We have had steady constant rain all day today, with grey
overcast skies and a little wind. A typical
winter storm, in fact. But it isn’t that
cold, and the house smells of fresh bread, thick vegetable soup, and cottage
pie ready to go in the oven.
Believing that I am ultimately responsible for my own
health, I have begun looking more closely at my lifestyle.
Perhaps I have been a little smug – over the years I have
had two separate nutritionists examine my dietary intake and tell me I was doing
great. But, obviously, it wasn’t that
great as I am now suffering a heart murmur.
I don’t eat a lot of bread, but I do eat some and I want it
to the best I can get. During World War
II, English food rations included the National Loaf which contained 85%
wholemeal. This was meant to provide the
optimum healthy loaf for consumers.
So, today, I made my own Wholemeal Loaf in the
breadmaker. It has only just finished
cooking, but I am pleased with how it looks and it smells so delicious!
I won’t be able to cut into it until it cools down, but I’m
sure it will go well with the thick pottage-style vegetable soup bubbling away
on the stove 😊
Margaret.
BREAD RECIPE (86% wholemeal)
Into the breadmaker pan place, in order, 3 tsp Surebake
yeast (i.e., yeast plus improvers), 300g of 100% wholemeal flour, 50g high-grade
white flour (a strong flour suitable for making bread), 1 tsp (5g) salt, 1 Tbsp
(15g) instant milk powder, 1 Tbsp molasses, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and 280 ml cold
tap water. Select the Wholemeal Cycle
and wait 5 hours for the magic to happen.
A word of warning though.
Not all breadmakers are alike (mine is a Panasonic SD-2501 model) and
you may need to adjust the recipe to suit your machine.
That bread looks great. The only problem with home made bread is that you want to eat more of it.
ReplyDeleteYour wholemeal loaf looks lovely - enjoy
ReplyDeleteBaking bread yourself is a wonderful thing... you always know what's inside and you can vary as much as you want.
ReplyDeleteI've been baking whole grain sourdough bread by hand kneaded without yeast for a while now...it's heavenly.
Enjoy your bread...definitely delicious with soup.
Warm greetings to you from Viola
It looks gorgeous and delicious. I had a go at making my own bread earlier this year, no breadmaker involved. The first attempt didn't look so good but was somewhat edible, the second try looked fantastic but was completely INedible, doughy and sour. Back to store bought.
ReplyDeleteSounds like years ago when I tried making my own bread. Nobody liked the taste and one batch was so 'off' that even the dog wouldn't eat it! I gave up and bought a breadmaker :)
DeleteAnd if you skip the butter on the bread you will be doing yourself a great favour.
ReplyDeleteThe loaf looks fantastic. Can just imagine the glorious smell lol Enjoy it with your healthy potage. Sounds like a very healthy diet
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks delicious and the soup sounds wonderful. Take care, Margaret.
ReplyDeleteOh I have never seen a prettier loaf of bread. I love bread! Could never leave it out of my diet. I especially love whole wheat. The house in your header picture is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou have been tested? It's a heart murmer? Or did they just detect that quickly?
ReplyDeleteWhen will you have stress test, and MRI screening?
Gentle hugs,
🍓 🍓 🍓 🍓
I have an urgent referral to the cardiac department up at the hospital to find out what is really going on. In the meantime, my wings have been clipped as to what I am able to do.
DeleteOh yes, we can get complacent.
ReplyDeleteSuper to want to eat the best you can. Delicious bread.
I like the title of a book on *Eating*. By Michael Pollan. "Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants"
Eat food..... means real food, you dealt with yourself.... Not out of packages or cans.
Not Too Much..... means eat till satisfied, not till full...
Mostly Plants.... Yes we can eat meat/fish, but not a lot. And again, meat and fish we deal with ourselves, not in packages or things like hot dogs, etc.
-smile-
Gentle hugs,
🍓 🍓 🍓 🍓
Your bread looks so good! And the wonderful smell when you bake your own bread!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks way too delicious. The trouble with fresh bread is .....the butter!
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks wonderful and I can imagine how good it tastes. With a hearty soup it's the perfect winter meal.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to eat healthy for a few years now but sweet things like cheesecake keep calling to me, finally I decided to start doing a loose version of Keto last week, B's sister and her husband have lost quite a lot of weight while doing it so I shall see how I go.
ReplyDeleteI can almost smell the bread!!
ReplyDelete