Do you remember that old story…the one about the Little Red Hen? She grew the wheat, cut the wheat, ground the wheat, and made the bread?
Yeah…that was a great story.
Well. LoLo doesn’t roll quite like that. I have this wheat. Well, a lot of wheat. A lot of wheats, if you want to get picky. I sort of inherited them – all five buckets – from a friend in Connecticut. And then, a few months later, I received a hand-crank wheat grinder for Christmas. And a few months later, we moved back to Washington State. And a few months later…it was time to take the plunge and just try to grind the silly things.
So I ground. For an hour and a half, I ground it. Crank. Crank. Crank.
I found my recipe…I didn’t have any soy lecithin, vital wheat gluten or whatever else people put in wheat bread to make it good. All I wanted was wheat, water, salt, honey and yeast.
So that’s what I did.
It…well, it certainly showed me why those fancy little ingredients are so popular, right?
I’ve been making bread once, twice or three times a week since last October. But I’ve never made a loaf like this. An inch and a half tall, sour from nearly 15 hours (combined) attempted rising, and dense as a brick. My sister lovingly said it tasted like a bad apple. Nice.
The recipe made two loaves. I baked one…and the other, I pulled out of the pan and rolled into little fist-sized scones. I cooked them on a griddle and called them “cookies.”
Siu Jeun believed me. Heh.
I don’t think Ming Wai was buying it….
Phew, I'm not alone in my failed wheat bread attempts. Even adding vital wheat gluten yields.... something similar to yours. But hey, good try with those "cookies"... hahahaha!! That face is precious.
ReplyDeleteThat is hilarious that you had him convinced they were cookies. BTW, I got my soy lecithin from Whole Foods. The recipe I use doesn't use wheat gluten. Although I do know some recipes do call for it. Good luck on your next go around there. ;)
ReplyDeleteDidn't you know that the hand crank is for emergencies only! :) Sorry it didn't turn out, but your white bread is awesome!
ReplyDeleteYou know, my sister convinced her oldest that Wheat Thin crackers were really "cookies." He learned the truth at age six. I thought she was absolutely! evil! then. But now - after reading this - now she's not looking so bad. *grin* You crack me up!
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