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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Whole Wheat Bread - Vegan! #OilFree. #NutFree.

Wheat Bread
     I love to bake when it's cold outside. I know its July, but I live in Michigan. We do have 4 seasons here; Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and 3 months of bad sledding.  Our summer was Sunday when it hit 85.  Now it's Tuesday and its 64 so time to bake!!
     Don't be afraid to eat some bread on your diet. Making it yourself with no oil, no egg, no milk and no nuts reduces the calories significantly. You can eat a few slices and still lose weight!
     Whole wheat bread makes the whole house smell like home.  I like to add different flavors and spices to give it a little kick. You can choose sweet with your choice of  raisins, chopped dates, dried cherries, banana, zucchini, apple sauce, cinnamon, maple syrup, etc. or savory with salt, rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, onion, garlic, jalapeno  or a combination. That's the beauty of baking it on your own. You get to cater to your personal taste! As a member of PBNSG.org, I choose to make my bread oil free and nut free because I'm trying to make it as heart healthy as possible. That's my choice but you get to do what's right for you! I give it texture using ancient grains like Pearled Farro, also available as Spelt and Pelted Wheat.  Its high in protein with 18 grams per 1/2 cup dry, no fat and 10 grams of fiber and that's just the Farro. The numbers are even better when you include the whole wheat flour.  Pretty good for bread!

Makes 2 loafs.
Plant perfect.

Recipe:
3.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 oz rapid rise instant yeast
1.5 cups warm water
1/2 cup Pearled Farro
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBS dried rosemary

Cook the Pearled Farro per package directions then drain and set aside.

Add the yeast to the warm water and let it activate for 10 minutes. Put the Farro and everything else in a bowl and knead it into dough by hand or with a mixer and dough hook. Once the dough has stopped sticking to the bowl pat it down, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place the bowl in a warm area to rise for an hour.
Once the dough doubles in size, smash it down, divide it in half, put it in 2 loaf pans, cover it with a damp cloth to let it rise again for another hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once the dough has risen to the top of the pan, bake it for 35 minutes. Let it cool, slice it up and enjoy!