According to the Bible, this bread is what Ezekiel lived on in the desert for two years. It is supposed to be nutritionally complete, and provide you with all you need to survive. Normally a claim like that would steer me away from trying it - the healthiest of foods generally aren't my favorites - but it's been getting a lot of press recently, so I decided to give it a whirl. Surprisingly enough I found it to be delicious. It wasn't as dry or hard as I expected to be, and toasted with some butter and jam it actually made for an excellent breakfast. (If you're wandering the desert you might have a hard time finding the butter and jam, but you never know . . . )
Ingredients
- water - 2 cups, warm
- honey - 2 tbsp
- olive oil - 1/4 cup
- yeast - 1 package dry, or 25g fresh
- wheat flour - 1 cup (or 1 1/2 cups wheat berries)
- spelt flour - 1 cup (or 1 1/4 cups spelt grains)
- millet flour - 1/4 cup (or 1/3 if grain)
- green lentils - 1/8 cup, dry
- kidney beans* - 4 tbsp
- black beans* - 2 tbsp
- oat bran - 1/4 cup
- salt - 1/4 tsp
how to
- Measure the water, honey, olive oil, and yeast into a large bowl. Let it sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Stir all of the whole grains and beans together until well mixed, then grind in a flour mill or blender and blend together with any grains you had that were already ground.
- Add this flour mixture to the yeast mixture and stir until well combined - the dough will be very sticky and wet.
- Pour the dough into a prepared loaf pan and let rise in a warm place four about 45 minutes, or until it reaches the top of the pan.
- Bake at 350 F (175 C) for about 45 - 50 minutes, or until golden brown.
Tips:
- Remember that the amount of flour may vary if the ingredient is in grain or already ground …. If you can find it in grains, you have to add a little more to have the right amount. The idea is to have a bread dough that is NOT hard, more of a paste consistency (could be slightly sticky, but not too much, definitely not liquid!). That is why you add the flour to the liquid and not the other way around.
- To grind the flour, I used a blender - it worked perfectly fine with all the grains, just make sure to let it run long enough so everything is broken into flour consistency (around 5 minutes). An important thing is not to put too many grains in the blender (never over 2 cups) because the weight of the grains will prevent ones on the bottom from being ground. At the same time, be careful to not put too little in either because the speed of the blades will make the grains fly and then prevent them from being ground. It is all a matter of balance - if necessary, turn the blender off and use a spoon to mix the grains, so the ones in the bottom are sure to be ground.
*In my recipe I used kidney and black beans, but you could very well use pinto, soy or any other kind of beans as you wish, just do not exceed the 6 tablespoons in total.
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The question posed was “Do you think money is saved from making vs buying?” I would say, if you consider the health benefits and savings from medical costs associated with consumption of preservatives, chemicals and other substances related to processed food the savings are immense. If you are speaking only of the cost of baking/cooking at home with fresh ingredients, then no. Therein lies the trap.
Do you think money is saved from making vs buying? I pay $5.19 for the Low Sodium loaf.