Eat, Drink and Be Healthy

More tomatoes and the last of the peaches made for a heaping wheelbarrow. And a colorful one, at that!

And we got 2/3 of a bucket of sweet peppers, hot peppers and green beans. And we picked more of those delicious green apples. Beautiful produce that we will enjoy fresh, steamed, canned and dried.

And I've found a great recipe for everyday bread. This Oatmeal Sandwich Bread from Ken Haedrich's Country Baking book is everything it promised to be - soft, stretchy, tasty. You can wrap it around your filling without it breaking or tearing.

And at the moment we have so many good things to drink! Half a gallon of freshly squeezed tomato juice, a half gallon of fresh pressed apple cider, and two gallons of fresh goat milk! And tomorrow I'll be making chevre.

I'm really appreciating how food can be our medicine and our medicine can be our food.

Here's that bread recipe:

Soft Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

From Ken Haedrich’s Country Baking

Makes 2 loaves

“This is about the most ideal sandwich bread I know: wholesome yet soft enough – due to the oats and the yogurt – to wrap around any sandwich without falling apart. Incidentally, the oats will make the dough, even when fully kneaded, a little slack.” –Ken Haedrich

1 cup rolled oats (not instant)

2 cups hot milk

1/3 cup honey or unsulphured molasses

¼ cup lukewarm water

1¼ ounce package (about 1 Tbsp) active dry yeast

1/3 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 Tbsp salt

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

3 – 3 ½ cups unbleached flour

2 Tbsp oats, to sprinkle in the pans

Put the oats in a large mixing bowl and pour the hot milk over them. Stir in the honey or molasses and let cool to body temperature. Meanwhile, put the water in a small bowl and stir in the yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes to dissolve. Once the oats have cooled, stir in the dissolved yeast, the yogurt or buttermilk, and the whole wheat flour and beat vigorously for 1 minute with a wooden spoon. Cover this sponge with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free spot.

Using a wooden spoon*, beat in the egg, salt and butter until well-blended. Add the unbleached flour, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough is too dense to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, periodically dusting your kneading surface with flour; knead gently at first to prevent the dough from sticking. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat the entire surface of the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside, in a warm, draft-free spot, until the dough is doubled in bulk. Butter two 4 ½ by 8 ½ inch loaf pans and sprinkle the inside of each with about 1 tablespoon of oats.

When the dough has doubled, punch it down, knead briefly, and divide in half. Shape the halves into loaves and place them in the prepared pans. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, preheating the oven to 375 degrees when the loaves appear nearly doubled.

Bake the loaves for approximately 40 minutes, until nicely browned. When done, the bottom crusts should give a hollow retort when tapped with a finger. Cool the loaves on a rack before slicing. Store in sealed plastic bags.

*At this point I put the sponge in the Bosch Universal mixer and proceed through turning the dough into an oiled bowl to rise.