Good Eats with Wheat - Page 7

[xenabyte]

BAGELS

Bagels can be made from any yeast dough. They are always poached briefly in boiling water before they are baked to moisten the dough and help them achieve that 'chewy' special texture. This recipe isn't for the faint of heart bakers...

Mix together in a non metal bowl, and allow to get bubbly (about 5 min.):

1/4 cup warm water or scalded and cooled milk
1 TBS active, dry granular yeast
1 TBS organic sugar of choice. (Avoid honey at this point)

Add to this mixture and stand mix or knead by hand, until a dough ball forms and doesn't stick to sides of the bowl anymore:

1 TBS oil (I like melted and cooled coconut oil)
1 Tsp sea salt
2 TBS butter or coconut oil
1 egg white
*Seasonings or flavorings See below for suggestions
2 1/2 cups fresh ground (prefered) whole wheat flour (can use 1/2 unbleached or all unbleached if you are out of whole wheat)

Let this dough stand about 2 minutes. Turn on your stand mixer, if using, and add in about 1/2 cup warm water or enough to make the dough soft, smooth and silky, but not sticky. Run mixer about 20 seconds. Kneading in a regular bowl will work too, but is harder to do without splashing. Just be careful and slow if doing it by hand.

Place dough on lightly oiled surface and shape into a ball. Cover dough ball with plastic wrap or a light, clean dish towl (Thin cotton kitchen towlels that look like flat fold diapers work wonderfully) and let stand 15 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a strand about 6 inches long. Moisten the ends with water and pinch them together to make them into a doughnut shape. (Alternatively, make a ball and then flatten it a bit and poke a hole in the center with your moistened finger. Place each bagel onto a greashed cookie sheet and let stand at room temp for another 15 mintues.

Get ready in a large heavy pot and bring to a boil:

2 quarts water
2 TBS organic sugar

Gently place a few bagels into the boiling water (about 3-4 at a time for a standard stock pot). When they rise to the surface, turn them over and cook until they look puffy (about 2 minutes more after the flip). Remove the bagels from the water and place on the greased cookie sheet. Finish boiling the rest of the bagels. Do not crowd them.

Heat the oven to 425 Deg F. Brush on an egg glaze (1 egg beaten with 2 TBS cold water). Bake them in the hot oven until the crusts are golden brown and crisp (about 20-25 min, depending on your oven, and altitude). Remove cooked bagels and cool on a baking rack.

* Seasoning and Flavoring Suggestions:

Use any of the following in the basic dough mixture
2 TBS minched dry onions
2 TBS sunflower seeds
1/4 cup blueberries or other small or cut up fruit bits
2 TBS dill weed and 1/4 cup spinach or other vegetable bits
3 TBS raisins or chopped dried fruit such as figs, pineapple, apples, etc.
1 TBS extract flavorings (almond, vanilla, banana, etc.)
1 1/2 TBS sugar, 1 Tsp cinnamon, 1/4 Tsp nutmeg and try with raisins

For a nice Topping, when you brush on the Egg white, add on:

Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds or shredded cheeses.

[xenabyte]

Ok, now that I've probably scared you with those monster long recipes....here is a quickie breakfast bread (or soup side)

WHOLE WHEAT SCONES

1/3 cup butter or coconut oil or similar 'shortening' substitute
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (preferable fresh ground) and sifted for large chunks that didn't grind fine. You can save any 'wheat germ' flakes' to make additions to shakes or yogurt topping or leave them in, for a grainier texture.

3 TBS Rapadura or other succanant type sugar
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit, raisins, or white or dark chocolate pieces
4-6 TBS Buttermilk or Kefir or thickened yogurt

Preheat oven to 400 Deg F

Mix your sugar, baking powder, and salt into flour. Add in pieces of the butter and mix it into the flour mixture until you have fine 'crumbs' of flour coated butter.

Stir in the egg, buttermilk and any fruit or chips you are adding.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and gently knead about 10 times, just to make sure the dough is well blended.

Roll the dough into about a 1/2 inch thickness, and in a circle.

Cut the dough into pie shaped pieces (should have 8 slices or 6 'big' ones if you are using them as a main meal/snack).

Place on a ungreased baking sheet or pizza stone and cook for 12-15 minutes.

Serve hot with butter or jam, depending on what you put in them.

[xenabyte]

Whole Wheat Biscuits

Preheat your oven to 400 Deg F

Mix together until nice and crumbley (like making the scones):

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tsp Baking powder
1/4 cup Rapadura or other Succanant sugar. Brown sugar is nice too.
3/4 cups cold butter

Add in:

1 cup buttermilk, kefir, yogurt or reg. milk

Gently knead to blend (in bowl). Do not overmix, or they get tough. You can place small amount in bottom of a muffin tin, make 'drop' biscuits with a large spoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Or you can gently pat them out on a very lightly floured board and then cut circles and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Will make 8-16 biscuits, depending on the size you cut them into.

Best served hot and with butter and or jam.

If you put 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese in the dough, they are nicely savory and go well with soup/chili.

[xenabyte]

Whole Wheat Refrigerator Bran Batter

This took some tweeking to get right..but it's a super time saver for wanting to whip up some healthy bran muffins (or pancakes/waffles even cookies!)

You can make up this 'mother' batter and leave it in the refrigerator for up to 5 weeks, due to the acidic nature of the added buttermilk. Now that's convenience!

The batter is 'basic'. So when you want to make up some fresh muffins, etc, you can add in any of the special additions or leave plain, for quick, tasty treats.

Basic Bran Batter

Mix:
4 cups 100% Bran cereal (like All Bran). This can be wheat, rice, oat bran.
2 cups boiling water.

Set the above aside to cool. Then

Cream:
1 cup vegetable oil (I like rice bran or grapeseed oil)
2 1/2 cups honey or an organic sugar like Rapadura or succanant
4 eggs

Add and then mix well:

2 TBS Baking Soda
2 Tsp Sea Salt
4 Cups Buttermilk or nicely fermented Kefir
The cooled Bran and water mix
7 Cups fresh ground (if possible) whole wheat flour.

Store this 'mother' batter in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Keep it refrigerated at all times.

Yields: 13 Cups Batter

You remove 3 cups of the batter at a time to make a 'batch' of muffins. This will make 12-16 muffins or about 24 cookies.

Baking Times

This can vary according to altitude and your oven, and the overall moistness of your batter (esp if you use any of the add ins...) But generally:

Muffins: 375 - 400 Deg F for 20-25 minutes
Cookies: 375 Deg F for 10-15 minutes
Pancakes: medium to medium low heat
Waffles: regular waffle iron heat
Cakes: YES, cakes, 375 Deg F for 30-40 minutes

Once you find a good 'muffin' time and temp, it should work for all the variations, regardless of add ins.

The ADD INS; to 3 cups of the mother batter, add in:

Apple Cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped apple
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg and clove

Banana Nut
2 well mashed, ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)

Cherry
1 cup fresh or well drained cherries. Toss with 1 TBS flour before adding to batter
1 Tbs cherry or vanilla extract

Blueberry
1 cup fresh or frozen or well drained canned blueberries. Add in just before baking so they don't fall to the bottom.
1 tsp cinnamon or vanilla extract

Brown Sugar Sweetums
This gives the basic batter some super rich 'umph'
1/2 cup additional Rapadura or brown sugar
6 Tsp melted butter
1 TBS vanilla extract

Carrot Cake
1/2 cup raw, finely grated carrot
1/4 cup honey, Rapadura or maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 TBS grated orange peel
1/2 to 1 cup raisins and or coconut
Top with cream cheese frosting

Chocolate
2 TBS baking cocoa
1/4 cup Rapadura or brown sugar
1/2 cup nuts or mini chocolate chips (optional)

Coconut
1/2 cup coconut
1 Tbs coconut extract

Date Nut
1 cup chopped dates
3/4 cups chopped nuts
1 Tsp Vanilla extract

Gingerbread
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tsp each, ginger and ground cloves
1/2 cup molasses (if using black strap, use less. It's potent stuff).

Honey Lemon
1 TBS grated lemon peel
2 tsp lemon juice or 1 Tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup honey
Try topping with a lemon glaze.

Jam Filled
1-2 Tsp and jam flavor or preserves
Fill muffin tin 1/2 full. Drop 1-2 tsp preserves in center. Add more batter to fill tin 3/4 full.

Oatmeal
1 cup rolled (flaked) oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Optional: Raisins and nuts, 1 cup of each

Orange
1 TBS grated orange peel
2 TBS orange juice
3/4 cup nuts optional

Peanut Butter (or other Nut Butter)
1 cup creamy or crunchy nut butter (peanut, almond, macadamia, etc)
1/2 cup brown sugar or Rapadura
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts to complement the nut butter

Poppy Seed
2 TBS poppy seeds with any of the below flavorings
1 TBS almond extract
1 Tbs Grated lemon peel and extract
1 Tbs Rum extract

Pumpkin
1 Cup canned pumpkin
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp each of ground nutmeg, ginger and cloves

Tropical Fruit
1/2 cup dried fruit bits (pineapple, banana, papaya, etc)
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1-2 tsp grated lemon peel

To Make COOKIES from the Bran Batter and with any of the ADD INS:

Drop the dough by spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 Deg F for 10-15 min.

To make a firmer cookie dough, to the 3 cups of batter, add in:
1 Cup additional flour or
1 1/2 cups flaked or rolled oats.


For PANCAKES and WAFFLES with the Bran Batter:

To 1 1/2 cups basic bran batter, add:
2 tsp baking powder

For a buttermilk Waffle or pancake, add:
1/2 cup buttermilk (or kefir)
1/2 cup flour
1 egg

For a CAKE using the mother batter and sweet add ins:

Use 6 cups of the basic bran batter for a 9 x 13 cake pan
3 cups batter for a 9" cake round or a 5x9 pan

Put batter (with any of the listed add ins) into a greased and floured pan.
Bake at 350 Deg F for 30-60 minutes until done. It varies depending on the add in you have used.

Test for Doneness when top of the cake springs back with lightly touched. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Sorry it's a long one, but it's super convenient to add in anything you have on hand (fresh fruit, flavorings, etc) once you have the mother batter made.

Heather (Xenabyte)

[xenabyte]

Here is another variation on an 'all purpose' dough for making several things, dinner rolls, sweet rolls or even hamburger or hotdog buns. The finished roll texture is very light:

Quick Roll Dough

2 cups warm water
1/2 cup cooking oil (like coconut oil or olive or grapeseed oil)
1/3 cup honey
3 TBS yeast
1 Tsp Sea salt
2 eggs
6-7 cups whole wheat flour (enough to make a 'workable' dough)

Mix water, oil, honey and the yeast. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Form the dough into desired shapes and let rise for about 25 minutes (more or less if your kitchen is very warm, mainly going for 'double in bulk').

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 Deg F. Makes about 2 dozen rolls.

VARIATIONS:

Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns

Roll dough into 1/2 inch thick slab. To shape: Cut with a round cutter (a wide mouth canning lid 'rim' works well). For a hot dog bun, take that piece and elongate it and fold in half. Let rise until puffy and then bake as suggested above.

Orange Rolls

Replace water with orange juice, add 3 TBS of dry, finely grated orange zest. To shape: Form 3 small balls and drop into each cup of a greased muffin tin. Let rise until double and bake as suggested. Glaze tops with an 'orange glaze'.

Orange Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 TBS orange juice
1 Tsp melted butter

Mix melted butter and sugar. Add in 'no pulp' orange juice. Mix until creamy. If it's too thick to 'drizzle', add in a few drops of hot water. Go slow and mix after each addition. Drizzle on rolls, doughnuts, coffee cakes, etc.

Savory Cheese Rolls

1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp celery seed
2 TBS soft butter
1 TBS dijon or yellow mustard
Bacon bits (optional)

Mix ingredients to make a spreadable mixture. Take roll dough and roll into a rectangle. Spread cheese filling over top of dough, then roll it up log style. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and place in greased muffin tins. Let rise until puffy and bake as suggested.

Cinnamon Rolls

Sprinkle equal parts mixed cinnamon and sugar (Rapadura, brown or succanant) onto rolled out and buttered dough. Can add raisins and nuts if desired. Roll up dough log style and cut into 1 inch slices. Place on greased baking dish or in muffin tins. Let rise and bake as suggested. Spread with Confectioners Icing or favorite icing.

Confectioners Icing:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 TBS boiling water
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add pat of butter to the boiling water, and when the butter is melted, add to the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Add in vanilla extract. If frosting is still too thick, add in more hot water by the drop. Mix after each addition. Can use maple extract or almond for flavor variations.

[Apwannabe]

Heather you are amazing.

I made your cookies yesterday they came out freat excpet I used carob chips, I had never tried them before but they are supposed to be all good for you so I bought them and all I can say is yuck. I don't like them at all. Next tiem Isticking with the good old semi sweets.

I'm making the Ezikiel (hope i spelled that right) bread tomorrow.

[nini2033a]

OK, I second that!!! I love your recipes!!! :

[xenabyte]

Heh, that's too funny (sorry for a wasted batch of cookie dough!). I personally will second that I HATE the taste of carob. I've tried the powder, the chips and I will stick to the real thing, chocolate, thank you very much

The good news is, there is a new organic, raw chocolate ("Nature's First Law" I think produces it), and it has a LOT of healthy benefits. But again, then you need to mix it with an organic sugar and such to make it tasty enough to eat plain or in a cookie. I've chewed on a few 'raw cacoa chips' and they don't 'suck', but they are not as good as a piece of dark chocolate with some sugar in it.

If you have the time and inclination, Rapadura makes a dark chocolate bar (no or low dairy) that is sweetened with Rapadura sugar (organic, full mineral content sugar) and the bar can be 'chipped' into your cookie batters. It's nice and definitely tastes way better than Carob!!

There are some other organic, free trade chocolate companies that you can find candy bars for at the Health Food Stores, and even organic chocolate chips in the baking isle. They do cost a bit more, but again....no carob aftertatste!

Heather

P.S. Glad you are enjoying the recipes. I hadn't added any in a long time and wanted to include a few more favorites...

[teacup]

subscribing. Thanks all.

[xenabyte]

Posted this in a 'help with breadmaking thread, so going to post it here for ease in finding:

Suggestions when baking with whole wheat/grains:

• Oil (butter) added to the dough helps keep bread soft and from drying out too fast.
  
• Lecithin (the liquid kind, in a bottle) helps perserve it Sometimes called 'dough enhancer'. Can use about 1-3 TBS added to recipe.
  
• Lemon juice or ascorbic acid will give whole wheat a lighter texture and will make the bread less crumbly (good for slicing for sandwiches).
  
• Use high gluten (protein) content flour to help it rise (at least 15% is suggested). If you can't get a good 'commercial' type bread flour, then you can add Vital Wheat Gluten to a good flour (check flour isle at your local Health food or grocery store).
  
• Be sure your yeast if fresh and active. Test it by taking 1 Tbs of your yeast and adding 1 Cup of warm water and 1/2 tsp of sugar or succanant. It should double in size within 10 minutes. Store your yeast in a closed package/jar in the freezer when not using. This will extend it's life.
  
• Kneading on a marble, stone or formica counter top, rather than on a wood board will require less flour and result in a 'softer' dough.
  
• Try kneading with vegetable oiled hands, rather than extra flour, to prevent your dough from getting too much and resulting in dryer, more crumbly bread.
  
• Bag and freeze any extra loaves to preserve moisture, if not used that day or next. Then just thaw it and or toast slices to refreshen it.

Basic Whole Wheat Bread - No Sponge method

Mix in a large bowl, or your mixer bowl, until the flour is wet:
5 1/2 cup Hot water
1/3 cup sugar, Rapadura or honey*
5 Cup good quality whole wheat flour (prefer fresh ground, but hey...)
1/2 to 1 cup Wheat Gluten Flour

Add and mix for 15 seconds (using mixer method):3 TBS Yeast (I like SAF Instant Yeast. Comes in a big package and you can freeze the extra in a plastic or glass container with lid)

Add and mix until just incorporated:
2/3 cup oil (olive, melted coconut, grapeseed, etc)
3 TBS lemon juice (fresh preferred) or 50 mg ascorbic acid (Vit C. Powder)
1 TBS sea salt (I like Redmonds the best for flavor)
3 TBS Liquid Lecithin if you want longer lasting bread (optional)

Add any Seasonings you might want at this point (garlic, herbs, etc) and quickly work it into the dough with mixer or hands

Continue to adding more flour (may be 5-7 more cups) until the dough forms a ball and does not stick to the sides of bottom of the bowl. Obviously this is if you are using a stand mixer, otherwise keep adding the flour until the dough is more managable and isn't too sticky and will hold it's shape for a few seconds before 'relaxing'. You will have to knead with the mixer for about 6 minutes and if doing it by hand, for about 10 minutes or about 300 times to help develop the gluten that will give it that 'stretch' factor to help rising.

With oiled hands, remove the dough from the bowl and form into 5 loaves (or 3 if using half recipe). Make a tight ball shaped loaf and place in the center of each greased pan.

You can place in the oven with the light on to help it rise, or set in a warm corner of your kitchen, until double in bulk. Remove pans from oven if you were using it to allow them to rise there, heat to 350 Deg F and bake for 30 minutes or until top and bottom crusts are golden brown. Cool on wire racks, out of the pan. Store in plastic bags on counter for 1-2 days or wrap in waxed paper, then store in tightly fitting plastic or other container in the freezer. Stale bread can be sliced and toasted (with or without butter) to help refresh it and is wonderful with jam or jelly.

* Regarding honey. If using this method, honey if fine to feed the yeasts. If using a longer soak, sponge method, I would avoid honey for the yeasts as it can inhibit it's growth. You can add some to your dough before rising, for flavoring, if you like, though.

Heather

[lovelee]

Whenever I make the WW tortillas, they always seem to take a long time to cook, this week it took me 1 1/2 hours to cook one batch! I *love* them, but geesh! Also, mine got and stayed kind of hard even though I put them into a towel right after I cooked them, do you have any idea why??
Thanks!!

[xenabyte]

Originally Posted by lovelee

Whenever I make the WW tortillas, they always seem to take a long time to cook, this week it took me 1 1/2 hours to cook one batch! I *love* them, but geesh! Also, mine got and stayed kind of hard even though I put them into a towel right after I cooked them, do you have any idea why??
Thanks!!

Well, I'm thinking maybe you are cooking them a bit too long (esp if it takes you 1 1/2 hours to make a 'reg' batch. You only need little golden spots on a side before you flip to the other side. The whole wheat ones (compared to all purpose flour ones) will not puff up much, are already darker in color and it's harder to tell when they are done, 'just right'. I would check for little golden spots, flip and then do same and remove to a towel lined plate/pot. Then cover it immediately again.

If you have your burner set to a medium heat, I'm guessing it should take about 3 minutes per side, give or take a few minutes if it's early in the cooking or late, when the burner/pan gets hotter.

Other than the timing, it could be the flour or the amount of water you add, esp with a whole wheat flour...it can absorb more water. Try adding just a bit more water and letting the dough 'sit' with a towel over the top to make sure it's hydrated (maybe 10 minutes). Then if it's still too sticky, you can just mix in a bit more flour when you roll them out, or oil your hands well.

Keep stacking them and keep them covered. Seriously, there should be enough moisture content still in them to 'steam' them all by the time you are done. Then I flip the stack over and start eating from the bottom ones..as they are the softest.

I'm rolling the next one out as I've got one cooking in the pan. I would say from the time the first one hits the pan, to the last one, for a reg. batch, it takes me about 30 to 35 minutes.

If you are not totally against the idea and have some organic all purpose flour, try a batch with that. They are usually softer and very yummy. That's a good 'starter' to learn the timing and such. Using whole wheat can be tricky to get them 'just right'. Also try a lower setting on the burner (low to medium) with the whole wheat, as maybe it's cooking them too fast, as the whole wheat has more volitile compounds in it.

I hope you get them 'just right'. We made torts two nights ago and mmmmmm.....it's the first meal I've had since my morning sickness has gone away and I friggin loved every minute of it!

Heather

[Vanessa]

I'm bumping this one up since I just spent forever looking for it. LOL!

[Warda_Rose]

Xenabyte: is this a cookbook? If not, it should be!!

[xenabyte]

Not yet I am working on it, besides chasing down a 4 and 2 year old, growing baby number three just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, and sewing cloth diapers and a handful of other projects (not to mention brewing Kombucha/Kefir and fermented veggies....)

I have alot of it typed into a nice format, but wanted to add several things not here on the site.

Thanks for the support!

[goatlady]

YEAH!!! Congratulations, Heather!!!!! I'm so excited for you! I'm having my third too, due sometime in Sept./October!

[xenabyte]

Goatlady,

Yea and congratulations for you too! I'm literally due on Thanksgiving Day, and doing a homebirth, so things could get interesting, as I've invited family to be here for dinner and maybe a home birthing...we'll see who's brave enough to show up. haha

/hugs to you!

[calla lily]

Thanks Heather for all these great recipes and tips. I have a couple questions about your basic dough recipes. It seems like the basic sourdough and basic bread dough are almost the same. The sourdough uses sugar in the starter and the basic dough doesn't and also uses less flour than the sourdough. So do they taste almost the same? Which one do your prefer? Also do you think it would work to replace all or part of the water in the starter with yogurt?

[xenabyte]

Originally Posted by calla lily

Thanks Heather for all these great recipes and tips. I have a couple questions about your basic dough recipes. It seems like the basic sourdough and basic bread dough are almost the same. The sourdough uses sugar in the starter and the basic dough doesn't and also uses less flour than the sourdough. So do they taste almost the same? Which one do your prefer? Also do you think it would work to replace all or part of the water in the starter with yogurt?

Most welcome.

They are almost the same. I was just trying to show that you can make a very yummy and edible dough with minor tweeks to fit your needs. I change it up alot when making my breads, for experimental and flavor variations to fit my mood.

I use kefir (basically yogurt) for my starter all the time, so that will definitely work. It adds another dimension of flavor and a more tangy 'bite' to the bread. I still use some yeast, as that makes sure you will have a bread that will rise, but there are sourdough techniques (or NT techniques) that allow you to use only a 'sour' start, including kefir or good quality yogurt, and omit the yeast. You might get a denser bread, but it'll be edible. If you let it sit long enough, you will be capturing 'wild' yeasts that will help it rise as well.

I do the yeast addition for 'insurance' that it will rise and since you will get yeast in your bread one way or another (if you 'sour' it or 'soak' it long enough) it just helps make the process go a bit faster.

[skybluepink02]

I just wanted to bump this because I'm referring to it all the time and it's some wonderful recipes. :bump