HBin5: A Whole Grain Artesian Free Form Loaf

 Today's post is the official start to the new bread baking club that is baking their way through the new cookbook Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. You may remember that back in November and December, we were given the bonus recipes of Pumpkin Pie Brioche and Cranberry Orange Challah breads to wet our whistle. Except remember, my challah was made with chocolate chips. Ooh, the warm memories!

Anyway, were starting off the year with the Whole Grain Master Recipe. With this basic dough, we were to make a regular free form loaf of bread, an Epi, (a shaped loaf to resemble a wheat stalk), and Spicy Whole Grain Crackers.

 Can I first tell you how easy this is? It literally took me 5 minutes to mix some flour, yeast, salt, vital wheat gluten, and water in my dough bucket, Then you leave it for a couple of hours to grow.

 At this point you can use it right away or refrigerate it for up to 14 days. I choose to refrigerate it because it makes the dough easier to handle. Then you just form your loaf and bake. Bread baking does not have to be intimidating anymore!

 This was my first loaf. Basic but beautiful!

My next loaf I topped with a mixture of poppy, sesame, flax, and sunflower seeds. I really like the way this one looked and tasted with the seeds on top.

My third loaf was made for a friend as part of her Christmas present. Since she cant have seeds and nuts due to dietary restrictions, I sprinkled her favorite Italian seasoning on top. This is her first loaf in the bread of the month club that she will be receiving. I gotta share that bread baking love!

I didn’t make the epi, but I did manage to get the crackers baked. These were habit forming. Impressive yet easy, if I may say so myself!

I topped my crackers with an assortment of toppings.

I used;

• Chili powder and kosher salt
• Johnny’s Garlic Spread Seasoning
• Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
• Black Hawaiian Sea Salt
• Salish Alder Smoked Sea Salt

A great big thank you to Michelle from Big Black Dogs for hosting our bread baking adventure. You can check out her blog for all the information and for a list of participants.

You can also check out the Artesian Bread in 5 Minutes A Day blog where you can find step by step instructions and the Whole Grain Master Recipe. They also have a lot of good recipes and ideas so take a look around. I want to make the Pizza Lollipops!

To order your own HBin5 Cookbook, Click on the above cookbook!

To win a free copy of this book,

go to Simply Daily Recipes! Jill has 4 more copies to giveaway. Winner of the second book will be announced January 22. Good Luck!

I hope you enjoyed my adventure in bread. Wait till you see what we have cookin’ for the end or the month. Something tells me your gonna like it. Just a little tease!

Whole Grain Challah Bread with Orange Zest and Chocolate Chip

Challah Bread with Orange Zest and Chocolate Chip!

That is what I made with  December’s bonus recipe from the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes Group. And there is still plenty of time if you want to bake a long with us. The official kick off is next month so ask Santa for that Cookbook and you’ll be set to go! Well…you’ll need a little Vital Wheat Flour but you can easily find that at your grocery store.

The original recipe called for cranberries and orange zest but I knew it would not get eaten in my household as it was written(except by me), so I substituted Chocolate Chips. I know the way to win my family's heart!

I brushed a thin glaze of orange juice and powdered sugar on it and sprinkled it with a course sugar. I also substituted the wheat germ for Cream of Wheat cereal. And I baked it all pretty in my new Kugelhoft Bundt Pan. Doesn't it look so jolly and merry? Perfect for the holiday festivities!

It made some super-duper toast and I’m sure it would make a dynamite bread pudding! I hope to find out! :)

 

Click on the picture above to get the recipe!

Happy Holidays!

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: Pumpkin Brioche

I got a new cookbook!

It’s the new Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Francois.

 I’m going to bake through this book, with a bunch of  bread baking bloggers!

HAAHA, say that three times fast! Go ahead, try it. It’s fun!

Anyway, sorry about that. 

The bread baking bunch, aka: The HBin5 group is hosted by Michelle of Big Black Dogs and your invited to join in too!  Were baking bread and we’ll temp you with new homemade healthy dough that we’ll bake in some form or other, every other week. It doesn’t “officially start” until after the new year, so there is still time to get your book and join in!

But until the official kick off, we were treated to a bonus recipe and it’s perfect for the season!

Pumpkin Pie Brioche!

I had a great time with this dough. In fact, I made it twice.

I did the original recipe as written on Michelle’s Blog. I loved the dough, the color, the ease, but the flavors of pumpkin or cinnamon didn’t really ‘shine’. I did spread a few slices of it with some Maple Butter and let me tell you, that was killer. Leave it to me to turn  a “Healthy” recipe into a dieticians nightmare. Oh but it gets better!

I made the dough again!

And this time I doubled the spices and used maple syrup instead of honey. But then…

I doctored it up even further and I made cinnamon Swirl Bread. Now that was good fun!

And did I tell you how easy it was?

You can mix, and store your dough all in the same container. Seriously, it only took 10 minutes of hands on time to make my dough, and that was with stopping for a few pictures! Then you let it rest for 2 hours before using. It’s best to make it and refrigerate it over night for a more easily handled dough. And it will last a good 5 days so you can bake a loaf now and save some dough for later in the week. Fresh Bread has never been easier, or more affordable!

I also made two trays of cinnamon rolls. :)  I froze one tray for Thanksgiving morning, and one tray is in the fridge for Sunday morning! In fact if your reading this on Sunday, I’m probably having a cup of steaming hot coffee and a warm cinnamon roll drizzled with a maple glaze. Tempting to make, huh?

 Then I made some rolls. One thing I should have done was to stretch the dough on the top of each roll to make it  nicer looking. Next time! Bake and learn, right?

So…  you want the recipe for the Pumpkin Brioche?

You have to go visit Michelle.  Since it’s a brand new, just released book, I wont be giving out the recipes. But as you can see how easy it is to make this bread, and how much money you could save, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to buy the book.  And check out the other bread bakers here! 

Until next time my friends…