Hello everyone,
Here we are in the tilt of this ever changing world, and I’m making some alterations, as well. I’m shifting my focus to on-line teaching to create more ways for people to learn at home. I think we’re all going to need this come winter when we’re stuck inside again. Check out my new on-line Flour Hour on Airbnb. From now on, I’ll also be announcing one-off classes in various types of breads that you might want to learn come the season when we’re stuck inside again. Keep a watch out for that. In the meantime, hope you enjoy your various projects.
Here’s what’s on the menu this month:
Mama Bread
This month’s Mama bread is made with Doris wheat from The Bread Lab in Washington. They developed the grain to be a nutritious and flavorful wheat that also offers farmers a lot of benefits and incentives to grow. They named it after Doris Grant, a nutritionist and early champion of whole grain loaves of bread and critic of the overuse of refined foods. During WWII, she created a whole grain bread called the Grant Loaf, which maximized wartime ingredients and strove to bring nutrition to the people.
Buttermilk Triticale Loaves
One of my favorite weekly rituals is getting milk and cream from a local farm. I churn the cream into butter (this sounds much fancier than it actually is since I use the Cuisinart to basically zap it), which leaves me with a batch of true buttermilk. The next day, I’ve been taking to the habit of making bread with this delightful ingredient. I love the pairing of buttermilk and rye, but I just got a little triticale, so I’m going to try that instead. If you don’t know what triticale is, I’ve often heard it referred to as a cross between rye and wheat. In these loaves, I use a backbone of white wheat grown by Bluebird Grain Farms and add a bit of triticale from Moon Family Farms in Washington.
Organic Sandwich Loaves
The sandwich bread this month is made with organic sifted French heritage wheat flour grown by Camas Country Mill. Rouge de Bordeaux is a flour that I encountered in France this past year and really enjoy making bread with it. The fact that this flour is sifted after being stone ground makes it a bit lighter, while still containing much of the germ and bran (thus more nutrients) than the typical flours found on grocery store shelves. To these loaves, I’m adding a bit of malted barley flour from Tuality Plains in Forest Grove, Oregon. The barley adds a hint of cereal sweetness and boosts the browning capabilities.
100% Einkorn Loaf
Einkorn is the most ancient wheat that we still cultivate. It’s genetically different than modern wheat because it reflects the time when wheat had a simpler DNA profile. It has a buttery color and a savory flavor with mineral overtones. I’m using grains from Bluebird and milling them at home on my Komo. This bread is a pan loaf and it’s superb as toast dripping with butter and a shaving of parmesan cheese.
Seedy Einkorn & Rye
This bread is the newest in my repertoire. It dawned on me that I could use my einkorn starter to make a mostly-rye bread and I decided to give it a go. Wow, am I glad that I did. This is a labor intensive bread, as I grind all of the grains myself and diligently toast and soak the seeds, but it’s worth it! The rye comes from Tuality Plains and the organic einkorn, from Bluebird Grain Farms. I pack it with organic flax seeds and Anson Mills Sea Island benne seeds. I also include sprouted pumpkin seeds. As one friend put it, a slice of this bread is a meal unto itself.
I am happy to share any of my formulas with you if you reach out. I hope whatever you are baking is inspiring your day!
With delight and gratitude,
Other news from the world of grain:
-Since I’m geeking out about rye these days, I enjoyed this in-depth article about rye flour.
–Here is a thorough article about shaping dough.
-I can’t wait to try this sandwich bread recipe!
For information about taking my class through AirBnB, go here.