My midwife suggested Nourishing Traditions to me at my last appointment, as a way to help my body fight PCOS. I'm really pleased that we're actually doing a lot of the things in the book already, through our efforts at eating locally. We have great sources for beef, lamb, chicken, pork, raw milk, honey, and I'm not afraid to use butter or leaf lard when I cook.
My biggest newbie questions are about grains. In the long run I'd like to have a sourdough starter and/or a grain mill, but it's not feasible when I'm just starting out. How do the following adjustments sound?
- Groats/multigrain cereal/oatmeal, etc. : I already do this overnight in the crockpot in a water bath. It seems easy enough to just add whey/vinegar earlier in the day, and not turn on the crockpot until bedtime. Right?
- I've had good luck using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day recipes. When I have whey, I use that to make bread dough. My kitchen is always cold, so the initial rise is usually 3-6 hours instead of 2 hours. If it rises 3-6 hours at room temp and then I tuck it in the fridge a day or two before I make bread, would that still count as soaking? Or does it need to be room temp for the entire soaking time?
- I found a recipe in another bread book I love that uses a sponge, but not a real sourdough starter. Recipe calls for a little more than half the flour (whole wheat), yeast, milk and water to sit out 8-12 hours, then finish the dough with more flour (unbleached AP), and a 3 hour to overnight rise before baking. If I add a couple tablespoons yogurt or vinegar with the water/milk, and let it rise for the longest times listed, would this also count as a "soaked" recipe?
Thanks for any feedback. This seems like it makes sense with what I've read; I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed by new info and you all seem to know a lot!
My biggest newbie questions are about grains. In the long run I'd like to have a sourdough starter and/or a grain mill, but it's not feasible when I'm just starting out. How do the following adjustments sound?
- Groats/multigrain cereal/oatmeal, etc. : I already do this overnight in the crockpot in a water bath. It seems easy enough to just add whey/vinegar earlier in the day, and not turn on the crockpot until bedtime. Right?
- I've had good luck using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day recipes. When I have whey, I use that to make bread dough. My kitchen is always cold, so the initial rise is usually 3-6 hours instead of 2 hours. If it rises 3-6 hours at room temp and then I tuck it in the fridge a day or two before I make bread, would that still count as soaking? Or does it need to be room temp for the entire soaking time?
- I found a recipe in another bread book I love that uses a sponge, but not a real sourdough starter. Recipe calls for a little more than half the flour (whole wheat), yeast, milk and water to sit out 8-12 hours, then finish the dough with more flour (unbleached AP), and a 3 hour to overnight rise before baking. If I add a couple tablespoons yogurt or vinegar with the water/milk, and let it rise for the longest times listed, would this also count as a "soaked" recipe?
Thanks for any feedback. This seems like it makes sense with what I've read; I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed by new info and you all seem to know a lot!
