Over the years I have made many types of bread. Baguettes, boules, loaves, quick and yeast breads, rye, whole wheat, sourdough, you name it. But now that I need to monitor my carbs more closely and concentrate on upping my fiber intake, it isn’t quite as much fun to bake bread as it used to be. Until yesterday that is. Because yesterday’s bread baking adventure was not only fun, but the whole process went quickly, and the result was wonderful. But then, I have always been a sucker for sourdough bread of any kind. And I am particularly fond of English muffins. And when English muffins are built using olive oil, an egg, milk, and rye and whole wheat flours, the carb count is reasonable, and the fiber count is high enough to offset the 1 tablespoon of honey used as a sweetener.

If there is any one thing on which most experts on diabetes agree, it’s that carbs in the form of fiber (mainly in fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes) are better for us than any other type of carbohydrate. Our bodies are simply unable to absorb and break down fiber. So, fiber rich foods don’t cause a spike in blood sugar the way other carbohydrates can. Which in turn helps keep our blood sugar in the appropriate target range. So, all in all, lots of fiber is quite essential for our every day good health.

So, not only are these English muffins delicious; they are high in fiber and stinkin’ easy to make. And the best part, I can toast half a muffin in the morning for breakfast and not feel guilty. (I hate feeling guilty.)

So, if you too would like to build an English muffin that is easy to prepare and tastes really great, this is the recipe for you.

Well, I’m home today because we are having our yearly generator inspection. Mr. C. is off performing at the annual Anacortes Arts Festival, but someone had to stay home to greet the nice man who will be performing the checkup. Since I don’t play the piano as well as Andy, I pulled the short straw. But not to worry. Mr. C. is in two other bands performing tomorrow, so I will have plenty of time to check out the art exhibits and help a few artists line their pockets from the fruits of our labor. (My civic duty, right?) OK, I will also be in the audience to applaud the bands, because, well, I really love jazz, and these bands do jazz really, really well.

And for those of you who live in the area and have never visited the Anacortes Arts Festival, you are in for a treat. There are dozens of booths featuring high quality arts and crafts for sale, three stages offering live music, and fun food opportunities in abundance. So, don’t miss this opportunity to support your local artists, try a new dish or enjoy an old favorite, and listen to some great music.

And as always, laugh, love, and just be happy to be alive.

Peace and love to all.

½ c. sourdough discard (I used a rye flour sourdough starter)

2¼ tsp. instant yeast

1 T. honey 

2 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the mixing bowl

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 lg. egg

¾ c. whole milk

1 T. vital wheat gluten

½ c. stone-ground rye flour

2 c. stone-ground whole wheat flour

Place the sourdough starter, yeast, honey, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes until bubbles start to appear.

Add the salt, egg, whole milk, vital wheat gluten, rye flour, and most of the whole wheat flour.     

Using your dough hook, mix everything together and knead for 5 minutes. Add more flour as needed to make a tacky dough.  

Pour a bit of olive oil in the mixing bowl, and using your hands and a stiff plastic spatula, form the dough into a well-greased ball. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise until doubled, around 1 to 1½ hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then lightly sprinkle with cornmeal.

Place the risen dough on a lightly floured work surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and flatten slightly with your fingers. Place about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a lightweight tea towel and let rise until the muffins are doubled in size, around 45 minutes.

When you are ready to cook the muffins, heat a pan (a non-stick griddle works great for this) over medium-low heat. Gently lift the muffins with a flat spatula and place them on the heated pan. (I do 4 at a time. Too many at a time makes it difficult to flip them.) Cook for 2 minutes on each side and place them back on the same baking sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until fully cooked. (The internal temperature should be at least 200-degrees to consider the muffins fully cooked.)  

Remove from oven and place on a rack. Store in an airtight container. Great slathered in butter or spread with something sweet or savory.

    

So, I know I have mentioned before that I am not a gourmet. I am just a gal who likes really great food. And I am not a food snob. I mean really, my favorite food is a bacon guacamole burger. So, that said, I definitely do not qualify for gourmet status! And for more proof positive, in addition to a truly great burger, I periodically get a yearning for a really good hotdog. Again, hardly a gourmet food. Except, and I mean this, when the hotdog is made by a specialty butcher shop. Then – all bets are off. But what I never have been able to find until yesterday, was a hotdog bun worthy of the quality hotdogs that are now available at most grocery stores. And yes, I am picky when it comes to both hamburger and hotdog buns. The buns should be tasty as well as able to contain all the meat and fillings while the juices run down my arms and off my elbows. (A condition I find usually happens when I am enjoying a really good burger or hotdog.)  

So, in keeping with my new reality (whole wheat flour and reduced sugar) I modified a recipe that I found on the godairyfree.org. site.

And I have to say, this was one of the easiest bread products I have ever made. And the resulting hotdog buns were good enough to have eaten sans the hotdog. Of course, I didn’t, but the bun was just that delicious. And tender, and just the right size to keep my hotdog and extras (mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, ketchup, and old-fashioned yellow mustard) from escaping. This quick and easy to prepare bun simply made for one absolutely delicious hotdog experience.

So, if you too love a great hotdog then this is the bun for you. And sorry there is no picture of the dough made into hamburger buns. But after tasting the dough rolled into hotdog buns, I’m sure it won’t be long before I make hamburger buns. When that happens, I will edit this post and add a picture.

Until then, just trust me and make your own hamburger buns using this recipe. You will not be disappointed.

As always, have fun in your kitchen. There are so many fabulous recipes available on the internet. I can’t imagine ever going back to just having cookbooks. In fact, I haven’t looked at even one of the many cookbooks I own for such a long time it’s almost embarrassing. Because I own some really great cookbooks. Of course, some of them like my Betty Crocker cookbook are being held together with silver tape and stains from cooking incidents. But others are still in pristine condition. But I still keep them around because it’s like having good friends. You may not see them very often, but it’s reassuring to just know that they exist.

So, to all my good friends, I may have been a bit reclusive lately, but never wonder if you are still a part of my life. You absolutely are and always will be dear to my heart. I’m just getting older and slowing down a bit. Think of me like you would one of my cookbooks. On the shelf but always available when needed.

Peace and love to all.

1 c. lukewarm water

2 tsp. granulated sugar

2¼ tsp. or one pkg. instant yeast

1 tsp. fine sea salt

2 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to grease the bowl

½ c. oat flour  

2 T. vital wheat gluten*

2 c. whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour**

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit and proof for about 5 minutes or until you start to see bubbles. 

Add the salt, olive oil, oat flour, vital wheat gluten, and most of the whole wheat pastry flour to the yeast mixture.

Using your bread hook, knead the dough until it is soft, smooth, and elastic using as much additional flour as required.

Pour a bit of olive oil in the bowl, and using your hands and a plastic spatula, roll the dough into a lightly greased ball. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Lightly oil a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and punch it down.

Cut the dough into 6 equal portions.

For hotdog buns:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion into a flattened piece of dough about 5-inches long and 4-inches wide. Then tightly roll up the dough to form a cylinder. Tuck in the sides/edges and place each portion on the prepared baking sheet about 2-inches apart. Cover with a light tea towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about ½ hour.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until the buns sound hollow when tapped on the bottom or until they reach 190-degrees when temperature taken with an instant-read thermometer. Do not overbake the rolls.

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

For hamburger buns:

Shape each portion into a ball, then flatten slightly to form a bun. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet at least 2-inches apart. Cover with a light tea towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about ½ hour.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the buns sound hollow when tapped on the bottom or until they reach 190-degrees when temperature taken with an instant-read thermometer. Do not overbake the rolls.

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

*Vital wheat gluten

Any type of whole wheat flour (regular, pastry, or white) does not contain as much gluten as found in all-purpose flour. The protein boost provided by vital wheat gluten adds elasticity to bread dough made with whole wheat flour which results in a less dense product. So, when using any type of whole wheat flour exclusively in a recipe, a bit of vital wheat gluten is always a good idea.

**Whole wheat flour

Whole wheat pastry flour is milled from low-protein soft spring wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour is milled from hard winter wheat.

Like regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry and white whole wheat flour too are milled from whole wheat-berries. Unlike their refined counterpart (all-purpose flour), whole wheat flour is not devoid of the bran and germ making any type of whole wheat flour more nutritious than all-purpose flour.   The only difference between white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour and regular whole wheat flour is simply in the type of wheat used. So yes, whole wheat pastry flour and white whole wheat flour are lighter in color than regular whole wheat flour. But they are not bleached. They are simply milled from a different type of wheat.

    

If you are a Boston brown bread lover, then this recipe should be right up your alley. The only real difference in ingredients between this quick bread and Boston brown bread is in the use of rolled oats and wheat germ in place of cornmeal. And there is no steaming this bread. It goes in the oven just like any other quick bread.

In fact, this is one of the easiest breads you will ever have the pleasure of building. No mixer involved. And you only need to get one mixing bowl dirty in the process. Of course, there are measuring cups and spoons necessary for recipe integrity, but then there are always measuring implements involved in baking. Baking being the chemical changing “thing” that it is!

But truly, this is one of the easiest breads to fix. And one that your entire family will enjoy. I know this as a fact because this was my 4 children’s favorite breakfast bread. They loved it straight out of the oven or toasted the next morning. I used to make a triple batch and every bit of it was gone within 2 days.

Now I bet you are wondering where I got this recipe. And I would love to be able to provide you with that information. But I don’t have the foggiest idea. Maybe that’s because I have been making this bread since the mid-70s. And that my friends, was a long time ago. All I remember is that I added the wheat germ to the original recipe because I was adding wheat germ to any dish that I could. Meatloaf, cookies, bread, you name it. And of course, since I am now on a healthier food quest, I replaced the white flour called for in the original recipe with whole wheat pastry flour and the granulated sugar with coconut palm sugar. And as far as I can tell, there is no discernable difference in the flavor or texture of the bread. And it’s a bloody good thing, because there is no going back even though this was a fairly healthy bread to begin with!

And why I haven’t posted this recipe until now is anyone’s guess. (Actually, I thought I had already posted it, so if you stumble upon it as you peruse this site, please let me know.) (Oh, and please provide me with whatever name I gave it, or I won’t be able to find it a second time. And yes, thank you, I am feeling every one of my 78 years!)

Well, that’s it for today. It’s Friday again and I’m not quite sure how that happened so quickly. Time just seems to be passing at warp speed. I remember hearing older people talk about this very thing when I was younger. And thinking that they were crazy. Now, that I am in the category of being an “older person”, I realize I was the one who was crazy. Time really does fly by when you get older. I’ve kind of always wondered how that works. But I’m too lazy now to do the research required to prove that it actually happens. Of course, I don’t really have to do any research. Einstein got there before me. In the Special Theory of Relativity, Einstein determined that time is relative—in other words, the rate at which time passes depends on your frame of reference. So, I’ve decided that people’s point of reference changes according to their age. I’m sure if Mr. Einstein were still around, he would thank me for that little bit of extra enlightenment.

As always, take the time to have fun. Laugh a lot and often. And seek positivity in others as well as in yourself. We are only here for a very short time. Make the most of the time you have.

Peace and love to all.

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour

1 c. rye flour

2 T. wheat germ* or wheat bran** (your choice)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ c. coconut palm sugar (granulated sugar can be used if preferred)

1 c. rolled oats

½ c. regular molasses***

1¼ c. buttermilk

1 c. golden raisins

¾ c. chopped walnuts

Combine flours, wheat germ or bran, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut sugar, and rolled oats in a large mixing bowl. Gradually stir in the molasses and buttermilk. Then stir in the golden raisins and chopped walnuts. Scoop into a greased loaf pan or pans. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Please note: Non-stick pans are best for this recipe.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 1 hour (single loaf pan 9×5-inch) or 40 minutes for 2 8×4-inch loaf pans. A toothpick will come out clean when stuck in the middle of a loaf when the bread is done baking.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 or so minutes before removing from pan.

Great slathered with butter at breakfast or as a afternoon treat with coffee or tea.  

*Wheat Germ

According to healthline.com “Wheat germ has excellent nutritional value as a food supplement, experts say. It’s a great source of vegetable proteins, along with fiber and healthy fats. It’s also a good source of magnesium, zinc, thiamin, folate, potassium, and phosphorus.

Wheat germ is part of a wheat kernel and is responsible for helping the plant reproduce and spawn new wheat. Although it’s removed from most processed wheat products, it is a major nutritional component of whole grain wheat.”

From thehealthsite.com “8 amazing health benefits of wheat germ:

Relieves constipation

Boosts immune system

Lowers blood sugar

If diabetics are skeptical about wheat germ, here is something to convince you otherwise. We already know that this food by product has a high content of dietary fiber. And this can help reduce postprandial blood glucose response. Making whole grains a part of your diet can even help you prevent type 2 diabetes.

Improves cardiovascular health

Reduces cancer risk

Soothes PMS symptoms and improves menstrual health

Fights obesity

Supplies your gut with prebiotics”

** Wheat Bran

According to Bob’s Red Mill “Technically speaking, the wheat kernel has three distinct parts: the germ, the bran and the endosperm. The hard exterior of the kernel is known as the wheat bran, and it is often separated from the other parts of the wheat kernel during the milling process. It’s a source of plant-based nutrients and minerals, and it has both a sweet and nutty flavor. However, wheat bran is perhaps best known as being an amazing source of fiber.”

Wheat germ, however, is richer in protein and packed with important nutrients including vitamin E, vitamin B, and fatty alcohols. In comparison, wheat bran is richer in fiber, three times that of the wheat germ and has more niacin. 

***People with diabetes can eat small amounts of molasses as part of an overall healthy diet. According to the American Diabetes Association, the amount of carbohydrate consumed has a greater impact on blood sugar than does the type of carbohydrate consumed — in this case, molasses. If you choose to consume added sugar, whether from molasses or another source, the ADA advises reducing other carbohydrates in the meal so that your total carbohydrate consumption remains in check. For example, if you plan to have a dessert made with molasses after dinner, you might omit the rice or bread from the meal.

Also, from what I have read, offsetting sugar intake with high amounts of fiber is a good plan. And this bread has tons of fiber. So, as an occasional treat, this bread should be OK.