My plan for August was food. Originally the plan was geared towards getting more creative about veggies. We eat lots of veggies at our house-lunch, dinner, and sometimes even breakfast-but usually I'm just slicing or dicing and serving raw. It gets a little boring. I've wanted to explore and incorporate more flavor at the dinner table.
I checked out two books from the library: barefoot contessa back to basics and some random vegan cookbook I found. Barefoot contessa had a few veggie recipes we tried and loved. The vegan cookbook was full of ingredients I didn't want to bother stocking up on, so that one went back without trial. And unfortunately that's as far as I got.
What I ended up focusing on and feel I became successful at is the art natural yeast baking. Just over a year ago, a friend shared her natural yeast start with me, gave some basic instructions, a fail proof recipe and I was off to a great start. I'd make bread once a week, and most of the time it would work out, although an occasional brick would come out of the oven. Over time though I was getting more bricks and less bread. Until I was ready to give up.
I have believed for a long time that natural yeast is a lot better for you and really wanted to succeed. It became very discouraging that even though I was doing the same things, using the same recipe, I was getting worse and worse results. And then I was invited to a class by Amy Loveless. She shared her 200 yr old Czechoslovakian start and my first batch was brilliantly delicious. But again, within a couple months, my bread was not rising. It was time to consult more experts. Both starts came from people who recommended The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast. I decided to check it out. And it really is an essential book for anyone interested in baking with natural yeast.
August became my trial month of learning how to properly care for my yeast (the author of The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast, Melissa Richardson, named her yeast "Pita") I now feel like I'm a general expert, I brought my yeast back to life and learned I hadn't been feeding it often enough. I learned some key tips and tricks. I've learned a number of recipes. And I'm no longer producing bricks. (Although Melissa has a couple recipes of what to do with bricks in her book!)
But what I really got excited about in September was my new thermal cooker.
This thing is amazing! It cooks like a crockpot but without all the electricity. You boil the ingredients for one minute and then set it inside the thermal unit. Before leaving for road trips we fill it with chicken dumpling soup, or the filling for taco salad, or whatever and let it cook while we drive. Then we'll stop on the road when we get hungry and we have a hot meal ready to go. Just today I cooked one pot of dried beans and a separate pot of rice so we could make burritos from food storage. I'm super impressed with how well it works, and dreaming of the possibilities. (Pinterest has already supplied many.)
buy one here!
So the end of the month came and went and I still need some more vegetable recipes to try, feel free to share your favorite.
6 comments:
This is such an insightful post. I'll be honest, I've never heard of natural yeast before. James' mom had a sourdough start in their fridge growing up that she used for weekly pancakes. So the growing and keeping sounds familiar. What health benefits does the natural yeast provide. Why is it so hard to come up with more vegetables to feed the family? That was my September goal too and I failed!! Didn't make it a priority. Soon, I'll do it soon. This has been yup since Wednesday and didn't check in yesterday. Sorry I'm late. Thanks for the write up.
natural yeast is the same as sourdough although the sourness depends on a lot of things. So many health factors! I should have taken the time to add them into the post. But basically commercial yeast can cause a lot of digestion problems and may be one of the main reasons for all the gluten intolerance issues out there. When you use natural yeast, it breaks down the gluten and digests the phytic acid in the wheat so that your body can digest it easier and utilize the minerals. I can really tell a difference. I used SAF yeast for years and could just tell my body didn't want to eat it, weird, but true. With this bread I'm making now, it's completely satisfying.
My sister-in-law has wondered about the same yeast/gluten interactions that you mention in this comment. Interesting. I'm intrigued by your thermal cooker. Have you ever used a fabric wonder box (basically a bean bag in which you nest a pot of food)? They seem to use the same principle of bringing food to a boil, then insulating it for further cooking. My sister-in-law (same one!) made me a wonder box and it's been interesting to try it. Also, I'm intrigued by your orange bread pan. Is it silicone? If so, do you have any tricks with those types of pans? Mine seem to impart a telltale odor.
I have tried to use natural yeast in the past and got bricks every time! You have inspired me to try again. It really is worth the effort. My body feels so much better when I eat that bread! Not to mention the probiotic benefits!
How often to do you feed your start?
Jennifer-it is a silicone pan I found on Amazon, I haven't ever noticed a different odor. Hmm. I love it because it's non-stick without the Teflon.
I haven't tried the wonder box but I've been curious about making one! How long does it seem to insulate and cook?
Holli,
I had trouble for a long time with my natural yeast. It's the book I mentioned in the post that has made me a pro. I seriously haven't failed once since I started following all her techniques. ok, maybe once. I put some rolls in the freezer before rising and then when I unthawed them later they didn't rise.
I feed my yeast twice a week at least. I make bread about once a week and then another time during the week I'll use the yeast for pancakes, muffins, cake, etc. That way I'm always keeping it fed--it really does make a difference!
I can't go back to the other bread now.
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