Copy Cat Version of Dave's Killer Bread Good Seed.

Well, I just felt compelled to share this recipe! I absolutely love Dave's Killer Bread. I mean, who doesn't right? Good Seed is my choice and so I set out to make my own version at home. I just need to do a side by side taste test but you guys can tell me what I should change instead.  That is short of the sprouted grain flour because I just don't feel like make it (or buying it!). I did however sub 1 cup emmer grain flour and 1 cup bread flour because I was short on whole wheat flour. Let me know how your version goes! Here's the recipe with a little help from the bread machine as a time saver for me.

1 ¼ cups warm water

2 Tbsp white sugar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp molasses

1 egg beaten

3 Cups Whole Wheat

¼ cup quinoa

¼ cup or more sesame seeds

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

¼ cup flax meal

¼ cup whole flax seeds

¼ cup Irish Oatmeal (something hard)

¼ cup old fashioned oats

2-3 Tbsp cracked wheat

¼ cup packed full Vital Wheat Gluten

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp instant yeast

Use bread machine on dough cycle. Pull out when finished and shape for loaf pan. Heat oven to 350. Let rise until size is suitable and bake for 25-35 minutes in a large loaf pan.

I really enjoyed the crumb. The egg gives it a bit of fluff, yet it isn't in Dave's bread, but I needed it. I also over fill all my seed cups and even dump extra in and then roll the bread in seeds before I drop it in the loaf pan for it's final rise. The wheat gluten really gives it some stretch and could maybe use more depending how much whole wheat you use.  And lastly if it doesn't cook long enough it will be kind of gummy inside. That's a tell tale sign to bake it longer next time. Still good to eat though! And really yes you do need the molasses. Happy Baking!!

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Scones (Casein/Dairy Free)

I love it when recipes work out in my (our) favor. Took my favorite scone recipe and adjusted it to be casein (dairy protein) free, a little more wholesome made from 100% whole wheat pastry flour with apple for added yummy factor.  I doubled this recipe to get 1 scone pie to eat now and 1 to eat later. I put it in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup softened coconut oil (you can sub earth balance or smart balance too)
• 1 apple, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup of apple shreds)
• 1/3 cup Almond Milk (could sub any nut milk or coconut would work too)
• 1 egg yolk (hold the whites for later) (for a no egg version leave out the egg and increase the nut milk to a 1/2 cup)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until everything is well-combined. Slightly warm the coconut oil so it's mildly soft and add it using a fork or pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in the apple and almond milk, until the mixture starts to come together. It should be a little crumbly, but fairly easy to handle (not sticky) and easy to form into two balls. If it is too wet, add a little flour, too dry, sprinkle in some more milk alternative. Mine was more on the wet side and not so crumbly side but I've had it on all levels of the scale and it has cooked up just fine.
4. Make into 1 or 2 balls. I made this into 1 larger ball and proceeded as follows: gently flatten them into a disk that are about an inch to an inch and a half high on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the scones with the tablespoon of sugar or even a little more if desire mixed with cinnamon.
5. Cut or score the disks into 8 triangles (like a pizza), and bake for10-12  minutes, or until the scones begin to take on a nice golden brown hue on the tops and edges. I like to keep the scones touching as they bake for a pull-apart effect and tender middle. I gently separated them as they did slightly rise.
6. Once out of the oven I let them cool for about 10 minutes. Then I poured icing all over the top. To make the icing just mix a tablespoon of almond milk with about 1 cup powdered sugar until you get the consistency you enjoy. It should be thick but pourable. Pour all over the top of the scones and let it harden slightly. 
7. Enjoy!! (If you are freezing them, let them cool and then freeze. Step 6 should happen after you reheat on the spot so they don't end up soggy.)

Just out of the oven awaiting icing!

Whole Wheat Flax Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes a lot of pancakes - approx. 30 4inch pancakes
Ingredients
1 & 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 & 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
6 tablespoons ground flax seeds
3teaspoon baking powder
1& 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons raw or unbleached sugar
3 cup low fat buttermilk (or milk with vinegar to curdle it)
3 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter or oil

Instructions
1. Preheat griddle or fry pan to medium-high heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
3. In a large measuring cup, measure buttermilk. Add in egg, applesauce, vanilla extract, and whisk to combine. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until combined and some lumps remain. Let batter rest for about 5 minutes.
4. Cook pancakes until there are a few bubbles on the surface and the edges are just cooked, about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook for about an additional 2 minutes or until cooked through.

This batter was a little on the thin side. I haven't had time to play with it to get thicker pancakes. I did add chocolate chips - because we love them, but this batter would definitely benefit from some oats, bananas or be delicious plain. My goal was to get away from white flours and sugars so my kids could eat a healthier whole grain food. Because I do not consider pancakes nutritious I wanted a way to remedy that, at least a little. ;)

Dairy Free, Sugar Free version of the Even More Perfect Wonderful Whole Wheat Fluffy Sandwich Bread

It is so fun to experiment with bread. I have had to cut sugars out of my diet, along with most dairy and gluten. I still eat some gluten but I replace it wherever I can. I make this loaf for the family and I'm working on a sprouted grain loaf of bread (recipe coming soon as it's a serious work in progress!). My hubby cut all dairy and casein out of his diet due to an allergy and I'm finally succumbing to the fact that sugar is bad, especially in the quantity that I enjoy adding it to my foods and baked goods! Yikes. So here is step one - removing dairy and sugar.

This loaf came out so silky smooth and still had some sweetness from the malted barley. What is malted barley and where do you find it? Well it was hard to find but I go it in the sugar section of my store next to all the alternative sweeteners. The product brand is NOW but I'm sure there are others out there. I have heard that Bob's Red Mill makes one too. It's fine and powdering like a flour/sugar. It is made from sprouting Barley, then drying it in a dehydrator at no higher than 170 degrees and then grinding it into a flour. By converting the grain to sprout it ends up really sweet and a great alternative to sugar, perfect for low GI diets and when replacing your sugars in your recipe you use about 1/4 the amount. I used even less.

Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)

2 tablespoons coconut milk (any milk alternative would work, I prefer coconut or nut milks)

2 Tablespoons Oil

1/4 Cup Malted Barley Sweetener

3 Tablespoons Flax meal

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten (Bob's Red Mill is what I used)

2 cups bread flour

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions:
1. Combine first 2 ingredients with a sprinkle of the malted barley and let proof for 5 minutes. I did this in the measuring cup so that I could put the next 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir while waiting for the proof. Once the yeast mixture bubbly and fluffy add it to the mixing bowl and stir.

Malted Barley and Yeast Fermenting

Milk, Oil and Malted Barley

2. Add bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat, vital wheat gluten, flax meal and salt. Mix until smooth and then add the last 3/4 cup whole wheat a 1/4 cup at a time and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  I do this in my kitehenaid mixer. The dough should be pulled away from the sides of the bowl, the bowl pretty clean and not sticky to the touch. Grease a bowl with olive oil, pull dough out onto the counter and knead it into a ball checking consistency int he process. Then place dough in the greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes to 1.5 hours.It's winter in my house and the wood stove keeps things pretty warm so mine doubled in 40 minutes.

 3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into two loaves. Place in 2 greased loaf pans and cover. Let rise in a warm place until it is the size you would like your loaf to be once baked. It will not rise in the oven, maybe a little, so don't put it in the oven until you like how it looks. Turn the oven on now. Mine takes about 20-30 minutes to heat up and I like it warm and ready to pop the bread into as soon as I like it's size. Having to wait for the oven to heat at that point could cause the bread to fall while waiting and it might rise too much during the heating period. So like I said. Turn it on now.

(Above) Before the rise in the pans & (Below) Risen and just about to start baking.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon cover it with some foil. My loaves were perfect after 30 minutes. Very soft and tender but almost hard and hollow when knocked on.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. This allows it to sweat a little and removes nicely from the pan and softens the crust. I like soft crust. I removed it to a wire rack to cool. I also put some plastic over the top to soften the top of the loaf. I take it off after about 10 mins. Slice and enjoy while still warm or wait until cooler so that your bread slices nicely! (click here for a little bread slicing tutorial) Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

Now to figure out how to decrease the gluten content. Low GI Sprouted Grain bread here we come!

Update:

I adjusted the recipe to be a bit larger and have some oats and seeds. The additions are listed in the comments below and here are a couple pics. It came beautiful, soft and delicious. 

Crusty Bread - No knead

Easiest bread you will ever make and totally great for a first timer!

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting (or half WW and half bread flour, I have also used 100% whole wheat and it worked out nicely!)
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. (I skipped the towel and did this in the bowel as it was much easier to transfer to the pot after with no sticking.) When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6 to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. (I used a 4 quart as the 6-8 was way too big and I wanted a tall bread not low and flat. I also didn't preheat the pot because it's too tedious to get the dough into the hot pot.) When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Easy right? Granted it takes a bit of forethought and planning but the results are well worth the wait. We love this bread sliced thick with a bit of butter and liquid honey. It’s also great dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a pre-dinner treat…mmmmm.

even more perfect wonderful whole wheat fluffy sandwich loaf

I really didn't think my bread could get any more perfect than it already was but low and behold these beauties are amazing!

Can you see how light and fluffy! It is so soft and delicious and sweet and oh so perfect. What did I change you ask? Well I ran out of oats. Never thought the oats where drying the bread out so much but hey, each trial teaches you something new! So I replaced the 1 cup oats with a 1/2-2/3 cup unbleached white flour. I also finally bought honey! So 1/4 cup honey and still kept the 2Tbsps of white sugar to give it that sweet yummie bread flavor I was looking for. Then I also painted the tops with honey before baking. Now I could have gone without that because my hands are so sticky from each time I hold the bread to cut it. I also keep it wrapped up in plastic which makes it a little stickier! (haha!) So here is the orignal recipe. And here the new one with adjustments made for this round! ROUND 6!

Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)

2 tablespoons milk 2 tablespoons oil

4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp White Sugar

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten (Bob's Red Mill is what I used)

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions:

1. Combine first 2 ingredients with a pinch of sugar and let proof for 5 minutes. I did this in the measuring cup so that I could put the next 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir while waiting for the proof. Once bubbly and fluffy add the yeast mix to the mixing bowl and stir.

2. Add flours, vital wheat gluten and salt and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. I do this in my kitehenaid mixer. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes to 1.5 hours.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into two loaves. Place in 2 greased loaf pans and cover. Let rise in a warm place until it is the size you would like your loaf to be once baked. It will not rise in the oven, maybe a little, so don't put it in the oven until you like how it looks. I painted the top with warm honey and then you can sprinkle all kinds of oats or seeds or anything on top that would like to make it pretty. I left everything off because then I have to sweep the floor even more often.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon cover it with some foil. My loaves were perfect after 30 minutes. Very soft and tend but almost hard and hollow when knocked on.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. I removed it to a wire rack to cool. Slice and enjoy while still warm or wait until cooler so that your bread slices nicely! (click here for a little bread slicing tutorial) Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

march breads

I know I mentioned this before but finding the time to blog about my baking is very difficult for me. This month I will just be posting everything I baked and a few I forgot to take pics of for the blog. I baked a little less this month over last month but still had a wonderful array of yummie yeasties and I even ventured into trying some wet breads and sourdough.

Here I made some Garlic Naan! It came out wonderful! So much so that I actually made it twice. The first week in March and the second week to go with a yummy vegetarian red curry.

I don't have a pizza stone so I put my cast iron flat iron in the oven and it came out brilliant! Here is the naan cooking away in the oven.


And here is the final product.

After reading the March round up from BYOB I was totally inspired to make the chocolate brioche that Roxanna made from Green Girl. I stayed traditional in shape but liked the idea of using Nutella inside instead of the chocolate chips and boy did this taste good. But bottom line - it was just like my chocolate challah bread. I need to do a little more reading about what makes Brioche a Brioche instead of just calling it an egg bread! I think I ate most of it!




So I picked up Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day and tried out the recipe for the fluffy sandwich bread on page 92. It was much better than the 10 grain cereal one tried in January but still wasn't not sold on it as a regular staple in my house. It was still really dense and the strong yeast smell made my husband not want to eat it. So it lasted a long time. But it was super delish toasted with butter and thinly sliced extra sharp cheddar cheese. My personal favorite is Tillamock's Vintage White Cheddar - extra sharp. I pick up the 2lb block every time I go to Costco as this is truly my favorite cheese. The hamburger buns were from the same batch of dough and they came out pretty good too but still hubby didn't like the smell.

As you can see it came out with quite a nice texture and was soft but not as soft as my favorite whole wheat bread that I keep making. You can see a few pics below or click here for the recipe.

Here is my next round of Bagels that really did not fair that well! I'm not sure what I am doing wrong but they come out so FLAT and this time they were all gooey in the middle where the water seeped in while boiling and didn't seem to cook off. I feel like my dough is too dry so as I shape the balls the top dough tears leaving places for the water to sneak in. I'd love some help here if anyone knows what to do or how to help me. I will be trying it again this week and will try to keep my dough a little more hydrated and hopefully more pliable. I need the gluten to do it's job so maybe I should knead it longer too. hmmm.....

Here I cut the yucky part out of the middle so that I could eat it. Ew! Didn't taste bad though. LOL!

Of course another round of chocolate chip banana bread. And muffins too but they didn't have any chocolate. That way I can send it for snack to school with Mr. H.

Round 5 of favorite whole wheat oat bread. Here's the recipe. I really feel like it just gets better every time.

So I ventured into the realm of sourdough bread. I think this one needs it's own post which will come later but bottom line is it came out more like a french loaf because my sourdough starter was bad. Still tastes good though, hehe.

Sliced up nice too! I made it because I really wanted to have pannini's for dinner. I served this sandwiches with a really delicious broccoli cheddar soup (I adjusted it to be vegetarian). Here is the link for that recipe because it was amazing. I highly recommend doubling the recipe to serve 8 so that you have enough leftovers.


What I didn't get a chance to take pictures of were my beautiful Calzones! They were so pretty with the rolled twisted edges and the filling was to die for, adults got mediterraian style and the kiddo's got pizza pocket style. Yum yum. I baked them in the oven just like I did the naan above. I put my cast iron flat iron in the oven and baked it on one side only. Super duper great.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins - small batch so they went super quick. Only two left and a picture with two muffins only is a sad picture.

Also put together a pan full of my no-bake eggless granola bars. Super quick and easy, here is the recipe:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped cashews
1 cup coconut flakes - dry unsweetened - I love this so sometimes I add extra, yum yum!
1 cup oats
1 cup puffed rice cereal
1 cup kamut puffed cereal
1/4 cup flax meal
Put all in a 9x11 pan and toast @ 350 degrees in the oven for 12 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes so they don't burn. While that is toasting heat 3/4 cup honey and 7 Tbsp coconut oil on the stove till warm and mixed. Combine the honey and dry toast ingredients and then press into the 9x11 pan. Let cool. Place in the fridge to get extra hard. Pull out, flip over onto a cutting board and make your granola bars! Too much honey and they are too gooey and fall apart when not super cold from the fridge. Still really good but almost too sweet when there is too much honey. I wrap each individually and keep in the fridge for quick snack access. You can press chocolate chips into the top after pressing into the pan for chocolate coconut granola bars. My favorite!

Busy Monday

Yesterday was a busy day! Here's my 4th round oft favorite whole wheat bread recipe!

Also made our hamburger buns for our yummy eggplant burgers that I was making for dinner. Talk about kids loving veggies! This was a hit, a definite one for the books. The hamburger buns on the other hand didn't look perfect but tasted great. I topped some with onion and some with sesame.

And the bagels of course!

Slicing Bread & Round 3 Whole Wheat Bread

So here goes, this is how I've figured out to slice my whole wheat sandwich bread so it comes out just like store bought bread slices.

First have a decent bread knife, doesn't have to be amazing or expensive, it's all about your wrist! I do quick little slices back and forth, gently pressure, just like I'm an electric knife. I picture what those bread slicers do in the store and try do it with my knife on just one slice. I know I'm a dork. But I like to see things in my head, it's how my brain works. So just keep doing that till you reach the bottom and you did it!

Second you have to hold the slice upright so that it doesn't fall over and crack in half since this is really nice soft bread and you want it perfectly thin. Just like the picture above. Also the longer the loaf rises the fluffier it will be and the harder it is to slice and the more important it is for you to support the slice while cutting it.

Third, you can flip the bread over and slice it upside down. It squashes the top a little but it bounces back, just don't push too hard!


So this is my round 3 loaf, one of them, and as you can see they do come out different every time. So why does it look so different this time? Well hubbie helped out. I had to go to the store so he brushed the tops with half and half instead of milk and also they hadn't risen quite to where I wanted them when he put them in the oven. I also told him to leave off the oat sprinkle from the top because all it does is make a mess. Don't get me wrong, I think it looks pretty and all but this was just more practical.

So you can see the pretty bouncy muffin top is gone, it's a little denser too. It also did not "deflate" like the last couple batches. Not a bad thing but the other loaves you can see how wrinkled they were on top from the "deflating". I also like to wrap them up in plastic as they come out of the oven to maintain the moisture and so the crust gets soft because I personally dislike crunchy crust on my sandwich bread.

Wonderful Whole Wheat Bread - round 2

This is a follow up to my original post here for my favorite perfect whole wheat sandwich bread.



The dough will be stiff and feel dryer than a white bread dough - that's ok.








For the second rise I cover it with plastic wrap loosely that's been sprayed with oil because I have a cold kitchen. I also drape it with a towel and set it near the oven that is usually on.







Once completely risen to the height you would like your bread to be (it doesn't rise much in the oven) gently paint the tops with milk and sprinkle oats on it.






Oh I love the smell of the warm bread. We eat one right away and I freeze the other one as we tend to go through 2 loaves each week.






Ok so here's my tip of the day for getting perfect store bought slices out of your loaf! Turn it upside down and if you aren't using an electric knife (I don't have one) cut like you are using an electric knife. Also, if you like thin slices hold the slice up so it doesn't break in half. You'll see what I mean when you try it. Kinda hard to explain. I'll try get a picture next time.

100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

First I have to give credit to Heavenly Homemakers for testing this recipe out first! Here is the link to Laura's blog on the buns: Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Mine came out delicious and fluffy. The only change would be to bake them on a cookie sheet instead of the casserole dish because my round buns ended up with square bottoms! haha!

So next time I will roll balls out instead of cutting it out with a cup so that I get the round buns that I love so much. I did a 1/2 recipe so I only got 6 buns and one twist roll that I didn't take a picture of for the blog. Also I have a cold kitchen so I left mine to rise for a lot longer and they still came out wonderful! Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it:

Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

5 cups (+) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 pkgs regular or active dry yeast (4 1/2 t.)
2 T. honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 T. butter
2 t. sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Set aside to let rest for 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix together 1/4 cup water, yeast and honey. Allow this to sit for at least 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Melt butter, milk and salt in a small saucepan on the stove. Do not allow the mixture to get above 120 degrees.

Pour yeast mixture and milk mixture into flour mixture. Add remaining two cups of flour (more if needed).

Knead for about 10 minutes until dough begins to look “shiny”. Put dough back into the bowl, cover and let rise for at least an hour…or until it has doubled.

Pull dough onto a clean counter top and knead for a couple of minutes to get any air bubbles out. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut circles from the dough with a large drinking glass or wide mouth jar. Place circles on in a well buttered baking dish about an inch apart.

Allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Makes about 18 buns.