Derivative Taste

School’s out for summer folks! It’s been quite a while since my last post, but I plan on changing that real soon. I will be sharing some of my recently discovered favorite recipes as well as testing out some new ones that I’ve been playing with. Stay tuned for delicious food with a healthy new twist!

In the mean time, here is a new favorite of mine, savory Indian pancakes made with Garbanzo flour (yes bean flour). I’ve made some changes to the original recipe, courtesy of “Aromatic Cooking, which I will share at a later time.

http://aromatic-cooking.blogspot.in/2012/06/oats-and-gram-flour-pancakes.html

This week marked my first attempt at homemade bread. I loosely followed this recipe, but made a couple key changes. Instead of using part whole wheat flour and part “bread flour”, I used all whole wheat flour. Additionally, I sub’d out the butter and used canola oil in its place.

Also of noteworthiness, the recipe claims to make 3 9x5 loaves. However, if you want a loaf that will be large enough to use for sandwiches and what not, this recipe will really only make 2 9x5 loaves.

One important thing that I learned is that the temperature of the water is actually pretty important. First attempt (with nearly boiling water) killed the yeast and resulted in poor results during the first rise. On the second attempt, with the water at exactly 110F, the yeast thrived. The point is that its worth the extra time to pull out a thermometer and check the temperature.

Since I don’t really eat a lot of bread to begin with (but enjoy really good bread when I do), I froze the second loaf after it went through the first rise and was formed into the 9x5 pan. When it comes time to bake the loaf, you just simply remove the pan from the freezer, let thaw completely in the fridge, let rise at room temperature for an hour or two until it is the appropriate height/volume, and then bake as usual. The yeast will only last a month or two in the freezer, so be sure to use it within that time frame.

Really though, home made whole wheat bread was surprisingly easy to make. And the flavor is just so much better than any store bought brand that I just can’t go back to Miltons/Pepperidge Farms/(insert name here). Nothing like the smell of a freshly baked loaf of bread! Try it for yourself!