Garden 2011

Spring is here and it's time to start thinking about this years garden. I have only been an active gardener for a couple years now and each year I continue to expand. Last year I kind of went overboard....just a little. Before last years planting I decided I was going to put more effort into planning my garden, so I stopped by our locally owned bookstore and explored the gardening section. I found several books I wanted to get, but one in particular stood out, Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.
This book is the reason we tilled up half of the front yard to expand the garden space, and I ended up planting approximately 30 different fruits, vegetables and herbs. It is quite exciting to see the first seedlings come up and grow into something you can eat and cook with.
 So far this year I have already done my first planting of early vegetables, the next set of planting will probably be in the next couple weekends. So far this year I have planted: Collards, Chard, Cabbage, Green Onions, Butter lettuce, Green Sail lettuce, Arugula and Snow Peas. Just this last weekend the peas and a couple rows of lettuce have popped out of the ground and it is so satisfying to see the sprouting plants. Only problem when I see them coming up is that I start getting antsy and impatient for the rest. There has already been a big oops in the garden as I did not mark my rows very well and have forgotten what I planted and where, which is a problem because I left the gate into the garden open and the dogs went romping through my beds so things got a little messed up so I might have to replant some of my crops..but I don't know which ones.
The next planting in a couple of weeks will be another row of peas, another row of chard, some carrots, parsnips, radishes and beets, it will also be time to plant my flowers. So far in pots I have started lavender, basil, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, zucchini and jalapeno pepper. I know what your thinking, yes I have gotten a little ahead of myself...but what can I say? I love the thrill of growing and eating my own foods because everything tastes better when you know when, where and how it was grown.  When you nourish your body, you also nourish your soul. (Posted by Joshua Bellish)

German Pumpernickel Bread

So Josh asked if I wanted to make some rye bread for St. Patrick's Day, which got me thinking of Marble rye, which got me to thinking of Pumpernickel.  I had been wanting to make this unique bread since I started bread baking a few years back, but had yet to find one that I wanted to make.  Most of the recipes that I found were for the Americanized version of the bread.  Which for the most part was sourdough bread with coffee, cocoa, and molasses to make dark.  This is not at all what I wanted to make.

So my search for a traditional German Pumpernickel recipe started.  What I learned in my research is that the color of the bread, should not come from adding things to the bread, but more from the actual cooking process.  So, any recipe that I found that had cocoa, or coffee was immediately disregarded.   What I found out is that the reason for all of those shortcuts, is that making actual traditional German pumpernickel is very, very time consuming.  So if you start this today, you should be able to eat it 3-4 days from now.

The first thing I noticed when starting this, was the lack of ingredients, especially yeast.  I remembered from my sourdough trials and learning that rye flour is often used to make a starter, as it is high in natural yeast.  So to start, I had to gather some of the ingredients, because I don't usually have an extra supply of bulgur wheat sitting around the house.  So off to the bulk bins at my local grocery store.  Many of the flours can be quite expensive if you buy them pre-packaged, so try to find them in bulk if you can. Bob's Red Mill Flour Dark Rye Organinc, 22-Ounce (Pack of 4)
Cracked Wheat no.2 Bulgur, 32oz  The actual mixing of the ingredients was fairly easy, as this is a no knead dough, so you just mix them on in a large bowl.  You end up with a really thick, heavy, batter like dough.  Grease two bread pans, and divide the dough/batter between the two pans.  Smoothing out the dough was a little tough, as it was really sticky and wet.  Once done though, grease up some plastic wrap, and prepare to wait for a bit.
Once I prepared the bread pans, I put them out to rise, and develop.  Well, 24 hours later, they looked the same as when I started.  It was a big, heavy, lifeless looking pan.  I wasn't sure if it was actually going to turn out.  Then as I was going to bed on day 2, about 30 hours from making loaves, I looked at the pans once more.  I thought that they looked a tiny bit bigger, and that there was a little movement in the dough, but it was very slight, so it was hard to tell.  I wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking.
When I woke up on day 3 I couldn't wait to see if there was any progress overnight.  Well, the dough had actually rose all the way up, and was touching the greased plastic wrap.  So I want to emphasize the importance of greasing the plastic wrap, as it was vital to preventing the bread from sticking to it when it was done rising.
Now it was time to bake the bread!  In order to get the water in the pan hot enough to be steaming, I turned the oven way up for about 15 minutes, as I forgot to put (boiling) water in the pan.  Then just opened the oven for a few minutes to get the temp back down to only 225.  I removed the plastic wrap, which made the dough make some interesting noises, as the dough was crackling and popping, and greased and tightly re-wrapped the pans with foil.  Now it was time to actually start the baking.
2 hours into the baking, I noticed the foil was rising a bit.  It was very hard not to want to look.  I just let it do its thing though.  At 3 hours, the house was becoming more fragrant.  So at 4 hours, it was time for stage 2 in the baking.  I finally got to look at it.  I was able to remove the foil, and it was interesting to say the least. I turned the oven up to 325 and once the temp on the oven got there, I put the loaves back in the oven for another 40 minutes of baking.

So after 3 days of steps to get to this point, I was surely hoping that all this effort was worth it.  I wanted to have a slice, but yet, I had to wait another 24 hours for it to "cure".  So I wrapped it up once it was fully cooled.  Below is a picture of the bread at about 15 hours of curing.  I have never had to wait so long for something that I am baking.

The moment of Truth!  I just sliced the bread, and had it with some cheese.  It is a very heavy and dense bread.  So make sure not to make the slices to wide.  I sliced them about half the width of typical sliced bread.  The bulgur made for a nutty texture, and the flavor was definitely natural.  The strongest flavors were near the edges, and it didn't matter which edge; top, bottom, or sides.  I do have to admit that this will end up being more of a novelty than a staple, as I prefer many other types of bread for my standard sandwiches, along with the 4 day cook time of this bread.  But if you are serving this to guests, and you want a great story to go along with it, then I think you have found a great bread.
 

Traditional German Pumpernickel Bread

Taken from The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking

4 C. rye flour
2 C. whole-wheat flour
2/3 C. bulgur wheat
2 t. salt
2 T. molasses
3 ½ C. warm water
1 T. vegetable oil
Lightly grease two loaf pans and set aside.  Combine the rye flour, whole-wheat flour, bulgur wheat and salt in a large bowl.
Mix molasses with the warm water and vegetable oil.  Add liquids to the flour mixture and combine to form a dense dough.  (You do not need to need this bread at all, just mix with a spoon.)
Divide dough between the two prepared pans, pressing it into the corners and leveling the top.  Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 18-24 hours (the longer the better).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 225 F.  Remove the plastic wrap from the pans and then cover them tightly with aluminum foil.  Fill a roasting pan or other large baking dish three-quarters full with boiling water and carefully place on the lower rack of your oven.  Place covered loaf pans on the top rack directly above the pan of water.  Bake the loaves for 4 hours.
Raise the oven temperature to 325 F.  Uncover the loaves and add more water to the pan below them if needed.  Bake for another 40-45 minutes or until the loaves are firm and the tops crusty.
Let cool in the pans for a few minutes before turning out onto a rack or towel to cool completely.  Wrap tightly in plastic and let “cure” at room temperature for 24 hours.  Serve sliced thinly, topped with cold cuts or pate.
(makes 2 loaves)

Welcome to my blog

For the last few years my Partner and I have been working on learning the basics, and implementing them in our lives.   We have taken up cooking, gardening, some crafts, and many other simple living pleasures.  My goal for this site is to share with you our attempts into leading a more simple life, the good, and the bad.  We have started down the road already, and have learned many different things along the way.  Our journey is so far from over, and I want to welcome others to come along for the ride as we continue to explore the way that things once were.

As I mentioned above, there will be some different areas of focus.  One of the main areas will be cooking.  Cooking has become a passion for both Josh and I.  We both strive for perfection when it comes to cooking, and want to continue to expand our knowledge about everything cooking, and food.  Much of the desire for these changes comes from wanting to know more about the things we consume.  We have watched what has been happening to the average American by eating the so called food that is available in stores and restaurants, and the health issues that it causes people.  Our bodies don't seem to be able to handle what food has morphed into.  Our philosophy on cooking is that a recipe should consist of raw ingredients.  It should not be to open a can of this, a box of that, and a package of something else and throw it in the microwave!  We will be focusing on foods the way the were originally intended to be made.  Authentic foods from every culture will continue to be a focus.

Gardening has been another focus on our journey.  We have turned part of our front yard into a vegetable garden to be able to expand the amount of food we are able to grow.  Much of the focus has been on trying things that are not as commonplace.  By growing everything ourselves, we know where they came from, what went into growing them, and how to repeat the process.  Food just seems to taste better when it comes from your own garden.

The last focus will be on skills to make your house a home, from crafts, such as knitting and crochet, to sewing, decorating, and cleaning.  The expanse of topics in this area will lend itself to a variety of skills to be learned. 

Hope you enjoy the postings.  Again, if there is something that you would like covered, we are always open to suggestions.  Please help us to spread the word.  Click the Follow button to become a follower of the blog.  Click the share button for Facebook, and Twitter, for both the blog, and the posts.  Thanks for visiting!