Mission Bread

On the phone the other night with a great old friend of mine, I was asked, “has being in nutrition grad school changed the way you eat?”

She got a wholehearted YES!

I told her about my new mission to eat whole foods and she sounded surprised as she asked, “is that hard for you?” and I realized – it has been. The person I was talking to makes dinner every night at home. She buys healthy food and really enjoys cooking. She doesn't drink often and only goes out to eat on a rare occasion. For her, eating whole foods is a no-brainer. To someone like this, I probably sound a little silly. On the flip side, to someone who lives on fast food daily, I probably sound like a radical.

However, I have had to make a conscious effort over the past two weeks. I’ve turned many foods down, made different choices at restaurants, and paid a lot more attention to what I’m putting in my mouth. But it feels good! This is what I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but honestly didn’t know how. It seemed too hard to change. The more we learn in class about bioactive compounds in food and disease prevention, the more I know that this is a hugely important choice I’ve made.

Now that I’ve conquered eating whole foods, I’m going to tackle some other challenges on the road to becoming ginger. I’m going to bake bread. That’s right – for the first time ever.

I’m going to whisper to the yeast and coerce it to do whatever I command.

This is the recipe I’ve chosen to tackle:

Ingredients

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon and 2-1/4 teaspoons honey
1-2/3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon and 2-1/4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup and 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons butter, melted

Directions

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 3 loaves.
In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

“Simple Whole Wheat Bread” on allrecipes.com submitted by Nita Crabb

Wish me luck...