Flotsam 'n' Jetsam - Homemade Bread

HOMEMADE BREAD Cook at 375 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes (20 minutes for buns)
(Makes five or six loaves)

Ingredients:
6 cups milk (alternatively, a) 6 cups water, or b) 2 cups canned milk with 4 cups water)
1 cup oil
2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp salt
1 cup of sugar or honey
8 cups of whole-wheat flour
14 cups (approx.) of white flour
2 eggs
Traditional Yeast 4 T. yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1 cup water
(Alternatively, use 4 T. Fast Rising Yeast with no extra sugar or water needed)

The climate: be sure the location is very warm with no cold drafts. A warm, sunny day with limited moisture helps, but kitchen temperature is most important.

Preparing the pans: Grease six loaf pans with butter or oil. Be sure to cover the corners and top edges of the pans. Bring out a large, wide pan in which to heat the dough mixture.

Starting the dough mixture. On the stovetop, stir and warm:
6 cups of milk or water
1 cup oil (such as canola)
2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp salt (can add 1 T of powdered kelp instead, if preferred)
1 cup sugar

When the dough mixture is very warm or hot to the touch (careful!), turn down the heat and stir in 8 cups of whole-wheat flour. Turn off the heat and remove the large pan from the stove.

Preparing the yeast: Note - If you are using fast rising yeast, simply add it dry to the dough mixture once the mixture has had some white flour added and is lukewarm. If you are not using fast rising yeast, while the liquid dough mixture above is warming, prepare the traditional yeast. In a separate, small bowl (a thinner-edged bowl such as a cereal bowl seems preferable, as the yeast mixture does not lose a lot of heat into the mixing bowl), put a cup of very warm water into the bowl. Stir in 1 tsp. of sugar. Then sprinkle in four T. of traditional yeast and let rise ten minutes. Stir the yeast down to flatten the bubbles, and add to the dough mixture once the dough has cooled a bit (e.g. after adding the white flour, see immediately below).

Adding the white flour (and eggs if desired): To the liquid dough mixture, now add 14cups (approx.) of white flour a bit at a time. One or two raw eggs can be added at this time, as it will make the kneading easier. (Note: do not add the eggs directly to the hottest part of the mixture or they will cook. Mix eggs first with the white flour). If you have not already added a fast rising yeast, add the traditional yeast mixture, again avoiding the hottest part of the dough mixture.

Kneading the dough: Knead dough until there is no more flour visible—it has all been absorbed. At this time, the dough should not stick to the pan. If it does, add a little more flour (e.g. 1 cup) and knead until this extra flour is absorbed and the dough ball is not sticky or lumpy. Leave the dough to rise until double in size—about 45 minutes to one hour.

Forming the loaves: Cut off and shape a piece of dough that will fill one-half to two-thirds of a loaf pan. Fold the edges of the loaf dough under, and place it in a greased loaf pan. Continue forming loaves until all the dough is used up. This recipe will make five to six loaves, depending on the size of the loaves. Leave the loaves in a warm place to rise until double in size, or for about 45 minutes.

Baking: Put the loaves on a rack in the centre of the oven and bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. You can turn the loaves 180 degrees after 20 minutes if they are not browning evenly. Loaves should come out of the pan easily when fully cooked. Use a knife around the edges of the bread to loosen it, if needed, and to be sure a piece of the loaf does not stick to the pan.

Finishing: Line up the loaves on a baking rack or on top of the loaf pans to cool. Butter the tops of the loaves using a little wax paper. Cover the loaves with a clean, slightly damp tea towel (put water on the tea towel and then wring it out well). Leave the loaves to cool!

Variations: add molasses, raisins, a packet of twelve-grain flour, and/or flax seeds. This recipe works well as a basis for cinnamon buns, too.

In closing, bread making is best thought of as a holistic endeavour. Change one part of the recipe a little and you may have to adjust something else a bit, too. Like any baking, bread making is not an exact science, but depends on trial and error, a sensitive touch, and alert intuition—oh, and the most important ingredient: love!