the loaf.
Back to the density: this has been the problem with my handmade loaves in the past. Not enough yeasty action. In fact, when this wheat loaf came out of the bread maker, Ryan said, “It looks like what you used to make before I gave you the bread machine.”

It wasn’t a total waste; I cut thin slices, toasted them, and spread on some local chevre and delicious chutney. A beautiful afternoon snack!


Before getting too discouraged, I did the tiniest bit of research and looked at three different grocery stores to find the finest-ground wheat flour around. To think, the two specialty stores (Central Market and ‘Ho Foods) didn’t point me in any kind of direction. But at my neighborhood HEB, I found Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat flour in a five-pound bag.

They claimed to be the “best” for wheat breads, and so I gave my recipe another try. Same recipe, same size, just different flour. However, this loaf was still dense and incredibly dry. So I did MORE research and read about the vital-ness of vital wheat gluten (aka gluten, aka wheat gluten, aka vital wheat gluten flour, which was available in the bulk section at both Whole Foods and Central Market, though it took some asking around to make SURE that it was what I was looking for!)

You see, let me bust out a little bread science for you fine folks. Gluten is actually a part of some grass-related grains including wheat, rye, and barley (in the endosperm, if you remember from junior high science class what that part is). Thanks Wikipedia. “Legend attributes the discovery of gluten to Buddhist monks in 7th century China who sought meat-like ingredients for use in their vegetarian diet. With easily available wheat flour and water they made a dough which they submerged in cold water and kneaded. The water dissolved the starchy components of the dough and left behind an insoluble, gummy mass, 70% to 80% of which was gluten.”

Long story short, gluten makes breads chewier and fluffier. And I'm still not sure why. So, loaf three began... I followed the recipe on the back of Bob's flour bag (which called for gluten, and molasses) to make the next loaf. Girls' night was about to start, so I had to get everything in the machine and fly out the door. Before I left, I noticed how much higher the dough was, and decided to go ahead and remove the paddle because I didn't want it to bake in again.

In the meantime, I go out to meet my friends and Ryan gets home. Sweetheart that he is, he cleans the kitchen. And then when he hears the machine start beeping, he runs into the kitchen to remove the paddle, oblivious to the fact that I've already done so.

I'm totally going to give him major props for this attempt. He took the uncooked dough out, searched for the paddle, puzzled as to where it could have gone, and then realized I'd already taken it out. He dropped the dough back in and let the machine work.

So when I get home and ask, "Oooh, how's the bread?", he has a rather suspicious look on his face and says, "I dunno--how IS the bread?" At that point, I bolt into the kitchen to uncover this monster of a loaf that looks like it's been grabbed by a bear.

The good news? It's much chewier and less dense than before, and the flavor is fantastic! SO we'll stick with that whole wheat recipe for now, and hopefully keep improving upon it. For now, here you go...

Best-Yet Whole Wheat Flour Recipe, thankfully and only slightly adapted from Bob's Red Mill label)
For a 1.5-pound loaf...
1 cup Water 80-90 degrees
2-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1-1/4 Tbsp Milk Powder (Non-Fat Dry or essence of buttermilk, which is what I used)
1 tsp Salt
1-1/2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1-1/4 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten
2 tsp Molasses
2 tsp Yeast, Active Dry

Dump these ingredients in the bread machine in that order. We like light crust. Good luck!

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Full Moon Rising

Well, hell must have frozen over, because I got an "oh, wow" moment with a loaf of bread--thanks to the most relaxing Christmas gift ever from Ryan: a super-snazzy Cuisinart bread machine. Swoon.

I literally dumped the ingredients in and set the machine to do the work. And look what happened.

Now, some of you purists will scoff at this lazy bread-making tactic. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first. Well, that and I wanted to prove that I could make the perfect loaf without modern technology. Homemade caramels I can do. Bechamel I can do. Aioli I can do. But bread?

Well, folks, I couldn't. And now I can. So where does that leave me? Loving my bread machine, that's where! I am going to try a cinnamon swirl loaf with some organic raisins tomorrow. We also discovered the bulk bins at Central Market, where you can score 4 pounds of organic bread flour for less than 2 bones. Seriously, can it get any cheaper? I made a loaf of fresh bread, completely organic and all-natural, for about $1. And that means we're saving tons of dough (pun most definitely intended) and getting no yucky preservatives, additives, or high fructose corn syrup. Everyone wins. (Writer's remark: I'm on my second glass of vino for the night, and the word "wins" came out as "wines" on my first type. But since I'm not totally sloshed, I was able to edit that for your reading enjoyment. Just sayin.)

So, here's to a year of bread...from the magical machine that's going to live on our countertops.

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