Well, it has been over a month since my last post. I have been faithfully making my Homemade Wheat Bread twice a week (sometimes three, if I give bread away as a gift) and I wanted to update you all on how it has been going.
It has been WONDERFUL!!
As I was looking for a "wonderful" image to put here, I found this image. It hit me . . . it isn't just my bread that is wonderfully made but each of us as people as well. Take a moment and ponder this! Heavenly Father does NOT make mistakes. He designed us ALL to be individually wonderful.
Now, to be honest, no two batches have been the same. I figure that accounts for the weather we have been having this March and April. Warm days, HOT days, humid days, rainy days, snowy days, windy days, etc. Boy has that effected how the bread rises or just looks in general.
Another issue I have been facing are DISTRACTIONS!!! I will set my sweet, little bread machine to make my bread dough and even set myself a timer on my phone to remind me the bread dough will be ready. But no matter how hard I try NOT to get distracted . . . I do!!! A child calls from school, the door bell rings and I visit a bit too long at the door, a friend stops by to help me with a crazy / insane church assignment, or I have my phone on silent. No matter the distraction, the bread over rises into a huge balloon and then I desperately form it into loaves and set it to rise a second time.
And then the DISTRACTIONS come again!!! My poor bread has been risen too much for weeks. But . . . it ALWAYS tastes just fine and turns out looking much better than the teeny, tiny loaves ever did.
 |
| Remember the Dry, Teeny, Tiny Bread I made for weeks? Not even on a third rise does my bread look like this. I figure my new bread recipe is pretty much fool proof. And boy am I thankful for that!! |
The last detail I would like to share with you is on the vital wheat gluten.
 |
| This is the gluten I use. I have purchased it at Macy's (along with my Saf yeast). |
I know there is a HUGE kick right now against gluten. I respect that. I know people who personally can not have gluten. But I will be honest with you, my body prefers a gluten diet. I have tried non-gluten foods and my body gets sick. I have also tried making this bread without adding the gluten and the gluten makes a HUGE difference. Non-gluten bread is crackly, crumbly, dry and a bit flavorless; which makes for a tough time getting ANYONE in my family to eat the bread all gone.
Bottom line, if your bread recipe has great flavor but is looking a bit less than desirable, try adding some gluten to it. I wouldn't skimp on the gluten you buy either. I think you want a high quality gluten - as to cut out any side-effects a lower gluten could give to your family. But this is just from my experience.
I also know there are other ways to make homemade bread without even using yeast. A friend of our family has offered to share with me her Potato Starch Bread Recipe. It is kind of like a sour dough starter - so I think it will be alot lot of fun to learn about and try. This friend of our is going to give me a start and calls it the "Working Woman's Bread". Why? It is due to how long you can just leave it lying around until you can get to it. Sounds like it might just be what I need ??? I am also excited to see if this bread could be something I can add to our bread rotation (sometimes I get sick of eating the SAME bread every week). But this won't be for a few more weeks. To be continued . . .
In closing, after almost 8 weeks, I have decided that my current bread recipe is a KEEPER and my family agrees!
Happy Baking!
