Blame the BREAD! Recipe

I know that I haven't posted for the past two days, but I have a GOOD reason.
Blame. The. BREAD.

Some people blame the bread for their stomach issues, for their curvy booty, ext... however, I am blaming it for my lack of active blogging.

Allow me to explain.

Just as I am using my Holistic Meal Planning services as a way to raise funds for my fitness and health education, I also briefly sold homemade bread at my church for the same reasons, and had tons of orders to fill in time for Sunday! I passed them out today, and things went great. So now that I am not pounding flour about, I can use my hands to type up some posts!

I am still offering loafs for order, so if you are in my local area message me either here, from my email (natiann123@yahoo.com) or my Facebook page!

These loafs are SO easy to make. They are not going to turn out like what you are used to in the store... this bread is MUCH heartier and dense, and depending on how you form it, it will not yield slices as tall. However I actually prefer it this way... I went a LONG time not eating bread due to the fact that you can hardly buy any kind from the store without preservatives and added fake sugars. I then went on to find Ezekiel, which I adored for quite some time... but then I realized how easy (and CHEAP!) it is to make my own, so that's how I roll now ;)

Now on to the recipe!! Thank you, Elise from Hungry Hungry Hippie, for inspiration for this.

Hearty Whole Grain Bread 
Yields 2 medium loafs 

1 1/2 cup WARM water
2 TBSP active yeast (1 packet)
1-2 TBSP Coconut Oil
4 1/2 cups 100% whole wheat flour
1 TSP dry rosemary *
1 TSP dry basil *
Other desired dry herbs *
Salt to taste (optional)

*I used fresh herbs from my garden, and it turned out fine. I just am assuming most people have access to dry herbs rather than fresh.

1) Combine the warm water, yeast, and oil. Wait a few minutes and let the yeast 'froth', or get foamy.
2) Add the flour and knead your heart out! Because I had so many orders from church, my hands are raw from this... The flour and water should form a pliable dough. Make sure no flour is left, and it all is mixed well!
3) In a bowl greased with olive or coconut oil, place your ball of dough and cover. Let this rise for TWO hours in a WARM area.
4) After this first rising, the dough should have about doubled in size. Knead it down again, this time adding in your herbs.
5) At this point, you can either cover the dough and let it rise the second time for an hour, or you can cover and leave in the fridge to rise over night.
6) After the second rising, break the dough into two and form into "loaf" shapes (or whatever shape floats your boat... maybe next time I could try a heart or something neat?)
7) Bake in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes, or until the top has developed a slightly hard crust/shell. You could poke it open a bit just to make sure it is done!
NOTE: I found that if anything, these loafs come out better under cooked than over. In other words, they probably need less time than you think! You definitely DON'T want stale balls of dough. I find that about 15-20 minutes is about perfect, leaving the center doughy and chewy.

 
So much bread I had to make. So much. 

I guess one of the REALLY GREAT effects of making 50+ loafs of bread in a matter of 48 hours is that your house smells flipping awesome. Downside though, having the oven on for so long in this Texas heat is a bit like self sabotage.

So there you have it folks... the reason my neighbors were probably salivating for a few days, why my hands are raw, and why I have made a mental note to thank the Lord for oven mitts instead of pot-holders (a burn or two will teach you quickly to cover your ENTIRE hand as it enters the mouth of the beast oven.) Oh, yeah! And also the reason why I've been MIA for two days.

Try this bread out! There is no way you can be disappointed. It can transform simple ingredients into sparklers in your mouth. Put honey on it as a treat, smear it in hummus, or...my favorite...

Make it into a sandwich with AVOCADO. Oh my yummy yes.

Do you enjoy bread? If so, what store brands do you use, or how do you make your own?
What do you eat your bread with?

Natalie