The begining of my bread obsession

In 2006 I was introduced to whole grain baking at a tea party. My friend Priscilla served her guests fresh, whole grain, cinnamon rolls. I fell in love. After jotting down the recipe I went right home and pulled the ancient bag of whole wheat flour out of the pantry and proceeded to make rolls. The only ingredient that I didn't use was the dough enhancer since it contained soy lecithin and 2 of my 6 kids have a soy allergy. She said it was an optional ingredient. Unfortunately, her dough enhancer contained salt. Cinnamon rolls without salt taste a bit like sweet cardboard. Funny thing is that you can make lousy bread with rancid flour and put sugar and butter on it and kids will still eat it. Hmmm? Not good enough for me.

After networking with friends I found a local source of organic whole grains where I bought 3- fifty pound bags of grain. I figured that I could grind flour using my Vita-mix blender and try again. I was committed or maybe I should have been committed! Does 150 pounds of flour sound like a lot of baking to you? My second batch, and third and fourth were worse than the first. The ducks in the park wouldn't even eat my early attempts at whole grain bread. The kids swore it was a sign from God that I should go and buy bread. I called my friend Priscilla and she agreed that the problem might be that my grain was ground too coarse. I added some white flour to this coarse flour and my bread was lighter but still sat in my stomach like a brick. It just didn't digest well.

Priscilla to the rescue again, she sent me to Urbanhomemaker.com which was a huge help. On this website I found recipes, tons of advice, and was able to purchase pans, a board knife, and a K-tech grain mill. I also was drawn to the information in their catalog on the 2 stage method of making bread. This method involves soaking the freshly ground flour in water and an acid, such as yogurt whey, for at least 7 hours before mixing and baking the bread. Soaking the whole grain flour neutralizes a chemical called phytic acid which blocks the absorption of calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron in the intestines. Unneutralized phytic acid, when consumed will eventually lead to mineral deficiency. Soaking also helps to soften the bran which can damage the gluten strands and breaks down the gluten which can be difficult to digest for some people. Breaking down the gluten makes the bread more digestible but also has the side effect of not allowing to bread to rise as light and soft as it might. This is a small trade off when you consider the enhanced nutrition and easier digestion.

My children eventually called my bread a success and claimed that it was as good as store bought! For a while I fed everyone who came over for coffee a slice of toast with butter. I found that I was holding little impromptu classes on a regular basis. I eventually decided to hold a monthly class in my home and teach others how to make this tasty whole grain bread. My classes have been going on for the last 2 years and have been very satisfying and fun. I am obsessed with bread and using the best ingredients and teaching how do-able it is. I considered creating a web site that would help teach others the skill of whole grain baking but I felt that there are others out in cyber space that share my passion and could help teach me and others so I decided a blog would be better.

Time to share making better bread.

Jaricia