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Bread, Scones, Muffins, etc

“Bread is the staff of life and should form an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. It is a high-energy food that should take pride of place in our diets. Bread prepared from genuine whole grain flour will not be fattening and will contribute substantially to one’s health and wellbeing. There is nothing as pleasant as the aroma and taste of a good home-baked bread, and no home should forego the pleasure of enjoying this commodity.” (Dr. Walter Veith, Diet & Health, p.146-7)

Most of the commercially available breads today are a long way from what Nature intended for the human system. White bread is especially constipating and, together with all of the other devitalized foods that we eat, it plays a causative role in many of the discomforts and diseases of today. Even many a commercial “whole-wheat loaf” is produced from nothing more than white flour that has had a little bran added to it, together with molasses for coloring, and any number of chemicals. Most commercial bakers use lard (pig fat) in their loaf-tins, and even in the bread itself.

It has been said the a baker’s biggest problem today is “how to get air and water to stand up.” And, sadly, that is often not too far from the truth.

At Nature’s Choice we have imported special stone mills that enable us to produce genuine whole wheat bread from the whole wheat kernel – direct from the farm – and nothing whatsoever is removed in the milling process. Everyone who has eaten Nature’s Choice bread has been amazed at the difference between our bread and most of the other “health” or “whole wheat” breads that are available – and that are usually promoted with great fanfare.

We invite you to start using only Nature’s Choice Whole Wheat Flour and Pastry Flour in your pancakes, cookies, waffles, baked goods and bread. The improvement in taste and nutrition, and in your bowel function, will convince you from day one that you have made a good decision.

For some who have grown up on white bread, it may take a little time to get accustomed to using whole-grain bread, but once you have used it for a week or two, you will not believe that you ever enjoyed white bread.

WARNING: The nutritional value of one slice of our bread is probably equivalent to a whole loaf of white bread. This being the case, do not indulge in too many slices of Nature’s Choice bread – you will feel decidedly uncomfortable.

Please speak to your Nature’s Choice stockist about the currently available bread pre-mixes – some of which have been especially formulated for bread baking machines.

Eden Loaf

The following is an excellent health bread recipe. It is both simple, and easy to master. We suggest that you first master this recipe and then try varying the flour ingredients. Once mastered, keep wheat as the main ingredient and try substituting millet, sorghum, soy, oats and/or rye in any combination for some of the wheat. Some combinations make better bread than they do toast and vice versa, so always try toasting a new bread recipe before rejecting it. Experiment by adding raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds, linseed, poppy seed and sesame seed etc. to taste. (Recipe makes 6 short loaves).

21 cups NC ww flour
3 Tbsp active dry yeast
7 cups warm water
3 Tbsp NC sea salt
3 Tbsp NC honey

Instead of honey, you may blend 3 cups raisins or two cups dates into 3 cups of the water ingredient. Place whole-wheat flour in a mixing bowl. Add salt and yeast. Mix through thoroughly. Add the water (and liquidized mixture) to this and knead well (the secret is to knead well). Cover with dishcloth and let rise in warm place for about one to two hours, till bulk is doubled. Punch down. Let rise another 45-60 minutes, till bulk is again doubled. Cut dough into six equal portions. Shape into loaves. Place dough in non-stick loaf pans. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, if desired. Let rise in warm place for a further twenty minutes or so. Bake in pre-heated oven @ 180C (350-F) for 45 minutes.

The end result depends to some degree on the milled texture of your flour. A fine texture requires less water than a coarse texture. If you prefer a more moist bread, blend a 1/4 apple per loaf with some of the liquid before mixing. Different ovens always give different results, so be prepared to adjust temperatures and quantities until you get a well-risen, light loaf. The rising helps to make the bread light.

Quick No-Knead Bread

14 cup NC ww flour
2 cup mixed flour
2 pkts instant yeast
2 Tbsp NC honey
4 heaped tsp NC sea salt
8 cups water
Enough water to make a soft dough.

Mix dry ingredients. Add rest of ingredients and enough warm water to form a scone-dough consistency (will drop from spoon). Divide among 4 pans. With a wet hand, smooth top of loaf. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Let rise in warm place or warm drawer of oven for 40 min. to top of pan. Bake 1 hour at 180C (350F). Wrap in clean cloth to cool. This bread must be stored in a refrigerator.

Note: For 2 cup mixed flour, a combination of any of the following may be used: mealie meal, soy flour, oats, bran, wheat germ, etc. Instant yeast – must be the glossy green or blue packet. Molasses may be substituted for honey.

Favorite Pot-Bread

4 cups NC ww flour
1/2 pkt Instant Yeast
1 tsp NC sea salt
1 tsp NC honey or molasses

Note: For measuring ww flour, cups must be slightly rounded; for salt, use a heaped teaspoon.

Follow method for Quick No-Knead Bread recipe. Let rise in greased bowl or pot, which can then be placed in larger pot, filled with about 5 cm water. Cover with lid, and cook on top of stove for about 1 1/2 hrs.

Angel-Bread

This is a good home-made bread that is easy to prepare and does not require kneading.

Make two mixtures as follows:

Mixture 1:

2 tsp dry yeast
1 Tbsp NC honey
3 Tbsp NC ww flour
1 cup warm water

Mixture 2:

6 cups NC whole-wheat flour
2 tsp NC sea salt
1 cup NC rolled oats
1 cup NC sunflower seeds

Mix mixture 1 together, and let stand. Leave for 15 minutes. Mix mixture 2 together.

After mixture 1 has stood for 15 minutes, add 3 cups of warm water to it, and mix well. Next, add mixture 2 to mixture 1, and mix together well. Place in baking-pan, and allow to rise for an hour and a half. Bake @ 180C for 1 hour.

Angel-Bread Variation

For a tasty variation to the above bread recipe, substitute 3 cups whole-wheat flour and 3 cups barley flour in place of the 6 cups whole-wheat flour. Eliminate the sunflower seeds altogether.

Zwieback

A very healthy way of preparing bread, is to first bake it, then slice it up and return it to the warm oven to dry out for one hour. This starts the process of turning the starch into sugar, and also kills the action of the yeast. Bread prepared in this way, is known as zwieback (twice-baked) and is easy on the digestion and very good for you.

Bran Rusks

4 cup NC ww pastry flour
10 tsp NC aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 cup NC coconut
2 1/2-3 cup sour cream
powder
tsp NC sea salt
1 cup NC fructose
4 cup NC molasses bran
sour milk, if required
3 eggs
1/2 cup NC raisins

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in the sour cream. Add a little sour milk if necessary. Divide dough between 2 square swiss roll tins. Bake for 30 to 45 min. at 180C (350F). Cut into slices. Dry out.

Baked Toast

For an occasional treat, try the following. Spread a little cream on both sides of a slice of bread. Salt and bake @ 180C, until done.

Bachelor’s Corn Slice

3 cups milled corn
3 cups water
NC sea salt to taste

Place corn and salt in pot. Add water slowly, mixing through well, until smooth paste is formed. Heat till almost boiling. Rub a little cream into flat non-stick baking-tray. Pour in mixture. Smooth off and refrigerate. In the morning, bake at 180C for 1 hour. Serve with either avocado pear, honey and cream, Vitamite or Marmite and avocado, or top with tomato, green pepper and brinjal savory.

Easy Flat-Bread

1 egg
1 cup cream
3 cups NC whole-wheat flour

Mix through well and knead till dough forms soft texture. Roll out on flat surface to desired size. Press into flat non-stick baking-tray. Bake @ 180C for +/- 40 minutes.

Bran Muffins (N)

4 eggs, separated
1 cup NC honey
1 cup cream, whipped
3 cups NC bran
2 cups NC whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp NC sea salt

Beat egg-whites until stiff. Add honey slowly and continue beating. Add egg-yolks, continuing to beat until light and fluffy. Gently fold whipped cream into this mixture. Add bran, flour and salt, and mix gently. Place in muffin pans and bake @ 180C for 30 min. Serve with home-made strawberry jam or honey and whipped cream.

Soy-Corn Muffins

2 cups soaked NC soybeans
2 cups water
2 Tbsp NC honey
2 tsp NC sea salt
1/4 cup NC oats
2 cups NC mealie meal

(Provides complete, quality protein). Place first 5 ingredients in blender and whirl till smooth. Pour into mealie meal. Mix well. Fill greased muffin cups. Bake in preheated oven at 400F (180C) for 45 min. Serve warm or cold

Raisin Muffins

When baking Eden loaf, just before placing dough in pans, set aside equivalent amount of 1 loaf from dough mix. Mix this with raisins and a little honey to taste. Form into small balls. Place in muffin pan and bake together with loaf of bread.

Splendid Scones

2 cup NC ww pastry flour
2 tsp NC aluminium-free baking powder
1/4 tsp NC sea salt
1/4-1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp sweetener

Place sour cream in measuring cup (1 cup) and fill cup with sour milk. Mix dry ingredients. Add liquid and cut into dry ingredients with a knife. Bake at 400F (200C) for 12 min.

Scones

3 cups NC ww flour
4 tsp NC aluminium-free baking powder
2 tsp NC sea salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp NC fructose or NC honey
3 eggs

Mix all ingredients together. Fill muffin pans with mixture. Bake at 200C for 15 min.

Note: Sour cream may be substituted for buttermilk for a richer scone. For a lighter scone, beat egg-whites separately and fold in.

Teff Hazelnut Muffins

(Good to the Grain – Kim Boyce with Amy Scattergood)

½ cup butter

½ cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup Teff flour

½ cup cake flour

½ cup fructose

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon potassium bicarb

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup plain yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Topping:

½ cup finely chopped hazelnuts

¼ cup fructose

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and grease muffin pans.
Place butter, hazelnuts and salt in a small pan and cook over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally and watching for the edges of the nuts to turn golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat before the nuts get too brown, as they will continue to cook in the hot butter. Pour into a bowl to cool down.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any flour or other ingredients that my remain in the sifter.
In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Pour the hazelnut butter over the dry ingredients and then the buttermilk mixture over the top of that. Using a spatula, mix together the wet and dry ingredients.
Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cups. The batter should be mounded above the edges of the cups. Sprinkle with a topping, pressing it into the batter so that it adheres.
Bake for 20 – 30 minutes. The muffins are ready to come out when they smell nutty, the hazelnuts are toasted and the bottoms are golden in colour. (Twist a muffin out of the pan to check).
Remove muffins from pans to cool.

Teff Date & Nut Bread

(Good to the Grain – Kim Boyce with Amy Scattergood)

1½ cups pecan halves

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

8 large Medjool dates, halved and pitted

1 cup cake flour

1 cup pastry flour

½ cup Teff flour