WHEATLESS BREAD - 1918

Here is a recipe found in the newspaper archives from 1918. Think WW1. It seems there was an acute white flour shortage at the time, so these recipes were suggested.  Barley flour is not gluten free so be aware of that.  These recipes do sound good and I will have to give them a try. How about you?

I wasn't even sure barley flour would be easy to find these days so I googled it, and there are suppliers, so you might be able to find it in your stores, or at least online if you are interested in trying it. I also found the following information about barley flour at this link:  http://bakingbites.com/2008/01/what-is-barley-flour/

Barley flour is just what it sounds like: a non-wheat flour made from grinding whole barley. It’s a popular alternative to wheat flour because, unlike many non-wheat flours, it contains some gluten. This obviously doesn’t make it a good choice for those with celiac’s, who cannot tolerate gluten, but it does mean that it is an excellent option for more conventional bakers looking to expand their skills by working with alternative flours.

Barley flour has a mild, but very slightly nutty, flavor the complements both regular and whole grain flours. You can substitute it into a regular recipe for up to 1/2 of the ordinary flour without compromising the texture of the baked good (with the exception of very delicate/sensitive baked goods, like angel food cake, that rely on the presence of a precise amount of flour to work well). In fact, because it has a low gluten content, it can actually help to tenderize baked goods while still lending enough gluten to the recipe to allow it to rise properly. When compared to regular all-purpose flour, there are some nutritional benefits to barley. It has slightly fewer calories and more than 4 times the fiber of all-purpose. It also has slightly more fiber than whole wheat flour.

It is a good flour to substitute into quick breads, muffins and cookies for a little whole grain twist and is an easy ingredient to play around with in the kitchen in general. You can find it at just about any natural foods store (Whole Foods, etc.) in the baking or cereal aisle.

CINNAMON ROLLS - bread machine style

I shared my mother's favorite cinnamon roll recipe some time ago. They were made the old fashioned way, and I know some of you still prefer to make bread and rolls that way. But all that mixing and kneading doesn't work so well with my wrists and the arthritis at the base of my thumb, so I have the bread machine do all that for me. It might take a little longer but it works really well. Some of you have the big stand mixers with the dough hooks and I have an old style one that has them too. I did use it to make bread dough when it was new, but now it is old and the speed is unreliable. I think it has something to do with a rheostat, and not worth fixing since I don't do a lot of baking these days.

I do like making cinnamon rolls the easy way with the bread machine and I found a recipe that I like quite well. Some time in the mid-to-late 1990's I ordered a small bread machine cookbook called "Fleischmann's Yeast Bread Machine Favorites" I don't know if it is still available. I just checked the Fleischmann's Breadworld website and did not see any mention of it, nor is this recipe among the ones they have on the site. But I did see several yummy sounding recipes that I might have to try, so you might like to check it out as well. http://www.breadworld.com

The recipes in this book have amounts for both 1 pound loaves and 1 1/2 pound loaves. My machine makes 1 1/2 pounds. I don't know if you can even buy bread machines that only make the 1 pound anymore. Many of them now make 2 pounds, so if that is what you have, you will have to figure out how to make adjustments, unless it will also make the 1 1/2 pound. If anyone wants the 1 pound recipe, just ask me for it.

Awhile back I got hungry for cinnamon rolls, so I made a pan full. My intention was to blog about it right away, and I remembered to take pictures, although I did not remember until 3 had been eaten. According to the date stamp on the pictures, that was back on April 12. My goodness, time does flit away. You might guess that I got involved again with genealogy research, and when that happens, nothing else matters.

I am rather proud of how uniform I managed to get the slices without measuring before I cut! I also do not roll out the dough with a rolling pin. I just push it out with my finger tips, pushing out any big air bubbles as I go. I start in the center of the dough and work toward the edges.

Later I decided I wanted them a little sweeter, and I was pretty sure I had a can of frosting in the pantry. Sure enough, after a little digging I came up with a can of cream cheese frosting. Perfect! As you can see, I wasn't aiming at making them look pretty, I just wanted them to taste good. And they did! So here is the 1 1/2 pound recipe for the rolls ~~

OLD-FASHIONED CINNAMON ROLLS

DOUGH:
3/4 cup milk
3 Tablespoons water
1 large egg
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut up
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/3 cups bread flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

FILLING AND TOPPING:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
Glaze (see recipe below)

Add dough ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the dough/manual cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. If dough is too elastic, cover and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping. Meanwhile, for filling, stir together almonds, the 1/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon.

Divide dough in half. Roll half of dough into a 9x8 inch rectangle. Spread with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Sprinkle with half of the filling mixture. Beginning at long end, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut into 6 equal slices. Repeat with remaining dough, butter, and filling. Place all the rolls, cut sides up, into one greased 9x9x2 inch baking pan.

Cover dough and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes. Bake rolls at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until done. Cool slightly; remove from pan. Drizzle Glaze over warm rolls. Serve warm Makes 12 rolls.

Cycle: Dough/manual cycle.

GLAZE:
Combine 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and enough milk (2 to 3 teaspoons) to make glaze of drizzling consistency.

_________________________________________________________________

Here are some of the changes I made. I often use part whole wheat flour, usually 1 1/2 cups of the total amount of flour, and the rest  is white bread flour. I measure out the 1 1/2 cups plus the additional 1/3 cup white flour. Or I will just use 1 cup whole wheat flour to 2 1/3 cups white. Either way is good and it isn't that noticeable to the eye.

I had planned to use what was left in a package of chopped pecans as that is what I had on hand, but I forgot them.

I do not bother to divide the dough in half and roll out 1/2 at a time. I leave it in one piece, then cut into 12 pieces. I have never tried to get all twelve into a 9x9 pan! As you can see, mine filled the 9x13 Pyrex dish. If any of you try the 12 in the 9x9x2 pan, tell us how it worked, please!

I always let bread do the last rise in a slightly warm oven with the light on and that always works well for me. I turn the oven on at the lowest temp for just a few minutes, and turn it off before putting the bread or rolls in. Leaving the oven light on also gives off a little heat.

As I said before, I used part of a can of cream cheese frosting instead of the glaze.

What's Cooking - Mom's Cinnamon Rolls

This is one of Mom's favorite recipes, and one I loved to eat. It was featured in the local newspaper sometime in 1958 or 1959. If you still like to make bread dough the old fashioned way, this recipe is for you. It won't fit in my bread machine, but maybe if yours makes 2 pounds it might work.

MOM'S CINNAMON ROLLS

1 cup milk
1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups flour
1teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
1/4 cup salad oil

Scald milk. When cooled to lukewarm, add yeast (which has been dissolved in 1/4 cup lukewarm water), sugar, and 2 cups flour.

Next add salt, eggs, oil and remaining flour. Knead well, let rise until double.

Roll 1/4 inch thick, spread 3 Tablespoons butter over and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar to suit taste.

Roll and cut into 1 1/2 inch slices and place in greased pan.

Let rise until light.

Before baking, pour over top of raised rolls:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter melted
1/4 cup water.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes.

This dough may be used for clover leaf rolls and doughnuts.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is a tip for cutting the rolls.

Use dental floss. Put a length of dental floss under the long roll, bring up each end and cross over the top and pull tight. Roll is cut very neatly. I suggest you don't use the mint flavored floss, though.

(I know, I should have pictures of the process and finished rolls, but I was in a hurry to get this post written. Who knows, maybe they will show up later.)

Surprise Prize!

A little over 5 weeks ago I received an email saying I was chosen to receive a $25 gift box of Hodgson Mill products - one of 10 people chosen because we voted in a pizza contest on their Facebook site! I didn't even know they were doing that. I just voted for one of the bloggers I have followed, hoping she would win the big prize, and she did, by the way. I was told I would receive the box in 2 to 4 weeks, but after 5 weeks nothing had showed up. I sent an email to the person that informed me and wondered if this was all a joke. She promptly sent a reply saying it was ready to ship the next day, but the next day - yesterday - the box arrived in the late afternoon! This is what was in the very heavy box ~

The bread flour is a 2 pound bag and the rest are 5 pound bags.

Doesn't the European Cheese & Herb bread sound good? That just might go in the bread machine tomorrow. The box on the right is whole wheat angel hair pasta. I have never tried whole wheat pasta so that will be interesting.

This is not the greatest picture. It is fast rise active dry yeast. I think I count 5 packages. I foresee a lot of baking going on soon!

I like the fact that these products are GMO free. My youngest daughter found out a couple years ago that she has a wheat allergy. There are many more people with such allergies now than there were 30-40 years ago, and some people think it is because of the grains grown today in America are genetically modified organism products. I heard someone on Dr. Oz show say just the other day, that the wheat today is not the same as it was in the 1950-60's. I guess that would be referring to the GMO. His theory is that those altered grains are what is causing us to gain weight as a nation too. :o(  Maybe some of us react to them as my daughter has, with an allergy, while the rest of us have reacted with gaining weight.

That gives us all something to think about, doesn't it. Maybe we should all be making a stink to the companies that are doing all these unnatural things to our food, and buying only GMO free foods. What do you think?

Baking again

This is the loaf of basic white bread I made yesterday. And yes, I just HAD to have a slice while it was still warm out of the oven and it was delicious! Since I made the 1 1/2 lb recipe and that is too big for my bread pans, I decided to go the simplest route there is and just leave it in a ball. I did end up with a few small air bubbles but not bad at all. I have cut the loaf in half and then cut slices from that and it makes a nice size slice and fits in the toaster too. I think a toasted cheese sandwich is on order for lunch today.

Today I am about ready to make a pan of caramel rolls. Since the recipe makes a dozen that fit in a 9x13" pan, I hope to get some in the freezer before I eat them all. ;o) Can you tell I love caramel rolls?

I don't know why I didn't do this years ago as I have had the bread machine for a long time. But then I baked the bread in the machine, too, and I guess we only liked it the first day, plus did not like the thick crust. I guess I was just too lazy.

Since I am trying to stay out of the grocery store until after May 1, this bread baking has helped me to do that so far. I am getting low on several things, like milk and eggs, but if I am careful I think I can make it. With all this bread baking I will have to buy more bread flour as well. I think I better change one cup of the flour for the cinnamon rolls to whole wheat to save a little on the white bread flour. I have done that before as I want the extra fiber and they were still very good.

Don't laugh!

Here is what I was busy with today. Don't laugh!




These are the hamburger buns I made today. No, it isn't the angle that I took the picture, nor an optical illusion. They really are different sizes! I have never been good at judging size when I cut things - bars are always various sizes in the same pan too. (Now be honest. Did you laugh?)

There is also one missing that I ate right out of the oven. I did something a little different this time, by adding 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the mix, which the original recipe calls for, but I have never put it in before. I can't say it made them any better but maybe I will notice it more when I make a sandwich later. I also make the flour half white bread flour and half whole wheat and find them very good. The very first time I made these I did a little better on getting the size more even, but today I just didn't take enough time as I had too many other things to get done. While these buns were rising I put the ingredients for French bread in the bread machine and let that work until the buns were baked. The dough cycle in my machine takes 1 1/2 hours. As you can see below, I didn't quite get these equal size either.

I also couldn't find any corn meal in the pantry to put on the baking sheet before baking, but that won't hurt anything. All I could find there was cornbread mix. Oh well, there is always next time.

I must tell you that it has been a very long time since I actually baked bread of any kind in the oven. I have always used the bread machine, but mine makes such a thick crust that I don't like. And as far as I can remember I had never made hamburger buns even when I made the dough myself years ago, before there were bread machines. So one is never too old to learn!

I wish I could fan a little of the lovely smell of fresh baked bread your way, and to share a warm slice or two with you along with a cup of coffee or tea.