Sunday Eats

Baby, it's cold outside. 

This was one of those days, that "indoors" seemed to be the order of the day.  But with Partner in Grime having to clear out vehicles and the driveway yet again, it was a good day for cooking and baking.

After breakfast of cornmeal pancakes (recipe at the dog blog) -

it was time for some homemade bread baking.

Wild Rice Bread.

This makes a really tasty, moist bread with a slightly nutty flavor that's great with soup on an Arctic cold day or even better - grilled cheese sandwiches.

Wild Rice Bread

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 packages(1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon  honey
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses
• 3/4 cup cooked wild rice (cooled after cooking)


Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the water, milk, Molasses, butter and honey to 120-130 degrees F. Stir into dry ingredients beating until smooth.  Add in enough of the remaining all-purpose flour to form a stiff dough.

2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.  My kitchen tends to be cold as it adjoins a sunroom that has no insulation (a project for next summer, once the front steps are rebuilt).  So I raise the bread on a heating pad set on low as my 70-year-old oven has no light. (putting bread in an oven with the light on is the perfect temperature to rise dough)

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a loaf. Place in a 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with not stick spray and let rise until doubled – 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

4. Bake at 375° F. for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely before wrapping in foil to refrigerate.

This made some awesome grilled cheese sandwiches.

Buttery, crunchy, nutty, cheesy,

I think I have a stalker.