A Moment in M.O.M.’s Kitchen- What keeps you from making bread?

Friday night we opened up our home to six wonderful women and asked, “What keeps you from making your own breads?” The answers we heard were legitimate and real! What an honor it was to share with them information that could take the obstacles out of the way so that nutritious bread making in the home could be a reality!

I will list the three main answers that we heard here and then also our responses. I will also list links where I encourage other people to shop. I don’t sell any of the tools we use in the kitchen but I always love to encourage others to shop with Christians families who I’ve found to be honest and offer a great product!

1. The time it takes: I understand busy days. Time management can really liberate us so that we an do those things we want to do for our family. I like to make my house work for me, instead of me always doing housework! I will often get the ingredients put into the DLX mixer that I use and while it does it’s job I put all the ingredients away and clean up the counter and grease my pans. I can have my bread in the pan and rising in a warm spot in 12 minutes. Once it is rising I start making breakfast for the family. I am also one that faithfully has my bed made before I leave the bedroom and starts a load of laundry first thing before I do anything else. That way by the time I am done with breakfast I can fold the laundry while children are finishing up. I also make sure the sink has hot soapy water in it so dishes can be rinsing as we are clearing the table and putting left over’s away. I found that just these few things can make a huge difference in the way my day progresses. With a little forethought you can make your own bread daily and not feel overwhelmed by the task.  I think those that attended the class saw how fast the process really was and felt it was a manageable project. NOTE: Something else that we do here in our home is have children that do certain daily tasks, such as baking bread. Beth-Joy is our bread maker, Sarah-Grace is out butter maker, Bekah is our menu planner, shopper and makes all our dinners. While all the girls can make bread Beth-Joy has mastered it. She does a wonderful job with that responsibility each day. Consider having one of your children be in charge of bread making, with a little training it is possible!

3. I’ve tried but keep failing and don’t know where I’m going wrong: This is why it is so important for us that do know how to make bread to share it with others! Let’s be the “older women” and help others provide nutrient rich food for their family! If you don’t have anyone near by to help you, email me and I’ll do my best. Let me tell you the main reasons I’ve found people aren’t successful with their breads.

• They use wheat that doesn’t have a high enough protein content. I like to get my wheat from Wheat Montana. It is about 14-15% protein last time I checked with 9-10% moisture. I love to use their Prairie Gold.
• They kill their yeast! Yes, yeast is a living organism that can die or not be activated. I always encourage others to prove their yeast BEFORE you make your recipe. To prove your yeast is still good. Add yeast with warm water (110-115 degrees) Too hot of water will kill the yeast. Once you have your yeast in warm water add just a Tbs of honey to it. If it bubbles it’s good and you can make your recipe as it is written.
• They start out with complicated recipes. Try something simple! We have a very basic whole wheat recipe that takes nothing more than wheat, salt, yeast, water, coconut oil, and honey. It is the best bread to just eat or cut up for sandwiches. Start simple and do it over and over again until you have mastered it…. then move on to the more “tricky” stuff (that won’t seem so “tricky” once you get to that point.

4. My children/husband don’t like the taste of whole wheat. I would encourage you to start the switch slow then. Instead of using all whole wheat mix 1/2 and 1/2 or if you need to start with 3/4 enriched flour 1/4 whole wheat do that. Each week add a little more whole wheat. I have found that this makes the switch painless.

So, what keeps you from making nutritious breads for your family? Do you need a non electric grinder? If so, I would encourage you to shop with GrainMaker! I absolutely LOVE my grinder. It is made in the U.S.A (Montana) by a Christian couple. If you talk to Bonnie say, “hello” or me! She is just precious!!  If I can help in anyway just let me know. Lord willing I will be able to put our bread making course online in an e-course. Hopefully that will help others make this delicious task a reality in their homes

With much love,

Mrs. Joseph Wood