It is my baby's birthday today. He isn't a baby anymore. He is taller than me and turning 16 today. We went through some serious health issues with him when he was 2 weeks old. We are so very glad that he had more to accomplish in this life and got to stay. He blesses our lives by his example. (As do each one of my children.)
The years just keep going by. My family that is living at home is shrinking too. My daughter is graduating in a couple weeks and moving on to great adventures. We are excited for her. That will leave us with only 1 child home out of 7 children. I am lucky because 5 of them live close by, so we get frequent visits which we enjoy very much. We have a treat for a couple days having my oldest son visiting from San Diego. It feels like a family reunion. (We wish his sweet wife could have come too.) It is wonderful to see each child get their wings and fly and accomplish great things. One of my daughters gave me a sweet card when she graduated that had butterflies on it that said. "Thanks for the wings." I have always said to them that my parents gave me wings to fly, and I want them to have wings too. I will admit that I do shed some tears each time we move to a new chapter but, I do try to enjoy today and the great things that are happening. I am at the stage of life now where my children are my teachers. I learn more from them than they learn from me. I love that they have a great time together, and choose to spend time together on their own. That is success. They are my friends as well as my children. I have a wonderful husband that is my ice cream in my sundae of life. (I should say my wheat in my bread of life :). He is so very good to me. Life is just good! My life revolves around my family.
So back to the bread. I made this yesterday and it was fantastic. I actually just used whole wheat this time. I will have to try it with some mixed grains next time. My husband loved it. I hadn't been as happy with some of the bread I had made lately, but this was wonderful! It was light but not too light. It just had the perfect mix. :) I hope you enjoy it too!
Ingredients:
6 C hot water
2/3 C honey
2 T sea salt with iodine
2/3 C coconut oil
5 T lecithin granules * Optional (Dough enhancer makes bread lighter)
2 T plain yogurt
3 T yeast
14-15 1 /2 C Whole wheat flour (about 10 C of wheat kernels)
Directions:
1. If possible grind the flour right before making it. Fresh flour is always better and healthier.
2. Pour the water, honey, salt, oil, lecithin, yogurt. Blend together in the bread mixer.
3. Pour in 2 cups of flour and knead for a couple minutes, and then add the yeast.
4. Continue to add the flour one cup at a time until the dough no longer is on the sides of the bowl.
5. Knead the dough 10 minutes on high.
6. Then let the dough rest 5 or 10 min.
7. Then I weigh the dough according to my pan sizes. I made 2 -1 1/2lb and 2- 2lb and a mini loaf.
8. Pound each section on to the counter to get the air bubbles out. I put some oil on my hands. Roll each section into a ball and put int the pan. I push it down in and push down on the sides to make it a little higher on top.
9. Place in oven set at 170 degrees. Let the dough rise until it reaches 1 inch over the top of the pan.
10. Turn the oven up to 350. Leave the bread in the oven. The bread should be done in about 25 min.
11. Take out of the oven. Rub some butter on top if desired. Cool on cooling racks.
12. Enjoy today!
Sweet Words: My 3 year old grandson was over yesterday and asked for a slice of this bread. He is a VERY picky eater so I was thrilled he wanted something healthy. So I cut him a slice and asked him if he wanted butter or jam on it. This was his reply. "He said, No, this is very special bread this doesn't need butter or jam." He knew how to make grandma smile. The world would be such a sad place without children. (I agree with him I ate a piece yesterday with nothing on it and it tasted so good. :)
Beautiful blog message. What would happen if you did not use the dough enhancers?
ReplyDeleteI think it will still work. It may not be as light and may be a slightly different texture. I think it would still be yummy. I haven't used much dough enhancer lately so I wanted to see the difference that it made in the bread.
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