Good "ole" White Bread

Chef Brad's Mother.  

 

     This is my mother.  I miss her.  She passed away a couple of years ago, way to early for me.  We still had things to resolve and work out and things I wanted to share with her.  This picture is how I will always remember her.  It is not the best picture, but it is the best memory that I have of her.  She was beautiful,  the kind of woman that turned heads.   Not only was she beautiful, she was a really nice person.  Everyone loved her.

     She was a wonderful cook and baker.  I grew up back in the day were everything was made from scratch.  No box stuff for us.  Although we did eat TV dinners once in a while.  I do believe that they were not packed with chemicals like there are today and we heated them in the oven,  we did not even own a microwave.  I loved those days.  I loved the days before microwaves and all the packaged foods.  

     One of my fondest memories,  Ok my fondest memory of my mother is bread.  She was a great bread maker.  Her bread was fantastic.  It made the best toast ever and often we ate it just in a bowl with milk.  We called it bread and milk.   Bread and milk was a staple in our home.  Bread and milk plain, or bread and milk with a chunk of long horn cheese, or bread and milk with green onions.  I loved it.  Bread and milk for me was mom's bread, and it was white bread.  Good Ole White Bread.  

    Her bread was amazing.  It made the best toast ever.  We loved toast.  Our toaster was a gas broiler.  We put the bread under it and it toasted perfectly.  We did have to turn it over and watch it carefully or it would burn.  Our favorite was cinnamon toast.  We would toast the bread and butter it and cover it with about 1/4 of an inch of cinnamon and sugar and put it under the broiler again.  Oh it was heavenly. 

       Nothing can compare to Good Ole White Bread.  The tragic thing is in the name of nutrition and all that is good we don't eat it hardly ever.  At least the way my mother used to make it.  She used white sugar and Crisco and white flour.  Over the years I have changed the sugar to honey or Xagave and the Crisco to butter or healthy oil and the flour to fresh  ground wheat.  The bread is great and my family loves it, but it is not like mothers.  I crave her bread and I make so I make it and still try to make it healthier.  I use honey and butter with the white flour and we enjoy it, but it is not like moms Good Ole White Bread.   

     This morning I was talking to my sister about moms bread.  She didn't remember it so I told her the recipe and after I hung up the phone,  I  went to the kitchen and found the Crisco that I never use, the sugar, and white flour and I mixed up a batch of Good Ole White Bread.  Crisco and all,  It was amazing.   The texture was amazing.  I could hardly wait for it to come out of the oven.  That was my favorite memory of bread,  the loaf right out of the oven,  mother would slice it and we would smother it with butter, honey and or moms fresh made jams.  That was as good as it gets as a child.  Fresh baked bread right out of the oven.  My heart breaks with the thought that some children never get the chance to eat fresh baked bread.   

     So here is the recipe that my mother baked for me.  If you are totally against Crisco, step off your band wagon and experience life.  Don't do it all the time.  I don't, but there are some things in life worth experiencing.  And Good Ole White Bread is one of them.   Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

     This is the dough right out of the Bosch Mixer.   My mother took hours to make this bread, but with the modern mixer I can have 6 loaves out of the oven in about one hour and ten minutes from start to finish.  My mom took 3 to 4 hours to bake her bread and it was a lot of hands on work.  Most of my time is rising and baking.

      I use a little oil on the table and fold the dough over to create a large wonderful dough ball.  This I will divide into pieces.

     


        With a dough divider I cut the dough into 2 pound pieces.  I have a scale to weigh the dough.   I get six two pounds loaves from my batch.

      Here are the doughs in two pounds of dough ready to shape into loaves.

     

       Here is the shaped loaf in the bread pan.  I spray the pan so the bread will not stick.

        Here are the six loaves of bread.  Notice they fill the pan about 3/4 full.  With room to let it grow double.

     I am really a flour snob.  I use only the best white flour I can find totally free of  chemicals.  Honeyville's artisan,  King Arthur's all purpose and Wheat Montana's Natural White.  I love these flours and only use them.

      I cover the bread with a cloth to keep it warm and to keep it from drying out.  It rises fast, from 25 to 25 minutes.

     I preheat at 400 degrees.  I do that so that the oven will be hot to give it a good rise.  Once I put the dough into the oven I drop the oven to 325 and bake it until it is done.

     The Bread is ready to place in the oven.  Perfect.

Good Ole White Bread

 Good Ole White Bread

8 cup hot water
1 cup sugar
1 cup Crisco
2 tablespoons salt
20 to 24 cups of white flour
1/2 cup yeast

Place water, Crisco, sugar, salt, and half the flour into the Bosch Mixer Bowl.  Turn on mixer and add flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Only add enough flour to pull dough away.  Do not add all the flour if not needed.  If you need more add more.  Mix for 6 minutes and remove from bowl and place on an oiled surface.

Homemade Biscuits

      There is nothing like a fresh baked biscuit,  slathered in butter and jam.  I love them.  They are really a comfort food.  Who does not love biscuits and gravy.  I don't know anyone that does not love them.

     
     My problem is that I don't like white flour or Crisco.  The two main ingredients in biscuits.  And I don't like whole wheat  biscuits.  I think whole wheat takes away from what a biscuit should be.  Light and fluffy and tender, that is what a biscuit should be.

      Over the years I have tired many recipes and a lot of grains  in search of a good biscuit that resembles what mom used to make. I have had great success.  My favorite grain is spelt.  It makes a really great biscuit.  I grind it on the finest setting on my mill and instead of Crisco I use butter.  These biscuits are just like I love them, light, fluffy, and tender.

The trick in making a biscuit is to not over work the dough.  I use the Bosch mixer to make my biscuits.  I use the wire whips to cut the butter into the flour.  I change out the wire whips for the dough hook and add the liquid until it just starts to pull together.  At that point I remove it from the bowl onto a floured surface.  I use fresh ground spelt.  I dust it with flour and roll it out.

 

Once it is rolled out I cut the biscuits.  I love to dip them into some melted butter after I cut them as I put them on the pan for baking.

   Don't they look great.  I love the rise and the flaky texture of a fresh baked biscuit.

Perfect.  I think the whole grain adds to the wonderful color, but note it does not take away from what a biscuit should be.

Sweet Potato Wonder Flour  Biscuits

2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes.  or you can used mashed potatoes 

12 tablespoons chilled butter

2 tablespoons Xagave or sugar

4.5 cups fresh ground Spelt flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup heavy cream

In mixer bowl with whips,  add dry ingredients and mix.  Cut in butter until the size of peas.  Change to dough hook and add potatoes, Xagave,  and cream.. Mix until lightly mixed.  Take out and place on floured board.  Roll out dough and cut biscuits.  Place close together on cookie sheet.  Bake in a hot 400 degree oven until browned,  about 10 to 12 minutes.  

Spelt Gravy

4 tablespoons oil

4 tablespoons fresh ground spelt flour

2 to 3 cups of soy or rice milk

Salt and pepper

Slightly toast spelt add oil and make a paste or roux.  Add 2 cups milk and mix well over medium heat.  Add more milk if needed, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over spelt biscuits. 

Biscuits are wonderful and easy to make.  We need to get over the need for white flour in our diets.  We have been taught for years that we have to have uses white flour in all our baking needs.  It is a pure falsehood and the design of conspiring men to get us to buy more white flour.  Try out spelt and I think you will be surprised at the end result.  When you grind the flour make sure you use the finest setting on your mill.  You want the flour to be fine and soft to produce flaky tender biscuits.   Enjoy your adventure in grains.  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

October Third Sunday Dinner Report

     October Third Sunday Dinner was amazing.  The weather has cooled off making it perfect for outside dining and so I decided it was time to do Indian Fry Bread again.  Great choice for outside eating.  I love Indian Fry Bread, it is a comfort food and on top of that it is easy to make and very cost effective.   You really have to consider that when you have no clue how many are coming to dinner.  We get anywhere from 49 to over 100 persons attending and with Indian Fry Bread you can make a lot and if the group is small, flour and water is really cheap.  

      Of course with Indian Fry Bread you have to have beans.  Bean are another really cheap food that is so tasty and good for you.  For this Sunday I fixed small white and small red beans mixed together cooked to perfection in my large electric roasting pan.  How can you go wrong with beans and bread.  

     Third Sunday Dinner has been a great journey of faith and love.  It does take faith to feed a group when you never know how many are coming.  I just prepare what I think and turn it over to the Lord.  I have discovered when you are on his errand, things just work out.   Over past years I  have learned so many lessons on love.  The one thing I have learned is you really grow to love those you serve.  Even something as simple as feeding someone draws them nearer to my heart.  I have learned that the human heart has an unlimited capacity to love, there are no limits or restrictions on how many people we can love or how deeply we can love someone.  That is what I really enjoy about Third Sunday Dinner, the lessons I have learned about loving.  Even complete strangers can be loved and uplifted when we take a moment to realize that each and every person is a son or daughter of God and each has a need to be loved and edified by another person.  Food for me sets the stage to express love and edify others.  

     Enjoy the visual of Octobers Third Sunday Dinner.  I need to take time to take more pictures.  I just get so busy enjoying everyone that I forget.  This month we had about 80 persons from start to finish and I totally enjoyed each and everyone that come into my home.  As I feed them physically, I had a spiritual feast.  Third Sunday Dinner always without fail lifts me up and blesses my life in ways that words just cannot explain.  I hope you have started your Third Sunday Dinner Tradition.  I hope you are experiencing the joy that comes from feeding and serving others.   Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Fresh Baked Left Over Cinnamon Rolls, cut and drizzled with Xagave.  

Patting out the dough.  

Look at the Smile on this young man.  I love him and really enjoyed his help and amazing personality.
Every Third Sunday Dinner youth show up early to help.  So much fun.  

Justin, taking a break.

Everyone gets involved.  My new best friend.  I love this man.  

Finally a Native American shows up to really teach us how to flatten the bread.
She was amazing.  

Some people just automaticly smile when they see a camera.  

Look at the big pot of beans.  

So much food.  Sometimes it appears like magic.  That really is the wonder of Third Sunday Dinner.
There is always enough to eat.  Really, it just shows up.  

Happy eaters.  

Our dessert center is on top of the washer and dryer.  

The line just goes on and on around the table and though the kitchen.  Everyone visits and
gets to know each other.  I don't stress, standing in line is a perfect time to get to know someone else.

    See you next month.  Thanksgiving Third Sunday Dinner,  my favorite one of the year.  So fun, so much food, and  so many memories to make.  See you soon.  Chef Brad

Traditonal French Roasted Chicken

Traditional French Roasted Chicken.  

     I love Pressure cooking,  but I also adore cooking in enameled cast iron, there are many brands out there, I have two favorites.  My top choice is Le Crueset,  I love it and have a collection.  I stop by the outlet stores and add to my colection from time to time.  It is the time proven best.  It last.  My pieces look brand new and they don't chip or stain.  I have to say over the years I have bought pieces at Stores like Sam's and other stores only to be disappointed in the end.  In cookware, especially cookware, you get what you pay for.  From stainless steel to cast iron, it sure makes a differenct when you by quality.  

     My second choice is Lodge.  They have long reputation of excelllent quality of cast iron and in recent years have added enamaled piecess to the colection.  They hold up well and are more affordable.  I love doing oven cooking in my cast iron.  From roasts to chickens, they do an excellent job.  It is a different style of cooking, but I enjoy the lazy pace of placing the food in the oven and the smell of the house as it cooks to perfection.  

      So,  enough about cookware.  Let's talk chicken.  Chickens are a wonderful universal food.  All over the world chickens are revered  and cooked in everyway imaginable.  From sauteing to frying and every possible way inbetween, cooking chicken is truely a world wide adventure.  

     Cooking in the oven is one of my favorite ways.  The way it slow cooks, don't confuse this type of slow cooking with a crock pot, makes it tender and so full of flavor.  And this style without added liquid really brings out the wonderful flavor is everything that is in the pot. 

     So, enjoy the adventure.  The weather is becoming perfect to get out the dutch oven and roast a chicken the classical French way.   

  

         Here is the gathered ingredients.  Chicken, washed and patted dry.  Herbs, olive oil, onions, carrots, salt and pepper,  Simple ingredients often produce the best foods. 

 

 


      First clean the chicken and pat dry,  Salt and pepper.

        Place olive oil in pan and get hot.

 



        Place chicken breast side down and add carrots and onions.  Brown, this takes about 5 minutes.    Remove from pan and add remaining ingredients.

      Saute the herbs and garlic in the olive oil.  Placed the browned chicken breast side up and cover.

  Browned chicken on top of herbs and carrots.
















 Place foil on top of dish and seal.

Place lid on top of foil, making sure it is on tight.



















Place in a 250 degree oven.  And bake for about 1 1/2 hours.

    Not the prettiest Chicken I have ever done, but don't let that fool you.  Looks are not everything.  This chicken is tender, moist, and full of flavor.  I served it with mashed potatoes.  Words cannot describe sometimes how comforting foods can be.

   Can you see the tender legs, just falling off, and look at all the drippings, natural juices from the chicken,  Talk about a great gravey.  Flavored to perfection.

Traditional French Roasted Chicken

I large roasting chicken

Sprig thyme, rosemary, and marjoram

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, large, sliced 

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bay leave

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Take chicken and rinse with water and pat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.   Set aside.  In large Dutch oven,  place olive oil and heat.  When hot place place onions and carrots in oil and saute for couple of minutes.  Make room in the center and place chicken breast side down and brown, this should take about 4 to 5 minutes.   Turn over and place chicken on pan.  Add remaining Ingredients around chicken.   Cover top with foil and place lid on top.  Place in 250 degree oven and cook for 1 and 1/2 hours.  

Open and check temperature to make sure it is done.  160 degrees is done.   Remove and divide   into pieces.  Drain drippings and place back in Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper and lemon juice.  Thicken with Ultra Gel adding more water if needed.    Served with chicken and garlic mashed potatoes.   

Chef’s Note;  This chicken is not the  prettiest one ever, but the tenderness and flavor make up for what it lacks in looks.  I love doing chickens like this, it is amazing how when we take a little more time how wonderful the end results can be.   Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Gardening Time, My Favorite Time of the Year

I love this vine.  It grows like crazy all summer long and in the fall it flowers out with the most wonderful pink flowers.
The bees love it and I love the sound of the constant buzzing.  It is really amazing.  It's called Queen Anns Wreath.  It is worthy to be named after a Queen.  

Different angle of the vine.  I put up this cover a year ago and it has been amazing how much better my garden does.  I love this time of year.  Alot has to be done to get it cleaned up after the hot hard summer.  

You can see my raised garden beds under the canopy. 

I love taking old wheel barrels and things that are of on use anymore and making them into planters.  From wheel barrels to old kitchen drawers, you will see it in my garden.  

You can see the kitchen drawers, and some great planter a youmg man in the neighbor hood made to make money for his mission.   In a month or more they will be filled with plants.  

Ok,  this looks horrible, but I have a vision.  This is the starting of my Fairy Garden.   The mirror in the back ground is to attract fairies.  This is an old cast iron bath tub that I could not part with.  It is over 60 years old.  It makes a great planter and will be a wonderful garden for the Fairies when it is done.  I will post picture later on in the year.   It is going to be perfect and my grand daughter will love it.  

My wife does not appreciate my hap hazard gardening style.  The post that is in the middle is a collection of my dead garden tools.  It adds charecter to my garden.  

Morning Glories are one of my favorites.  I love them.  

I plant every where I can fit in things. Mums are great,  after they flower, trim them back and they grow
again and again.  They are amazing.  

This one is my herb box.  I love growing fresh herbs.  This box is dedicated to all herbs.  I can fill it up
with them. and they are great for cooking.  Nothing like cooking with fresh herbs to enhance the meal.  

Square food gardening is the best.  I have to say that I have tried buying the already made boxes '
at the nurseries and they fall apart quickly.  I made my own years ago and they still are strong and sturdy.
The cheap ones in the nursery last maybe two seasons and really you don't save much by buying them.
The ones I made cost more, but they have lasted years and will probably last more years.  

My chair.  I love sitting here.  Under the canopy, surrounded by fresh herbs., bees buzzing overhead,
birds chirping,  I love it.  

This is a wonderful vine I planted last year.  Malibar Spinach.  It is lovely and very good for you.
It grows really fast and seeds, leaved, and flowers are edible.  

Don't you just love new growth.  To me it is as miracle.  How a tiny seed can grow into a large plant, producing food or flowers.  The miracle of life.  

Sweet peas are coming up.  I am so excited.  

     A great man once said that "Working in the soil purifies the Soul".  I believe.  The garden is my place of refuge.  I love working in the soil.  It does great things for me.  I do feel purified after I spend time digging in the soil.  Gardening is a miracle.  The Arizona desert is a hard place to garden.  It takes work, patience, work, endurance, work, and alot of water.  Sometimes I don't get to harvest much, but I continue to work at it.  Enjoying watching it grow, even though sometimes just before the harvest it burns up.  To me gardening is kinda like life.  Sometimes it's really great, and sometimes it stinks.  But there is still great joy to be found when we are diligent and continue to work at it.  I have had success and lots of failures, but there is a sweetness to be found in the ups and downs of gardening.  After all trails like working in the soil does purify the soul.  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy