Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Today was a school day.. The kids did a few subjects this morning

Anna doing "preschool"

 then about 10 o'clock

we took a short break.

When I was ready to get back to work - I found them all playing nicely TOGETHER!

Well, this just doesn't happen very often.

 So, I decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet and

make some bread.

 My family LOVES cinnamon raisin bread and I've always made it with 100% white flour.

I've made up my mind to find a wheat bread recipe that is just as good.

I found a recipe that sounded really good. It had white and wheat flour in it, as well as rolled oats. It was also sweetened with honey.  I decided to give it a try.

The first thing I noticed about the recipe was it used vegetable oil - I changed it to olive oil. The next thing I noticed was  the quantity's of the ingredients were listed in ounces-with the cup equivalents off to the side. The cup equivalent came out to 1 and 3/8 or 7/8. - Goofy - I already made a few changes there. The recipe also said to soak the raisins and oatmeal, separately - why separately??- I'm asking myself- more dishes! I knead my raisins in after the first rise anyway- that way I can make a loaf or two without raisins. So, I soaked the oatmeal and left the raisins to add later.

I didn't like that the recipes instructions said to add the ingredients all at once. I like to add my flour gradually-so the dough doesn't get to heavy.

Sooo.. There are a few modifications to make. The dough turned out well

It was soft  - but would have been quite stiff if I had added the entire amount of flour the recipe called for.

The recipe said to "Bake at 450degrees for 5 minutes, lower the temp. of your oven to 375 degrees and continue to bake for 20minutes more - turn your loaves and cook for another 15-25 minutes."

I had to run my husband to another farm so this wasn't going to work for me. I put the bread in the oven at 375 and set the timer for 40minutes and headed out the door. The buzzer had just gone off when I returned and removed the loaves.

Look good, huh? Taste good too.. My 9 year old complained

"is there wheat flour in here" "why, yes there is" was my reply- when I asked a few minutes later how he liked it he chimed " I'm cutting myself another piece" Must not have been too bad.

One other change I made to the bread- instead of mixing the cinnamon into the dough as recipe states -I rolled the dough out- spread some butter on it and then sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar. It added a little more fat and calories but not much.

Overall- the bread was very good. Its texture was near prefect. It was a little on the salty side. I think I will cut back on the salt a bit next time. I plan to make this again and make a few changes to suit my family's tastes and my needs of a healthier bread.

~Kathy

Grinding Wheat

 I've come to realize that wheat is the basis for nutrition. Full of mineral salts, calcium, and many other minerals as well as  vitamins A, B, E, K, D, and so on. We all know that whole wheat is a better alternative then white bread..but what are we losing when we purchased bread from the store that has been refined, processed  and packed full of preservatives?

So, This is what I've learned lately.

Whole wheat is a nutritious food but the vitamins and minerals dissipate quickly once the wheat has been ground into flour.

Within 24 hours of being ground into flour, 45% of its nutritional value is lost.

After 72 hours -90% of its nutritional value is lost.

That is 90% of the wholesome grains nutrition that does not make it into our family's bodys.

While, looking for more information on the subject I stumbled upon Jane Brody's Good Food book.

It has a lot of information in it about wheat and different types of flours. It makes note that

"refined wheat flour may be "compared to refined sugars and fat", which force a consumer to make up their nutritional deficiencies in the rest of the foods eaten."

Now, I've also been told that freshly ground whole wheat flour tastes better- I've never had yeast bread with fresh ground whole wheat flour BUT this gentleman at the farmers market makes an absolutely to die for Zucchini Bread with 100% whole wheat flour. It is soo amazingly good. When I asked what his secret was- he said "I grind all my own flour"

For the last 2 years, without knowing any of the above, I have had an urge to start grinding my own flour.

My husband grows wheat for Pete's sake - All I have to do is step out my back door.

So, This winter - my goal is to begin grinding my own wheat flour - to switch my family over to whole wheat everything (my oldest son will have the biggest challenge to this) and make all my own bread! (if anyone has a good sandwich bread recipe please let me know!)

So, I'm doing research on grinders.

Anyone have any recommendations?

I'm looking at the nutrimill

A friend of mine has one and seems to like it okay.

Another option would be an attachment for my kitchenaid

I've read some reviews and hear it works well but tends to quickly burn out your mixer's motor.

Would love to hear about everyone's experiences with grinding their own flour and your recommendations.

~Kathy