Friday, October 23, 2009

Bread Baking Day

Getting ready for the weekend. We are going to the house of our married grandson and his wife, who are expecting their first baby any time now. They live down south in the part of the country known as the Negev. I hope to get some nice pictures there, if there will be time. The Negev is an amazing area. When you hear about how the Israelis made the desert bloom, this is probably the area they are talking about. It was originally all desert, but through incredible hard work, it has been transformed into habitable land, full of green. In the place of sand, now one can see flowers and fields. It is truly amazing. Of course the natural beauty of the desert and its canyons have been preserved, and it is a wonderful place to hike.

I am making my Whole Wheat Potato Rolls to take along, also a brown rice and wheat berry pilaf, and a sweet potato pie. Here are the rolls, rising on the pan before going into the oven.
And here is the recipe:

Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

1 small potato, peeled and cut into chunks
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tb. dry yeast
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar (I like Domino's Brownulated the best)
1 scant tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil

Cook the potato in approximately 2-2 1/2 cups water until soft. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water, and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a bowl, mash the potato until fairly smooth. (some little lumps are okay) Now combine the reserved potato water, the mashed potato, and the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and knead between 5 and 10 minutes. (this whole thing can be done with an electric mixer, but I like to knead it by hand.) Add more flour as needed. Dough will be nice and soft. Place in an oiled bowl, making sure top surface is lightly coated with oil, cover with a thin towel, and allow to rise for about an hour. Even less will be all right. Punch dough down. Form into 6 rolls and allow to rise for 30 minutes on a baking pan covered with baking paper. (I slash the tops in a shell pattern before letting them rise.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 25-30 minutes.
This is a nice bread that comes out lighter than most whole wheat bread (without the addition of white flour), stays fresh longer than most home-made breads, freezes well, and is a good traveller!
Enjoy!
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1 comment:

Scrappy-Quilter said...

oooh! those sound yummy!