Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

• 4 cups whole-wheat flour or sprouted grain flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin
• 2 cups packed Sucanat or Rapadura sugar
• 1 cup apple juice
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In separate bowl (I used my mixer bowl), mix pumpkin, brown sugar, apple juice, eggs, butter and vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture a bit at a time, just until blended.
4. Add walnuts and stir.
5. Bake in two 9x5x3 loaf pans on 350 for 45 to 60 minutes or until done.
6. Cool in pans for a few minutes, then turn out onto plate.

2 Whole Grain, Whole Wheat Bread Recipes

Whole Grain Bread 

Makes 2 loaves, bake at 375 F

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (works well with spelt and pretty good with kamut)
1/2 cup oat bran (sometimes I use oat flakes, or half flax seeds, or you could use a grain mix, etc.)
3 pks yeast (1 pk= 2 1/4 tsp)
1 Tbsp salt
2 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup oil

1) Combine dry ingredients, using just 4 cups of flour to start. Meanwhile, heat milk with honey and oil on the stove to just warm them.

2) Add warmed liquid to dry ingredients and stir well. Add more flour to make a stiff dough.

3) Turn onto a floured board and knead for 8 min. or until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed. Cover and let rest 10 min.

4) Shape into 2 loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 45 min.

5) Bake at 375 F for 35 minutes, until the tops are evenly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Basic Whole Wheat Bread 

Makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf

1/2 cup water (if you have a Welbit/Dak machine, add 2 Tbsp more water)
3/8 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour (I use all whole grain flour, and have done it with wheat and spelt)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 Tbsp honey (do the oil first, then the honey, and it will slide so easily off the spoon)
2 tsp active dry yeast (they recommend Red Star and I would agree)

Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Light Crust setting and press start.

Or, you can do what I have been doing lately, with excellent results. is to make this bread on a dough cycle, then pull it out, knead very briefly and place it in an oiled pan. Let it rise until doubled (usually less than an hour), and bake in the oven at 375 F for about 30 minutes (I set my timer for 20 and check it, as I've only done this a couple times so far). Bake until nicely browned.

After baking, remove bread from pan, place on cake rack and allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing (this is good practice whenever baking bread).

Simple Bread Recipe

Simple Bread Recipe

3 1/2 cups kamut flour (you can substitute spelt flour, as in the original recipe, or whole wheat flour)
3 cups rye flour
1 quart sourdough starter
3 cups filtered water
1 1/2 Tbsp salt

1. Mix all together, with a heavy duty wooden spoon or something similar, for 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture will be wet enough that there's no way you could knead it. Instead, you just stir it really, really well, and you will notice that the texture begins to change as the gluten strands lengthen, and it will get harder to stir. It really doesn't need any more than 5-10 minutes!

2. Pour the dough evenly into 3 well greased bread pans (I use my leftover butter wrappers to grease them). Using a wet hand, smooth or flatten it a bit.

3. Place the bread pans aside on a counter for at least 7 hours, covered loosely with a dish towel.

4. Once they have risen sufficiently, basically double in size and close to the top of the bread pan, they are ready to be baked. For me, this usually happens after about 7-8 hours. If they have risen before the 7 hours, wait it out. They need the full amount of time for the phytic acid to be broken down through the fermentation process of the sourdough. 

5. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

(When you use kamut instead of spelt, it seems to increase the baking time a little. It's difficult to say whether it's just my oven or not, but I have found that it needs more like 70-75 minutes for me to have them turn out fully cooked in the middle. I haven't tried it with wheat yet, so no tips there.)

That's it! About 20 minutes of work, 7 hours of doing anything else that you feel like doing, and 1 hour of baking. I like to have mine on the counter, starting to rise by 9 or 10 am. This ensures that I can have the loaves in the oven by 4 or 5 pm, while I'm cooking dinner.

It's that time of year! :) Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

3 cups flour (you can use spelt, whole wheat, kamut, or other alternative grains)
2 cups buttermilk, kefir or yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup maple syrup 
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. melted butter
(This is the Basic Muffin recipe)

Apple cinnamon variation: Add 2-3 small-medium apples, grated or diced, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg (and raisins would also be good)

1) Add the flour to a large bowl, stir in your choice of cultured dairy until well mixed, then cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place and leave for 12-24 hours (the longer, the better). The recipe notes that if you have dairy allergies, you can substitute 2 cups of water with 2 Tbsp of either whey, lemon, or vinegar instead, for soaking the flour.

2) Blend in remaining ingredients.

3) Pour into well-buttered muffin tins, filling about 3 quarters full. Bake at 325 F for about 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. Also, note that soaked flour recipes take longer to bake than traditional baking recipes- they really do need the full hour, occasionally a little longer!

GOING HOME: Sean Cisson, 28, Columbia, SC

GOING HOME: Sean Cisson, 28, Columbia, SC

Sean Cisson’s funeral will be held on Saturday, September 22^nd at 10:00 a.m. in the Gateway Baptist Church of Ballentine Worship Center.  Visitation will be immediately following the service.  Sean was a member of Gateway’s Worship tech team and was 28 years old.

GOING HOME: Jane Bagwell updated; George Schoolmeester; Norma Calloway

GOING HOME:

Jane Bagwell, GA & SC. There will be a memorial service this Saturday, September 22, at 2:00 pm, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Newberry, SC. A reception will follow the service. (Ron Bagwell)
Update for Jane Bagwell:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestate/obituary.aspx?n=jane-satcher-bagwell&pid=159973992#fbLoggedOut

(Sorry I'm late on this one)

Norma Calloway, 85, Columbia SC, www.thompsonsfuneral.com

George Edward Schoolmeester, 86, Columbia SC, www.dunbarfunerals.com

Red, White & Black Slow Cooker Chicken Chili on Jasmine Rice

Red, White & Black Slow Cooker Chicken Chili on Jasmine Rice

2 to 3 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 1/2 cups chicken broth or water

1 can black beans

1 can light or dark red kidney beans

1 jar salsa (to your taste)

Several dashes of Mild (green) or Regular Texas Pete (or your choice of hot sauce)

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ginger

Jasmine Rice (cooked to package directions)

Remove fat from chicken (and any tiny bone or gristle fragments you may find), cut into 2 or 3 strips, rinse very well under cool water and lay in bottom of slow cooker with a drizzle of EVOO. Add remainder of all ingredients except rice. 

Cover & cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours. Twenty minutes before you're ready to eat, prepare Rice. Use a sturdy spatula and gently break chicken apart until shredded, stir well. Place serving of rice in deep bowl, spoon chili over. Enjoy! As you eat, rice will continue to soak up liquid :)