November Field Trip

Field Trip—Part 1:  Suzy's Bread Making Seminar

This morning Hillary, Amber, Shane and I took a field trip to Corona where cute Suzy gave us a bread making demonstration.  As you all know, Suzy is shortly moving to Utah.  But before she leaves, she kindly agreed to show us how she makes her awesome bread.  And she was game enough to let us record her!    

So let's start with the preliminaries:

Suzy keeps her bread making ingredients corralled in bins—it makes starting the process fast and easy.  She then begins by grinding the wheat in her Vitamix.

12-GRAIN BREAD (Full recipe repeated at the end)

6 cups hot tap water

2 cups 9-grain cracked cereal (uncooked)

1/3 cup millet

1/3 cup sesame seed

1/3 cup flax seed

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup vital gluten

3 Tbsp yeast

2/3 cup honey or 1/2 cup Agave

2/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup powdered lecithin or 2 Tbsp liquid lecithin

2 Tbsp salt

3 Tbsp dough enhancer

Whole wheat flour (approximately 10-12 cups total)

Measure first eight ingredients and 2 cups wheat flour into Bosch bowl.  Mix gently to fold ingredients together.  Let sit ten minutes. 

Mix oil & honey together (and lecithin if using the liquid form).  Add to mixture.  In a small bowl combine 2 more cups of flour, lecithin (powdered), dough enhancer & salt. 

Slowly add those dry ingredients to the dough mixture.  

Continue to add whole wheat flour 1 cup at a time until mixture cleans sides of the bowl.  (Approximately 10-12 cups total) Knead 10 minutes.

Spray counter and hands with Canola spray to prevent sticking.  

Turn dough mixture onto surface and knead to form a ball.  Cut into six pieces and put into 6 loaf pans.  

Cover loosely with a cloth or put inside grocery bags.  

Let rise till about one inch above pans (about 45 min to 1 hr).  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If tops get too brown during baking, then cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.

After they come out of the oven, immediately turn them onto a cooling rack so they don’t go soggy.  If you prefer the crusts to be softer, spray them immediately after coming out of the oven with a water bottle all around the loaf.  The water quickly evaporates, but it softens the crust.

Field Trip—Part Two

After the demonstration we were fully inspired to make our own bread.  We left Suzy to tend to the bread while the rest of us headed over to the Honeyville outlet in Ontario, where we filled Amber's SUV to the roof with grains and honey.  Literally, to the roof.  We weren't at her home when the bread came out of the oven, but Suzy met us at the intersection of the 15 and 91 Freeways with sack lunches—PB&J sandwiches on fresh homemade bread.  Divine!  

Savoring lunch!

Thanks, Suzy—you're a fabulous friend!

**Update—As you know, Suzy moved to Utah and now that she's settled in she's started a blog for healthy eating.  It's "Foodie Gone Healthy" and you can link to it here.

Here's the full recipe again:

12-Grain Bread

6 cups hot tap water

2 cups 9-grain cracked cereal (uncooked)

1/3 cup millet

1/3 cup sesame seed

1/3 cup flax seed

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup vital gluten

3 Tbsp yeast

2/3 cup honey or 1/2 cup Agave

2/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup powdered lecithin or 2 Tbsp liquid lecithin

2 Tbsp salt

3 Tbsp dough enhancer

Whole wheat flour (approximately 10-12 cups total)

Measure first eight ingredients and 2 cups wheat flour into Bosch bowl.  Mix gently to fold ingredients together.  Let sit ten minutes. 

Mix oil & honey together (and lecithin if using the liquid form).  Add to mixture.  In a small bowl combine 2 more cups of flour, lecithin (powdered), dough enhancer & salt. 

Slowly add those dry ingredients to the dough mixture.  Continue to add whole wheat flour 1 cup at a time until mixture cleans sides of the bowl.  (Approximately 10-12 cups total) Knead 10 minutes.

Spray counter and hands with Canola spray to prevent sticking.  Turn dough mixture onto surface and knead to form a ball.  Cut into six pieces and put into 6 loaf pans.  

Cover loosely with a cloth or put inside grocery bags.  Let rise till about one inch above pans (about 45 min to 1 hr).  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If tops get too brown during baking, then cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.

After they come out of the oven, immediately turn them onto a cooling rack so they don’t go soggy.  If you prefer the crusts to be softer, spray them immediately after coming out of the oven with a water bottle all around the loaf.  The water quickly evaporates, but it softens the crust.

Here are bonus recipes Suzy sent:

Sprouted Grain Pancakes

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups rice milk

3 eggs

3 Tbsp olive oil (you can substitute one Tbsp of chia seed for one Tbsp of the olive oil)

Sprouted grains

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

*You will need to sprout 1-1/2 cups of grain for this recipe. I usually do 3/4 cup spelt and 3/4 kamut. Sometimes I do 1/2 cup spelt, 1/2 cup kamut, and 1/2 cup sweet brown rice. If you start soaking the grains by eight the night before, they will be sprouted by seven the next morning.

Add the ingredients into your Vitamix in the order given. Blend for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes until smooth. You can add in a little cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin spice, etc. Pour onto a preheated griddle at 400 degrees. Enjoy!

Toppings:

My youngest daughter likes hers with a little butter and some maple flavored agave. My oldest daughter likes hers with maple flavored agave and whip cream (in the shape of a B in case you were wondering!) My wife likes hers with blended peaches and whip cream. She occasionally will put peanut butter and maple flavored agave instead. I like mine with a little butter, my homemade peach raspberry jam, and a little maple flavored agave. My awesome neighbors brought me over some of their homemade apricot syrup and I have been using that lately—it is delicious!

Banana Bars

(healthier option in parenthesis)

3/4 cup butter (or coconut oil)

2-1/4 cup sugar  (or 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup agave)

3 eggs

1-1/2 cup sour cream

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cup flour (or 1 cup wonder flour, 2 cup wheat flour)

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup flax seed meal

3-4 ripe bananas

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.  Combine in a separate bowl flour, flax meal, soda, and salt.  Gradually add flour mixture into the creamed butter mix.  Stir in mashed bananas.  Spread into greased bar pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min or until center is done.

Cool, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar (may need more)

Wonder Flour

Combine equal parts of brown rice, pearled barley, and spelt together.  Grind into flour and put into a Ziploc bag to use when ready.