Saturday, 3 January 2015

Home-made Organic Bread - Saturday, 3rd January 2015

Bread!  That glorious fresh chewy food of life, newly made. Its very smell!  The aroma we all love, adore, enjoy!  The smell we use to sell our homes, the perfume of life......whatever term we choose to use, is all;  is sufficient to make you feel well and happy.  A warm loaf is the magnet for the whole family, drawing them into the kitchen,  the heart of the home, eager for the new loaf to cool down just enough for a good bread knife to slice thru' its golden crust.






Sliced thickly or thinly, spread with choice of butter and topping, the delight of eating is all yours to savour and enjoy.  Hand held food is a sublime combination of comfort, sustenance and foodie heaven.  An easily accessible and immediate feast, so quickly and easily prepared for all the family; home-bound mother or grandparent, hungry children from school, college and sixth-form students and stressed out, train travelling, car driving fathers, exhausted from a long day's work. Whatever time of arrival, a quickly prepared snack is a boon to every member of the household.




His organic bread...

For the hungry lunch time muncher, a home prepared home-made bread sandwich is a little wonder......of meat, cheese or fish with salads and dressings, then wrapped in a sandwich bag and Tupperware box, you can take your snack with you wherever you go.  Accompanied by a chunk of cheese, fruit of choice and a good yoghurt, for that sweet treat to get you thru' the remainder of the day we all enjoy.

There are so many alternative elements of the lunch box  I might be accused of being boring by noting them all down in one Blog Post so....I'll just name one of my favourite add-on ingredients which is, for me, soup, in all its very many variations and compositions!!!

However, we're talking about bread today...that delicious food of life, comforter, solace and hunger-ending snack.  The hand-held munch, crumbs for bread sauce we've all eaten so recently.  The hot crouton, the fried slice, cinnamon toast, crumbs for stuffing and scattering for the Polonaise topping for our delicious cauliflower cheese or any dish where you need to thicken, crust or enrich, either savoury or sweet dish, for any creation from your own kitchen?


Just look at that texture, the pale golden crust, feel the softness via your imagination.....ain't you just longing to have a slice, make your own bread, savour the moment???





My dear SO uses our bread makers, making white, wholemeal, part-wholemeal or any mixture of  organic flour plus seeds, herbs, or veggies such as garlic, onion tops and sun dried tomatoes.  The flour for us now is always organic, for such good flour is delicious for all of us but most particularly for me with my small intolerance to wheat.  I am not Coeliac but have suffered from this insensitivity all of my life.  Along with this awful nuisance, has been the problem of the lactose content of regular milk about which I knew nothing of until I was well into mid-life.

I knew of the side-effects, though, of drinking such milk well enough, and early too,  but not why it occurred or from where the nuisance originated.

Intolerance to Lactose goes hand-in-hand with wheat intolerance which was another nugget of info. which only came latterly.  Its a dreadful combination of two of our most basic foodstuffs which affects many people, everywhere, which with a little knowledge and help may be eradicated from many constitutions.

What I've really discovered since holidaying in Australia last November, is that organic flour appears not to give me any side-effects whatsoever.  Eating normal, store-bought white bread brings immediate problems, anytime or anywhere, even with the addition of delicious wholesome water.  I ate quite a good amount of such organic bread on holiday, for my hostess loved her favourite organic Sourdough bread from the Redbeard Historic Bakery, Old Bakery Lane of Trentham, Victoria  - www.redbeardbakery.com.au -  a rural bakery and eatery whose bread is sometimes to be found at some of the various farmers' markets which proliferate in Victoria - in Melbourne and possibly at Daylesford and Woodend and obviously elsewhere too.


We use either the Kenwood or Delta machines we have and there are many other brands also available.  You do not have to use a machine to produce good bread, of course, for the hand-made loaf is just as easily prepared and cooked within anyones limited time-frame.  Lack of time should never be given as an excuse for not making your own bread for it really is the simplest and easiest of kitchen procedures to master.  I know this fact well, for I've produced much bread over the years and enjoyed every bread-making moment!

The most important constituent factor of bread making is the flour which should be of the very best and, most importantly, of organic nature.  Not just for the wheat intolerant diet but for everybody.  It's a little more costly but the extra small expense is well compensated for by the greater benefit to all diets, for the lack of additives and such-like ingredients which so normally go into our regular flour.

This is what I've discovered for myself so soundly, just recently.  I've always appreciated the benefits of organic foods but been cautious of going "organic" for the obvious avoidance of the cost factor, which is and has been, a real problem over many years.  However, better food has always been better for the body and small changes to the buying power of each and everyone of us may be achieved, fairly easily, with a little effort for a great deal of eating benefit.





a light organic bread supper

So........go organic whenever you can, for your bread eating habits, and enjoy better health, greater foodie enjoyment and the simple delight of eating delicious bread - whether home-made or artisan store-bought produce or from your favourite farmers' market.

I really am not bent on lecturing anyone but.....this discovery of mine ..... of  the benefit of eating organic flour bread has really made a huge difference to my daily munching routine which I knew I must pass on to you, my friends and readers!!!

So happy organic bread  NY 2015  eating greetings from me to you ...

Daisy xxx

ps I've even got my own Loyalty Card for the Redbeard Historic Bakery for my next holiday visit!

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