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Books Chooch Cooking Firsts Health Soulful

Review of "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day…"

I’m finally getting around to writing a review of the book I used to make my first ever pizza dough in my “Firsts” series of posts, most of them during Labor Day weekend.

A weekly meal routines we’ve fallen into over the last eight or so months is “homemade” pizza on Friday nights.  I would purchase a whole wheat pizza shell (Boboli-type) and we would top them ourselves with our favorites. It’s healthier (whole wheat) and much cheaper this way, since the shells run about $5 and the results are individualized.

As is my usual luck when I find something I love, the store next door stopped selling the whole wheat pizza shells about two months ago. I wanted an alternative other than buying at a store I have to drive to, so I started looking at whole wheat pizza dough recipes and although not terribly difficult, I just … didn’t wanna…

Then I came across this book while zipping around in Amazon and was immediately hooked. It’s title “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I read the product description and was curious as to whether or not any whole grain recipes were included. Then I noticed another book by the same authors Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients. The description there really had me excited, so I put the book on reserve at my library and checked it out the next day.

I opened the book to skim it while I was still in the library parking lot, and decided to grab the few items I would need to make my first multi-loaf batch. I’m unable to afford all the recommended tools (pizza peal, baking stone, 5 qt container with lid) for a whimsical attempt, so I instead used their suggested substitutions. Very quickly I had my dough mixed and set aside for the two hours as instructed, and later that night used some of it to make whole wheat pizza dough. It was delicious, although the texture was a bit gummy.

Undeterred, I attempted two or three loaves from the remaining dough and was happy with the taste but not texture. Naughty Bear loved it and ate several slices, but neither Chooch nor I really dug in and I ended up tossing it.  (As Ramona says, “Bread makes you fat,” so I only eat REALLY tasty bread.)

I hit the troubleshooting chapter, which is pretty extensive, and found that different brands of whole wheat flour can cause variation in the results. I followed the recommendations and made another batch, resulting in much better pizza crusts (Friday to Friday). Due to insanity here, I didn’t get another loaf made from that batch, but am entirely sure it was improved based on the difference between the two pizza batches.

As for the process, it’s different from traditional bread making. Annnnd lookit, I’m not going to go into a huge explanation of the science. If you know me, you know my opinion of science (It’s great! But better left in someone else’s hands.). And you are correct if you guess that I read it all, but didn’t bother retaining much of why the system works. But even I can explain the system itself:

You make one huge wad of dough by quickly and simply mixing dry ingredients with wet ingredients in a 5 quart or larger bowl/container/whatevs. Then you park it loosely covered somewhere that your dog/kids/drunk uncle won’t knock it about. After two hours, during which time it has miraculously risen, you move it into the fridge still loosely covered. Now, depending on which dough you mix, it will happily reside in the fridge for up to 5 to 14 days, ready for your use. I have not tested the outer limit on that, but after a little over a week on one batch of the 14 day Master Recipe I question the claim.

Once it’s been refrigerated for … a while (who can remember, that’s what recipe books are for) you use a serrated knife to chop off a chunk and follow the provided steps to make a loaf of artisan dough, pizza crust, baguette, cinnamon rolls, or whatevs. The loaves I’ve made require an additional rising period of 90 minutes or so, but the pizza crust is rolled out and baked immediately.

To date, I’ve made the Master Recipe for pizza crusts and “artisan loaves” and the Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe with a very tasty loaf. I’m testing it out for pizza crust tonight to see if we like it better than the Master Recipe. This will be my last test batch, and if successful I’ll buy the book, pizza peel and baking stone (I’m already pretty happy with my container situation).

I should warn you that this process will take up a big chunk of your fridge space. You should really think this part through before making any investment. You may be able to get around this if you cut the recipes in half and use smaller containers.

Also, mixing the dough is a bit messy if you don’t use a 14-cup food processor or other machine (which I don’t have), but it’s still extremely quick and easy. I mix and store it in the same bowl, so the only thing I have to wash is measuring cups, a whisk and a wooden spoon. And let’s not forget, it’s bread making we’re talking about here. You’re supposed to get messy!

As for the expense, it’s waaaaay cheaper than a bread machine and I’ve essentially already paid for the book with the savings from 4 pizza crusts (I’m already counting the one I’m making tonight). The other items? We’ll call those an investment for the home.

Categories
Chooch Cooking Firsts Friends Health Household

Cooking More, In Frequency and Variety

I was making a shopping list, and the recipes I’m shopping for made me reflect on recent-ish changes. I decided to write a quick post on this topic.

Not surprisingly, when I was working full time with a three hour daily commute my interest and time for cooking dropped off tremendously.  Partner that with a general recipe rut of cooking what I knew Chooch and my sons would like and you’ve got a couple years of routine dishes and a lot of boredom with cooking. We ate out a lot, I used a lot of cooking shortcuts and in general was borderline resentful of the entire process.

In the last six months or so, primarily due to a tightening in our budget, I’ve been cooking more. Add to this my renewed love of fruit and vegetables and I feel as if the whole culinary world has opened up to me again. I’ve been experimenting with new dishes, and while some were lousy, most were either perfect for us or close enough that some tweaking made them work.

I’m having a lot more fun in the kitchen and we are eating more wholesome foods as a result. This makes me extremely happy, especially with my fascination with Eat This, Not That lists.  We rarely venture into the extremely unhealthy realm of restaurants anymore, partly due to cost and partly due to my unwillingness to eat that unhealthily except in the most extreme situations. It’s just too hard to find whole grain options, and they add so much salt and fat to the dishes that it’s obscene.

In fact, thanks to a recent and delicious meal made for us by friends Heather and Marc, I’m going to attempt my first ever Indian dish. No, I’m not going to mix my own curry, and while I know this will offend some I have two words for you –  baby steps!

I’ve also been baking bread and am almost at the point where I ready to write a post on that subject in the next week or two. My love of whole grain/whole wheat is pushing me to find more and more options, and so far it’s been a lot of fun, even when the results are more brick-like than bread-like.

One very surprising turn that I’m taking is towards vegetarian and vegan foods. I have some odd food phobias, namely anything pork, anything on the bone, anything that lives in water, and any “exotic” meat (not sold in grocery stores) makes me squeamish as well.

While I still love beef and chicken, I am eating it less and less. This is partly because we have vegan and vegetarian friends that we do pot-lucks with fairly regularly.  I prefer contributing something that they can eat but that I will enjoy as well. I hate nothing more than testing a recipe on friends, so am seeking and testing recipes for future meals with them. This is leading to some interesting and healthy places, and for the first time I can really see the possibility of going vegetarian. I don’t think I’ll ever give up cheese, so vegan is probably never going to happen. I’m already maintaining a tenuous grip on eggs though, but for now couldn’t live with hubby’s delicious omelets. And it certainly simplifies baking, although I did get an egg-replacement product to test out for my vegan buds.

I’m off now to get some honey for bread and curry for dinner. It occurs to me a wonderful side effect of the new cooking jag is that my house usually smells AWESOME!

Categories
Cooking Firsts Hobby No Whining

My Very First Painting

I’ve had a bunch of art supplies that belonged to my Mother. My Dad passed them on to me after she passed away a few years ago, probably because she and I had talked about taking a painting class together. She was very skilled but rusty, and I’d never painted beyond the crap you do for art class in school. We never got to do that and I guess my  Dad thought it would be cool for me to have them now. I’ve moved them around three or four times, but never opened them up. In 2008 it was even one of my goals for that year.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and even talked to Jen, a dear new friend, about it one night a few weeks ago. She encouraged and emboldened me and I decided to give it a try. I pushed myself into doing it this weekend because of my “No Whining” post last week.

The plans Chooch and I had for today got nixed because I’ve been sick most of the day, up and down with dizziness and fighting a migraine. It’s been a rough day, and add to that some bad news and the fact that I had to miss out on a party tonight where he and his band were playing. Serious bummer. I wasn’t up to doing anything new, but I made myself go downstairs and see if anything happened.

I ended up doing a painting, and I’m pretty happy with it. Nothing exciting or earth-shattering, but I definitely vibed on my Mom and my son NB while I was at it and it has a special meaning to me. I haven’t decided if it’s finished or not. I’ll look at it tomorrow and decide if I want to add anything as I first intended, but I may leave it as is.

Oh, and I made potato salad for the first time, too. Thanks to my great friend Andrea for her tip on making the best I’ve ever tasted. Mine isn’t as good, but it’s still okay.

Categories
Cooking Firsts Health No Whining

My Very First Time Making Pizza Dough

In my last post, I explained that I had no intention of spending the weekend wishing I were somewhere else. Like Dragon*Con. Or PAX. Or WorldCon. Instead, I vowed to do one new thing each day of the three day weekend. Well, I started early without meaning to and since I just realized what I’ve done is a “first” I thought I’d fill in all you shiny people of the intarwebz since I know you’re sitting on the edge of your seat. Waiting. With bated breath.

I came across a book that grabbed my attention, but funds being tight I couldn’t swing the $20 to buy it right now. Plus, my experiences with breads and the like have been less than encouraging. They turned out okay, but I didn’t feel the urge to really ever do it again outside of a bread machine. But the only pizza dough I can ever remember using was either made by a friend (Thanks again, Allie! It was delish!), a Boboli-type shell or one of those canned pizza dough things in the refrigeration section.

Since I didn’t want to wait for funds, I instead checked the book out from my library (whodathunk?!?) and cracked it open in the parking lot to see if it was as cool as it appeared. Digging what I read, I hit the grocery store for the few key ingredients and headed home.

‘Lo and behold, I have made pizza dough.  Healthy pizza dough. (Well, about as healthy as it can get.) I peeked, and it’s actually rising as expected! We shall have fresh, homemade whole wheat pizza for dinner tonight!

Good or bad, I’ll post a review of the book. It looks promising so far.

Now I’m off to bake the pizza so we can settle in and watch Sophie’s Choice.