It seems that I am never quite settled on Sunday until I have planned for the week to come. I have developed a routine that saves a lot of time and still gives Hubbs a hearty breakfast each morning. You see, he is up by 5 AM and, soon after, ready to leave for the day.
Each Sunday, I place all the ingredients for an organic whole grain loaf of bread in the bread machine. I hard boil a dozen eggs (from our wonderful hens) and make a big pot of organic oat groats (steel-cut oats) for oatmeal.
I ladle individual portions of the oatmeal into glass bowls with lids and place them in the refrigerator. At the same time, I bring a quart of organic milk to a boil, cool it to room temperature, add yogurt starter and pour it into the yogurt maker. After
about a half hour's work, we have homemade eggs, bread, yogurt and oatmeal ready to reheat in the microwave for a quick hearty breakfast each morning. One benefit of doing it all at once is....only one clean up.I have been using pro-biotic yogurt cultures for added health benefits and they make a yogurt that is not quite as sour as regular yogurt cultures. To this we add a spoonful of homemade apricot or blueberry preserves...left from last Summer's bounty.
I guess you could say I am an old fashioned gal, who relies on modern conveniences to make life a bit easier. Guilt sets in if my family doesn't start each morning with a hearty breakfast.
Today I am trying my hand at baking sourdough bread. The sourdough starter has been on my counter all week ...nurtured each day with a feeding of organic flour and purified water ..in preparation for baking. Today is the day. Here are the loaves, just formed. They will have to rise on the counter for 4 to 8 hours before baking. Because the starter has been on the counter all week, no yeast has been added. The starter pulls yeast from the environment...and this "local" yeast should do well to make the bread rise....we shall see!
PS....I must have done something wrong....this is as good as the bread ever looked. From this point it never rose. Ok, back to the drawing board! If at first you don't succeed.......oh my, what a flop!
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8 comments:
Let me guess, MaryJane Butters' latest magazine issue? I have my organic flour in the pantry waiting to try this too. I have been wondering all month if there is enough natural yeast to do this in the winter here. It should come from the flour though. I am sorry you had a flop. Makes me nervous about trying it myself if you can't get it to work. :o)
Love the breakfast information. Thanks for sharing. I really want to get one of those sweet little yogurt makers. I use 1/2 gallon jars and an old cooler to make mine. It works great but is not cool at all. :o) I really want to try the oatmeal your way though. That sound fabulous. My girls would love that. They make old fashioned oats all the time, even for after school snacks.
it will get better. 2 yrs ago i gave away my yogurt maker, wish i had not done that. hope your next batch of bread works out. cheers
I know my next batch will get better....as I have great help this time around, Miss Jess!! Thank you!!!
Hi Bev,
I think that bread is so healthy it just couldn't get fluffy. I know you will get it.
I added you apron giveaway to my sidebar. Great giveaway.
Keep Stitchen'
Bonnie
What a lovely breakfast. Talk about bread not rising....I found a bread machine at a thrift store and it is working fine but when I try to make 100% whole wheat bread it does not rise very much. Any ideas? I use the machine's recipe. Also can you tell me what kind of yogurt maker you have as I like the fact that it uses pint jars (I have lots). And what yogurt do you use as a starter. Just any brand of organic yogurt? Thanks for any tips you have. kpaints Happy packing.
Hey kpaints, My yogurt maker is a Euro-cuisine..it makes 7 glass jars of yogurt....just the right size for a serving. I use Yogourmet yogurt starter with Probiotics that I get online...do a search...you will find it. You will only need on package of starter if you keep using 1 jar of the previous batch to start the next batch....the cultures start growing again when you add them to the warm milk.
As for whole grain bread...mine always turns out very dense...it just does not rise like white bread. But, for toast or for french toast that is fine. It is just a bit heavy for sandwiches.
I am still quite the novice....much more to learn about bread baking. But....I plan to get better with time!
Do your eggs from your hens peel good once you hard boil them? Mine always tear all up is there a secret? Blessings,Karen
I'm not as evolved as you! I do make homemade cinnamon rolls and eggs and bacon...but I would love to get eggs from my own chickens...bacon from my own pigs? Not so much! HA!
I'm not a huge fan of sourdough but my dad is. He makes sourdough pancakes (yes, they ARE good) and regular sourdough breads....but he uses the same little bowl each time....sort of superstitious!
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