BIG BAD BREAD INITIATIVE
In preparation for the September 25th, 2010 General Relief Society Broadcast, ALL the women in my stake have been invited to participate in an effort focused on nourishing, sharing, and preparing. During the next four weeks, we’ve been asked to organize ourselves, and our time, to accomplish a goal with the potential to bless families, and even communities. Knowing how to bake bread truly is a life sustaining skill, and we’re ALL about that!
Sign up posters have been given to every Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary in the stake. There are lines for women to sign up and note their contact if they are willing to teach OR willing to learn. Then it’s up to us to take the INITIATIVE. We’ve also been invited to contribute brief “nourishing moments” from our bread baking adventures during the Sunday opening exercises within Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society.
Last week, I was able to take the initiative during a little birthday celebration lunch for two of my visiting teaching sisters. Right before we left the restaurant, I quickly explained the details of the Big Bad Bread Initiative and offered to come to their homes, during the next month, to teach them, their daughters, and/or DIL how to bake bread. Turns out this crew wants to learn how to make the simple hubcaps using the NO-KNEAD BREAD recipe.
Also last week, I received a phone call from our new Primary President. Chris totally understands the principal of leading by example and wanted to…get herself LEARNED…ASAP. I decided to invite another sister from our ward to share in the fun and we had a speed lesson in the art of baking six loaves of whole wheat bread using my Seven Minute recipe. Too bad we had to start after 8:00 at night. Hey, we’re all busy and we do what we can. I sent them home with loaves ready to rise and bake so it didn’t feel like a hostage situation. Chris said that the hot bread tasted great at 10:00 p.m.
Today, Sunday, I was able to offer to help a couple more sisters plus pressure my daughter, Lizzie, into experimenting with the no knead recipe. She’s a Relief Society sister in training and it really is true that even a child can successful make bread using this simple method.
Already, I love this activity! With the potential to accomplish what sister Julie Beck called, “…a valuable contribution to the Lord’s storehouse of time and talents,” our Stake is focused on building unity and sharing skills. I love that there are 30 days to accomplish the goal. The limitless flexibility means that both the teaching and learning can be tailored to suit individual schedules, or lack there of.
Lizzie just pulled herself out of a three hour Sunday nap to say with total exasperation, “Ahhh! Let’s get it done. I hate this stupid thing.”
Quick. Someone call the New Era.
Tags: "One sister with one skill can be a blessing to many." Julie Beck
August 24th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Heh. ‘We will sing of Zion…’ That reminds me…I have a daughter to teach the art of breadmaking to as well. I think I will join in. Do ‘I shall do likewise’ messages and followups on your blog count as nourishment in cyberland?
*scurries off to grind wheat and check the yeast supply*
August 24th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Someone wise told me once to try and do something every day that would last- so many of the things we do as women have to be redone on a daily basis. Teaching someone to bake bread fits into the lasting category. Love the bread initiative.
August 24th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Yes please, Carolyn! I would love for you to share your nourishing moments here! Nourish away!
Feeling daring, today I invited another daughter, older much wiser, to let me teach her how to bake bread. She seriously didn’t even answer me but quickly ducked out the door. Strange.
I’m starting to notice a pattern. Either I’m a really crappy mom OR my bread is not that good. Hmmm. What to do what to do?
August 24th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Thank you Cristie! I’ll have you know that YOUR NAME came up during the initial meeting with all the Relief Society Pres. and a few Primary Pres. in the Stake. “WE WANT TO LEARN FROM CRISTIE!!!”
Who wouldn’t? Love, Liesa
August 25th, 2010 at 9:00 am
I am a bread maker and am always on the lookout for new, easy bread recipes. I’m interested in your 7 minute recipe and no knead recipe. Could you please post them?
August 25th, 2010 at 11:48 am
First Day of the Bread Initiative in The South:
We made a starter for the pizza crust we will be having tonight. It consisted of water, flour and yeast. We measured 1 cup of warm water (100 degrees), sprinkled the yeast on it and let it foam (if your yeast is good, you don’t need to proof it, but if you aren’t sure, you can add a 1/2 tsp of sugar). We then added 1 cup of flour. It was stirred in, and covered with cheesecloth and left out overnight.
This morning, it was lovely. It had bubbled, risen and collapsed. It revived when we took out approximately 1/2 of the start for the crust. We fed the remainder with equal amounts of milk and flour, stirred it down and put it in the fridge. We now have a sourdough starter (cheating with yeast, but to make the authentic wild yeast start takes about a week) .
August 26th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Okay Faye. This is not nearly as slick as I wish, but all you need to do is type the words “Seven Minute Bread” OR “No-Knead Bread” in the search box, in the upper right hand of this home page. You can then select the recipe and view it as published in a previous post.
You may also want to Google “Making No-Knead Bread” and then select the YouTube video from the New York Times. It’s interesting to see the demonstration. Best!
August 26th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Fascinating, Carolyn! I want to do that! And, I want to try to use the term “authentic wild yeast” today, in a sentence. Very impressive. Big hug!
August 26th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Made the bread. Success. I did forget about it and left the dough sitting out for about 48 hours. The bread tastes a wee yeasty because of it. Hopefully it is safe to eat?
August 26th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
There’s a question for Faye, Carolyn, and Cristie. Do YOU think it’s safe to eat the no-knead bread when Sarah accidentally left the start for 48 hours, instead of 18?????? Silly wabbit.
I’ve left the start out for 20-24 hours and look at me! I’m fine!
August 27th, 2010 at 6:32 am
Liese – I wish I lived in your Stake, but I am going to do this from my remote NJ local.
Check it out, I have:
2 year supply o’ wheat (much work went into getting this organized!)
a handy dandy wheat grinder (purchased a few weeks ago)
and absolutely NO idea how to make bread
nice, right!?
Well, I made pizza dough for the first time and it turned out alright so I think I am ready to tackle making an actual loaf of bread.
Count me in, mama!
WHOOT!
August 27th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Liza! How nice to hear from you! I’m so proud of you and all your wheat, and your new wheat grinder! A++
Try the Seven Minute Bread Recipe! It’s perfect for busy moms because you can do a step and then leave it while you get other things done. Do another step, leave it, and come back to get the bread tossed into pans. Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy it! You’ll like it! (easily excitable)
August 27th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
I think it would be okay…maybe a bit stronger in flavor. As long as it was covered.
Pizza crust was a huge success. We measured 3 cups of water, let it get to 110 degrees, then poured it into the start. We kneaded it with 1 cup of semolina flour, and then 5-6 cups of all purpose flour.
It made three huge 16″ pizzas. The last piece was eaten for breakfast yesterday morning.
Monday, I will be grinding wheat and baking the usual whole grain loaf. White bread/crusts are for once-in-awhile treats.
August 27th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
So, Leisa – you’d be so proud. Right now two pizza dough balls are rising in my kitchen and my pizza stone is in the oven getting all toasty warm. What’s more, I’ve made some extra dough balls (10 total) and frozen them. (Part of our new monthly meal plan is to have homemade pizza on Fridays.) The recipe I used is similar to the no-knead bread recipe in that you let time do most of the work. Here is a link to it:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001199.html
And Carolyn! I totally want to make a starter, but for some reason, I’m nervous. Maybe part of the reason is because the recipe I read online was like the one you mentioned, where it takes about a week to make. But your recipe is so much more manageable – I’ll have to give it a shot!
August 28th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Thank you for the details, Carolyn. Your pizza sounds divine!
August 28th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Brynn, I AM totally proud of you! Any amount of organization in the meal planning department deserves great respect. Thanks for sending me the pizza link. I’ll check it out and give it a try.
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Well, I cheat to make starter by adding yeast. If you want to make a true wild start, you can use flour or potatoes. I learned that from the excellent, but now out-of-print Time Life book ‘Bread,’ edited by Richard Olney. He also takes you through making sourdoughs for rye and spelt. At that time, Olney was living in France and had access to different grains.
I can put up the directions here, suitably credited of course.
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:05 pm
PLEASE!
September 5th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Traditional Sourdough starter:
This starter can be substituted for modern sourdough starter in any recipe that calls for a sourdough starter. It can be prepared with any flour or combination of flours.
2 cups of flour
1 medium-sized potato
2 cups of water
1/2 cup of sugar
Boil potato in the two cups of water (add more if necessary to the potato) until done. Pour the cooking liquid into a 2-cup (1/2 liter) measuring cup and let it cool until tepid. Peel the potato and mash thoroughly in a bowl. If necessary, add enough tepid water to the cooled cooking liquid to make two cups of liquid. Stir the cooking liquid, flour, sugar and water into the mashed potato to make a thick batter.
Cover the (non-reactive. Stainlees steel is okay, but crockery works better, or plastic) bowl with plastic wrap and enclose it in a large towl or blanket. Set the starter mixture in a warm (80-85 degree) place for 24 hours before uncovering and checking it. The mixture is ready to use when it is bubbly and has a sour smell; if liquid has formed on the top, it should be stirred in before use.
If the mixture has unchanged, rewrap it and return it to the warm place for another 24-48 hours. If the mixture has turned reddish or orange in color, throw it away and start a new batch.
Storing your starter: Starter that is not used immediately should be covered tightly with plastic wrap, or poured into a 1 quart Mason jar. Here is where I disagree with Mr. Olney and his editing staff: Do NOT cover your start TIGHTLY with a LID. Wrap is okay, as it can come off and not blow up the glass jar. Personal and true experience: I have had starter ‘rise’ in the fridge and run all over, so you need to have a container big enough for head room, especially when you use it and go to feed it.
When you need to feed your starter: If you use 1 cup of starter, feed with a paste made of equal parts of tepid water and flour.
! cup of each.
Have fun!
Time-Life Books, 1982, Bread, page 167
September 6th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Sigh. I forgot. Plastic wrap is not needed when trying to culture wild yeast. A single layer of cheesecloth is best, as it keeps the nasties like dust and bugs out of it, while sending sugary thoughts to the wildeyeast.
September 7th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Carolyn. PLEASE come live at my house.
Look at you, girl! This wild yeast thing is amazing! Totally the advance course but it sounds doable. Thank you for hooking us up with all the details!