Whole 7 Grain Bread Baked in a Solar Oven

I taught a class at Preparing Wisely today and wanted to share a few of the tips that I shared with the many students who were in attendance.  We focused specifically on whole grain bread.  

Hard Wheat, Soft Wheat, Oats, Rye, Barley, Triticale, and Spelt make up the whole grain mix we used.

It is specifically the  7 grain rolled cereal from Wheat Montana.  It has long been a favorite at our home because of how hearty and flavorful it is. Mildly nutty and just a nice filling cereal.  Cooked it is outstanding.  In this bread...it acts as a moisture retainer.  This recipe makes 4 loaves.

You will need:

Step one:

In a 3.5 Gallon White Bucket without Lid:

6 cups rolled 7 grain cereal (or just rolled oats)

5 cups warm water (not too hot)

1 cup Country Cream Real Instant Milk 

1 cup honey

1 cupShortening Powder  (or olive oil)

1T plus 1 tsp instant SAF Yeast

Allow yeast to activate and grain the chance to absorb moisture 30 minutes.

In a separate container combine:

6 cups Wheat Montana white wheat flour (I mill mine from prairie gold)

2 tsp Real Salt 

1/2 cup Honeyville Vital Wheat Gluten

Stir 3/4 of the flour mixture into the grain water mixture until a thick paste is made.

The dough will appear very moist.  Wait 5-10 minutes and allow the flour to absorb water before adding any more flour (if any). This will make a very moist bread.

Knead consistently in the same direction for 7 minutes by hand (or 300 strokes).

Kneading dough in a bucket is ideal in that you have a straight sided container to tell when the bread has doubled in volume. Also, if you were in a camping situation or emergency situation where you didn't have access to a kitchen counter it would give you a sanitary place to prepare the dough. After kneading for the 300 turns, take a minute to wash your hands. 

Touch the dough with your clean hands. If it doesn't stick to your fingers, it is done. You may not need to even add more flour.

There will be visible amounts of whole grain throughout the dough.

Roll dough into a ball.  Place lid on the bucket and allow to raise until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Open your solar oven and place it in direct sunlight.  Oil two NorPro 10" Loaf Pan  

Divide dough into 4 balls. Again, in a camping situation, this may be done directly in the bucket if the bucket is turned on it's side.

To form a loaf with good structure and nice shape, take the dough and pat it out flat on a surface that has been lightly coated with water. Yes. Water. When working with whole grain, I use water on my counter tops. 

Fold the dough into thirds.

Turn a half turn.

Roll into a tight loaf.

Place in the oiled loaf pan.

Lightly cover the top of the bread with oil. You may also top with seeds if desired. I like to use a combination I use for my "everything" bagels.

It is ready to put into your hot solar oven after raising 45 minutes to an hour.

You can bake it in a regular oven at 375 degrees 40 -45 minutes.

One of the best tricks I've found for knowing this bread is done, is by using an instant meat thermometer. When the dough reads 170 degrees or hotter, it is done.

There you go. Make some whole grain bread in your solar oven...and then send us some pictures! We'd love to add them to our blog!

Sometimes I do some simple basics, not only because we live on simple basics around here, but also because I know a lot of cooks who need the basics. Any student needs the basics in order to have a good foundation. This one is for my beginners. I love you guys! Cream of Wheat made from the whole grain at home, is nutritionally the best option. I think the flavor is off the charts. There isn't a hint of bitterness from rancid old ground wheat if you make it fresh. It's sweeter from the fresh wheat. It has all the benefits of whole grain! I know my kids are more apt to eat it if they help grind it. It's a funny thing. The other plus? Hard White Wheat Berries Organic 25 lb Bag for 40$. That makes 15 servings of hot cereal per pound. How's that for cheap healthy eats?! This same method can be used for any of these:
 Rye Berries Organic 25 lb Bag
 Spelt Berries Organic 25 lb Bag 
 Spelt Berries Organic 5 lb Bag
 Pearled Barley 2.5 lbs 

Here's my hand grinder.WonderMill Junior Deluxe 

WonderMill Junior Deluxe :

I love hard white wheat, but red would work here. You could also add other grains like barley. Malt-o-meal is just that...barley and wheat. They toast the barley before they grind it.

I grind it once on a rough setting. If I cooked it at this point it would be called "cracked wheat". It's much more coarse, but a wonderful texture.

I run it through the mill on a finer setting. Did I mention my kids love to watch this process? Especially if I say things like "stop...save me! I'm too devastatingly beautiful to be put through the grinder". They laugh hysterically.

At this point, it looks like commercially prepared cream of wheat.

I like my cream of wheat not too thick and not to thin. Call me Goldie-locks. It takes 1/3 cup of the cream of wheat to 1 cup of water. I also use a pinch of sea salt.

Bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the cream of wheat in a stream, whisking with a whisk. Stir for 5-7 minutes until thick. It will look like this...

Serve with honey and cinnamon if you want or enjoy the savory version with pepper and butter.

Simple basics. There you go.

Wheat Montana White Flour

What Makes This the Best White Flour?

Wheat Montana High Protein Natural White Flour

We all know that grinding your own wheat and grains is more nutritious than using previously ground flour that has been stored for some time.  We also know that the process for milling white flour is to remove the germ and the gran, thus leaving the starchy interior portion of the wheat berry.  Thus, freshly ground whole wheat flour is more nurishing for our bodies.  However, there are times when you desire white flour for certain recipes or additions to food.  When choosing white flour we recommend that you choose the best.

Natural White Flour from Wheat Montana is the best white flour on the market for several reasons.  It is the highest protein white flour on the market.  This flour has not been bleached and has not been bromated.  It also is certified chemical free and GMO free as well.  Harmful chemicals and pesticides have not been added and the wheat berries have not been genetically modified.   This helps you to know that you are not adding harmful chemicals to your body.  The flour is then enriched with B vitamins, iron and niacin.  Finally, the flour includes a small protion of malted barley flour to help as a baking enhancer.  When you combine all of these factors you find that Natural White is simply the best white flour available.  Try some Natural White out on your next batch of holiday goodies!

Wheat Montana Prairie Gold

The Gold Standard in Wheat!

As you can see, Prairie Gold is not just for bread!  This delicious Pizza Crust was made using Wheat Montana Prairie Gold, Wheat Montana Natural White Unbleached and Unbromated Flour and Teff.  Prairie Gold helps to produce incredible results while providing you with the ultimate in whole grain nutrition.  We store whole grain Prairie Gold and then grind it just prior to use in order to retain as much of the nutrition as possible.  In certain recipes where a high-gluten white flour is needed, we use Wheat Montana's Natural White Flour, which is unbleached and unbromated.  This indicates that the flour has not been treated with harsh chemicals to further whiten the flour.

Prairie Gold Hard White Spring Wheat is simply a superb product and has so much to offer in terms of nutrition, composition and baking results.  Wheat Montana farms starts with great soil and the perfect wheat growing climate in Montana to produce its wonderful Hard White Spring Wheat.  Prairie Gold is certified chemical free, meaning that it has not been subjected to pesticides, artificial fertilizers or any other chemicals.  Prairie Gold is GMO free, which indicates that it has not been genetically modified.  Wheat Montana farms avoids cross contamination of virulent viruses and their grains are free of irradiation and pasteurization.  Aside from these wonderful benefits, Prairie Gold boasts an amazing 15% - 16% protein content.  Many of the other hard white berries we have seen have a lower protein content in the 10% - 12% range.  The higher protein content means better nutritive building for your body's muscles  Prairie Gold has a low moisture content of less than 10%, which helps its long-term storage.

We use Prairie Gold in breads, rolls, pancakes, crepes,biscuits, muffins, pizza doughs, cookie doughs, cinnamon rolls and much more.  Prairie Gold also makes a great cracked wheat cereal, and a fantastic Creamy Hard White Wheat Cereal.  The best way for you to find out about Prairie Gold is to use it yourself.  Come in and pick up a bag today!