It's Too Cold Outside

It's funny that Evelyn sang, "Too coldy outside, for angels to fly" all winter because this was a brutally cold winter. We hovered around 0 degrees for longer than I appreciated. There were many nights where we snuggled up on the couches with warm blankets and warm company.

Here are a few quotes from Facebook that I posted in January:

January 16
I can't believe I'm happy that it's 16 degrees outside. It seriously feels warmer.

January 17
I got a new PR (personal record) today. I ran 3 miles this morning in 3 degrees. It actually wasn't too bad, except for the wind.

(To further explain, I wore a scarf around my face in addition to all my warm running clothes. I've never had to do that before. And the only reason I went running was because my weather app on my phone said it would be 15 degrees. But because of the terrible inversion we were having it ended up only being 3.)

New Toys

Evelyn loves the new toys she got for her birthday! Especially because she has enough older brothers and sisters at her beck and call to build her things with those new toys. Eden and Austin had a lot of fun making this castle for her pony train and a chair for Elmo! By the way, Evelyn loves to sing "La, la, la, la Elmo's world!" She also loves to sing, "It's too cold outside, for angels to fly". That one sounds more like, "too coldy outside, no angels fly". But man, she's too cute.

Evelyn Turns 2!

I can't believe another year has flown by with this little girl! She is so happy and fun and silly and just wonderful! She makes us smile everyday!

We had a great little family party for her on January 6th. She loved every minute of her special day.

Some of the Things I've Learned About Wheat and Natural Yeast

This is a hard blog to post because I don't know how to convey everything I've learned about wheat and natural yeast in a simple blog post. There are books about these things. But there are some things that I've learned that I feel are important enough to try to share. I will try to post links to sites or give the name of books that provide more information.

First of all, in my journey to find the best flour to feed my little yeast sample I went to a kitchen store. They told me I needed to use unbleached, unbromated flour. I had no idea what that meant but I said ok and went home and did my research. If you check the first link you will learn that all flour is bleached through a chlorine gas bath that was held unfit for human consumption back in 1910 but the ban was never enforced. The chlorine combines with proteins in the flour to produce Alloxan which is a known carcinogen and has been known to induce diabetes in lab rats. It has not been proven safe for humans.

Here is a quote from the first article about bromated flour:

"Bromated flour has been treated with potassium bromate to improve dough elasticity, allow it to stand up to commercial baking practices, and produce a higher rising bread. Potassium bromate is a potential carcinogen that may be harmful when consumed and is outlawed in the U.K. It has been associated with thyroid dysfunction. Some states but not all require that potassium bromate be disclosed on food labels."

Next in my journey I learned about wheat. I learned that wheat berries (the grains) are full of nutrients such as calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphate. But wheat has a self preservation mechanism called Phytic Acid. The role of phytic acid is to not release any of the nutrients in the wheat until an enzyme called Phytase is present. Phytase essentially convinces the wheat that it's been planted and it is free to release the nutrients it has been storing. When wheat is ground into flour some of the chains of phytic acid are broken and some nutrients are released. Here is an interesting quote from the book The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast,

"While the wheat flour moves through our digestive tract, phytic acid panics and runs around snatching up all nutrients that fit the description of the ones he was holding on to.... He does such a good job that he snatches up nutrients from other foods we've been eating. We never even realize we've been robbed." Or do we? How many of us are nutrient deprived and feel it in many different ways from sleep deprivation, to lack of energy, to chronic illness?

So how do we get phytic acid to release the nutrients in wheat? I'm going to quote the book again.

We use natural yeast  to "trick" phytase into thinking the seed has been planted and it's time for the nutrients to go to work. This is because natural yeast starters are acidic, low in PH, and moist - just like soil.

When we work our starter into a dough, phytase recognizes the change in environment and gives the all clear for nutrients to be released. On the average, this process takes at least six hours, as the starter reproduces and spreads throughout the dough, neutralizing the phytic acid as it goes.

... Once phytic acid has completed his assignment, he gets a new one. He runs around with his empty chains and snatches up cancer-causing free-radicals. So the good stuff gets to us, and the bad gets carried out.

In our effort to make our lives easier, faster, and more efficient we have robbed ourselves of the processes necessary to digest foods and absorb the vital nutrients therein. It's not completely our fault. Science and innovation have made mass producing breadmakers rich and huge corporations don't really care about what you eat and how it affects you.

But I believe God does.

Natural yeast is all around us. It is in the air we breathe and settles on the foods we eat. The white chalky stuff on grapes is Yeast! There are many websites that show how to make yeast from apples, potatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables. This is where everything clicked for me. Wheat is for man and I can eat it if I make it the way God intended it to be made.

I read another amazing book, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. He uses a two day process to make his whole grain breads because he discovered that if he soaks his dough and his yeast overnight, the flavors are greatly enhanced. Although, he does these separately and combines them in the morning and adds instant yeast later to help with the rise. I think he was on to the right idea. It is important to let your dough set for several hours 6 to 12 in order for the yeast to work through and for phytase to unlock the nutrients. At least, this is how I've been doing it and I feel great. It is not convenient but it is still inexpensive and relatively simple (once you get the overall concept down).

One more thing about whole wheat. There are three parts to a wheat berry; the Endosperm, the Bran and the Germ. Modern day milling discards the bran and the germ leaving us with a white flour that is mostly starch (sugar) and protein. Wheat bran has some essential nutrients like soluble and insoluble fiber which help to lower levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, help regulate blood sugar, help slow digestion for better nutrient absorption, control the PH balance of the intestines, move food through the intestines, regulate bowel movements and pull toxins from the body. The wheat germ contains vitamin E, phytic acid, and folate (folic acid). Although small, it is packed with the nutrients the wheat berry needs to start new life. Don't forget that phytic acid isn't the enemy. We need it to help remove those free-radicals.

Whole wheat flour is essential to a healthy diet. But don't give in to the temptation to buy whole grain bread at the store. Just because it says it is whole grain doesn't guarantee it is made with 100% whole wheat. Most people would have belly aches trying to digest whole wheat bread without natural yeast and the overnight Soak (letting the dough rise).

I prefer to grind my own wheat. It allows me to store large amounts of wheat at a low cost (a 50lb bag is only $17) and to grind other grains to use in my flours. But mostly it is because within 24 hours of being milled whole wheat flour loses as much as 45 percent of its nutrients to oxidation. And in only three days, 90 percent of the nutrients are lost.

There are many kinds of wheats and grains. Here is a brief explanation of a few. Peter Reinhart's book has a great explanation of all the grains. But this is what I needed to know to get started.

Hard winter red wheat: most of the wheat in the US comes from this. It is high in protein and used mostly in all purpose flour and bread flour. It has a robust, almost bitter flavor that some people love.

Hard spring red wheat: has the same flavor profile but is one of the hardest wheats and thus has the highest amount of protein.

Hard white winter wheat: sweeter and lighter in color with a protein profile similar to hard winter red wheat. It is increasing in popularity due to it's gentler flavor. (I use hard spring white wheat).

Soft winter red wheat: lower in protein making it better for pastries

Soft spring white wheat: also lower in protein but has a slightly sweeter flavor. Also good for making pastries.

Some of the other grains available for making bread are: Durum Wheat, Einkorn, Emmer, Kamut, Spelt, Amaranth, Barley, Buckwheat (which is actually a plant related to rhubarb and not a wheat), Cassava, Corn, Millet, Oats, Potato Starch, Quinoa, Rice, Rye, Sorghum, Teff, Triticale, and Wild Rice. Who knew?

This experience has been a real adventure to me. I have learned so much and know there is still so much more I want to learn. I will try to keep sharing.

My Discovery of Natural Yeast

I have been gluten intolerant for over ten years. In the past two years I have discovered that three of my five children are also gluten intolerant. The cost of gluten free breads, snacks, desserts, etc is budget busting and in an effort to cut costs I decided to try making my own gluten free bread. This decision, back in January, changed my life.

I made a beautiful loaf of gluten free bread using rice flour and other ingredients that our family uses on a regular basis. The only addition was Active Dry Yeast that I purchased at the local market. I was surprised when the bread made my stomach hurt and had a small suspicion that maybe it was from the yeast. Not very many days later I came across a comment on someone's Facebook post that led me to a blog post by Caleb Warnock about Natural Yeast. I wondered what it was and read his post. (I strongly suggest you read the article). Anyway, I was mystified and slightly inspired. I thought over his ideas for a few weeks and decided to take the plunge and order the book The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast (on Amazon for $12, also found at Costco and Deseret Book).

I knew nothing about wheat. I don't buy it. I don't store it. Why store something you will never be able to eat. In fact I'm actually rather self conscious about my wheat allergy. In D & C 89: 14-17 it says, "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, ... Nevertheless, wheat for man, etc." Those particular lines bothered me, especially when I had to teach on the subject because I couldn't eat wheat, or barley, or rye, or many other kinds of wholesome grains. So, wheat is ordained by God for the use of man but not me? It was frustrating. And as much as I tried to ignore how I felt, it always bothered me, even more than not actually eating wheat products. Mostly because I knew most wheat products we purchase at the store are crap anyway with little to no nutritional value.

After I read the book and Caleb's blog post I knew I needed to conduct an experiment with myself as the guinea pig. I sent a self addressed stamped envelop to Caleb and received my microscopic sample of yeast. The next few weeks were frustrating and discouraging as I tried to get my yeast to grow. I fed it and watched bubbles rise but couldn't get it to double. I knew it wasn't dead since it was producing bubbles but it didn't seem happy either. In the mean time, instead of throwing away large batches of yeast while I was nurturing it we decided to cook simple things.

We started with pancakes. My son Dallin made the first batch and I only allowed the two allergy free kids to try them. But I had One. It tasted ok but mostly I was waiting for tell tale signs of my food allergy. Only two weeks before this I had given in to temptation and ate two ravioli at Carrabas and ended up gassy, bloated, and then constipated for days. I waited and waited and the pancake did Nothing to me.

So then I experimented with making a loaf of bread. It was a brick (since my yeast still wasn't rising) but tasted good and again, no symptoms. Then I went out on a limb and made crepes from a recipe in the book. I ate three huge whole wheat crepes and fed my whole family. I didn't have any symptoms and neither did anyone else as far as I could tell.

Now I was excited! I can't even tell you how excited I was. So I started doing research, tons and tons of research and then I started praying. I really wanted my yeast to grow so I could make wholesome, inexpensive, bread for my family. The very next day I got a message from a good friend who said her mom was coming down that night to teach her how to make bread with Natural Yeast and she thought I might be interested. I knew God had answered my prayers. I went and discovered the mistakes I was making with my yeast (using tap water), learned how to best make the bread (use all your yeast in the jar), and saw examples of something I had just read about online (how to make yeast from raisin water). I left that night with an incredible sense of hope. And enough dough for one loaf that turned out like this,

I started my raisin water the very next day. The following Monday I poured my first cup of raisin water into a jar and fed it. I refed it on Tuesday and Wednesday morning I woke to a full, bubbling jar of yeast. I made my first light, absolutely delicious loaf of bread and fell in love!

In the meantime I had been maintaining my original yeast from Caleb with bottled water, a little rye flour and hope. I was considering throwing the whole thing out when low and behold Thursday morning I woke up to find a full jar of yeast on my counter. I guess it just needed a little more time (and bottled water).

I have now been eating whole wheat bread for several weeks. I feel great. I feel like I have more energy and like a weight has been lifted from me. I still have things to learn and understand but I'm discovering new things every day and hope to keep sharing what I discover with you.

If I can make delightful little whole wheat dinner rolls like this, so can you!

Natural Yeast, Honey Whole Wheat Bread

You may not understand all the science behind natural yeast. You just know that it's good for you and you want to make bread. Here's a step by step to making delicious, light, beautiful bread with natural yeast.

According to my previous post, you've come to this point with your Raisin water starter and you're ready to bake with it. If not, see my previous post on how to make Raisin water yeast.

The first thing to do now is prepare your wheat. You can buy whole wheat at the store but I recommend grinding your own wheat with a wheat grinder. Whole wheat flour loses 45% of its nutrients to oxidation within 24 hours and in only 3 days it loses up to 90 percent of its nutrients. I grind my wheat and bake with it immediately.

I prefer Hard White Wheat as opposed to Hard Red Wheat. They are both cultivated wheats and equal in protein and nutrients. Hard Red Wheat has a more robust flavor that I found to be a little too strong for my tastes. Hard White Wheat depending on whether it is spring wheat or winter wheat is lighter in color and more closely resembles the white bread we're used to eating (in case you have picky eaters that balk at the idea of eating whole wheat bread).

One cup of hard wheat makes a cup and a half of flour.

The Wonder Mill works great but you need to remember to turn it on before putting the grain in and let it run for a few seconds after the grain has all gone through.

Tap the sides of your flour container to help the flour settle before taking the lid off.

Here is the recipe we will be using:

2 C room temperature bottled water
All of your starter
2 T salt
2/3 C honey (I prefer local if you can find it)
2/3 C coconut oil
3 eggs (I'm thinking you could do without this but I haven't tried it yet to see what affect it will have)
7 C flour at first, then 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups more as needed

If you have a Kitchen Aid or a Bosch it will make your experience much easier.

First I blend the water and starter with the whisk or paddle blade of my Kitchen Aid. I actually think the paddle blade is better.

I use all of my yeast. It can range from 2 cups to 3 cups. I pour it into the bowl and leave whatever is left in the jar to settle at the bottom. It will measure about a 1/4 cup so then I will feed it 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup flour and voila your starter is ready to grow again.

Add the honey,

And the coconut oil.

If your oil is firm melt it for a few seconds in the microwave, otherwise you will have large chunks in your dough.

Add the eggs.

I've seen many recipes that don't call for eggs. I may start leaving them out and see what affect that has. I will post about it when I do.

I mix all of this for just a minute or two so it is well blended.

Then I remove my whisk blade and replace it with my dough blade. I mix 7 cups of flour on my lowest speed just to incorporate all of the ingredients. If the dough is still really wet I add another cup or so. Here is the trick, depending on how much yeast you used you need to adjust for how much flour you need to add later. If you used 3 cups of yeast it already has quite a bit of flour in it so you may not need to add as much. If you only had 1 1/2 cups yeast or 2 cups you will want to use a total of 8 to 8 1/2 cups of flour.

The goal is to have the dough be really sticky once the ingredients have all been incorporated. Then run your mixer on the next speed up (number 2 on the Kitchen Aid) for a full 10 minutes. You want the dough to stick to the sides of the bowl for the first few minutes. As the yeast activates with the gluten in the wheat it will begin to bind and stretch, tightening your dough.

I took this picture a little late in the mixing process. It will be more sticky than this for the first few minutes.

While your dough is mixing grease a large bowl. I have a lid for this bowl that I also grease and will seal halfway on top of my bowl after I put the bread in.

At the end of 10 minutes your dough will clean the sides of the bowl and stick together as a tight ball. If you've added too much flour this will happen within the first few minutes of kneading. That will make for a dryer loaf. If you haven't added enough flour your dough will still stick to the sides of the bowl and may turn out crumbly after baking. Try not to stress out. This just takes practice. If you can watch someone do this once it may help a great deal. I would be happy to show you. (But note, I am by no means an expert).

Here is another important note. Natural Yeast needs moisture to keep it active. As you handle your dough dip your fingers in a bowl of bottled or distilled water. You do not need extra flour to handle your dough. It's a brave new concept but it works.

Dip your fingers in some water and scoop your dough out of the mixing bowl into your greased bowl.

Cover it with a wet towel, saran wrap, or a lid half way sealed, and let sit for at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours. This one sat for about 8 and a half hours.

On a wet surface divide your dough into 2 or 3 loaves. It is a very wet dough. There isn't much playing around you can do with it (I will work on recipes for artisan breads later). You can shape it a little in your wet hands so you have a smooth side and then drop it into a greased loaf pan.

Cover it with greased wax paper and let it sit for another 2-2 1/2 hours. My dough was really small in these pans. It doubled in size in that time. Although it looks small here it still rose in the oven when I baked it. I could have just used 2 loaf pans but I don't care for giant sized loaves.

Bake your loaves in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Bake them for 25-30 min. Once the bread has pulled away from the sides of the pan it's done.

I remove my bread from the pans right away and set them on a cooling rack. You need to let the loaves cool completely before cutting into them. They will continue to cook until they are completely cool. If you cut into them too early the centers will still be doughy.

This is how the bread looked when we cut into it the next morning. The raisin water yeast gives it such a wonderful flavor.

Another suggestion is to make your dough at night and let it rise while you're sleeping and then divide it in the morning and bake it after it's risen for 2 hours. I started this one in the morning because I was so excited my yeast had risen I didn't want to wait until that night to start using it. I'm not the most patient person.

Natural Yeast, Getting Started

I have been gluten intolerant for the past 10 years and have recently discovered the miraculous benefits of Natural Yeast. What this means, briefly, is that I have been eating whole wheat for the past 3 weeks and haven't experienced any reactions! I have so much to share about the science behind this and all the things I've discovered about yeast and wheat BUT I am an impatient person. I was so excited myself to figure this out that I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hear the whole backstory about my discovery and then having to wait for the actual information. So I thought I would give the information First and then share my paths to discovery (for those that are curious) in a later post. But just fyi, this has changed my life.

First things first, making the Yeast. 

I started out with a sample of dried Natural yeast starter from Caleb Warnock that has been temperamental and difficult. So instead I am sharing how to make yeast from Raisin water because it is so much easier and will allow you to at least get started and familiar with how the yeast feels, looks, etc.

Take a handful of raisins and throw them in a wide mouth glass jar. Add 6 or so crushed grapes that have not been rinsed and look a little chalky (that chalky stuff is called yeast). (Some people add some sugar but I didn't find that necessary with my first jar. If it makes you feel comfortable, add a teaspoon or so of sugar, it's said that it will help the yeast grow faster). Fill your jar 80 percent with Bottled Water or distilled water. (Chlorine, found in tap water, kills yeast). Put the lid on tight and let it sit on your counter for at least 3 days up to 7 days. 

Once a day remove the lid to let air into your jar. Put the lid on tightly again. You can also shake the jar a few times a day. After a few days you may notice a bulge to your lid or hear a "whoosh" sound when you take the lid off. This means the yeast is ready. Some say you should wait until all the raisins are floating at the top. I'm either too impatient or that just didn't happen for me (probably because I was too impatient) but I got my yeast to work this way. 

Strain 1 cup of raisin water into a clean clear wide mouth container. (I like wide mouth mason jars). Stir in 1 Cup unbleached, unbromated flour. You are going for a consistency sort of like pancake mix, lumpy, not too watery, but not doughy either. You may need a little more than 1 cup flour or a little less. Stir it well then cover it. I like to mark my jar with a rubber band to show where the starter mix is at.

Now here is where you need to pay close attention.

Stir the mix a few times that first day. At the end of the day "feed" it 1/2 Cup bottled water and 1/2 Cup flour. Mix it well and cover it.

Hopefully the next day you will start to see some large bubbles forming. If you do then pour out enough of it so you are left only with about 1/2 Cup. You can use what you poured out to make crepes or something or you can just pour it down the sink. Now, feed it again 1/2 Cup water and 1/2 Cup flour still trying to achieve that same "batter like" consistency. Move your rubber band and cover it. You may want to stir it again before you go to bed.

Here is what mine looked like on that second morning.

Now you can make bread!

A few additional tips:

I use this whole amount in my recipe. I dump in all of the contents of the jar without scraping the sides. I set the jar on the counter and let what's on the sides settle to the bottom. It measure about 1/4 Cup.

Add 1/4 cup bottled water and 1/4 cup flour. Are you noticing a pattern here? I always feed my starter with a 1:1:1 ratio. That is why I dump out some of my starter. Because I don't want to be adding 2 Cups water and 2 Cups flour to 2 Cups starter.

When you notice this starter doubling and bubbling feed it and then put it in the fridge (unless you plan on making bread again the next day, then just leave it on your counter). Putting it in the fridge just slows down the process. The starter stays good in the fridge allowing you to feed it every 3 to 4 days until you are ready to use it again.

My next post will be on how to make the bread. It's a little different than traditional whole wheat bread recipes.