Blogiversary whole wheat bread

Have you ever felt a little behind the eight ball? Like you’re always falling short? Always one step behind and missing the boat?

And I don’t mean for big things like missing out on a house because we are not prepared to sell our condo or missing out on a pet because they were “just”adopted. Even something as simple as getting dinner on the table or keeping our place clean seems like a large feat at times. Whether it’s an experiment I have to set up or making media to feed my cells, I feel like I’m constantly scrambling.

My google calendar is full of events, tasks and deadlines, yet I still feel unorganized and barely keeping my head above water everyday. Am I overly ambitious and spreading myself thin or simply incompetent?  The difference between the two is indistinguishable at times.  How do other people keep it all together?

I know I am rambling but even with this blog, I’ve dropped the ball.  You see, it was my 3 year blogiversary two weeks ago and I didn’t even know it.  Wordpress had to inform me in my notifications.  How could I forget such an important date for something that used to be so important to me?  Perhaps the operative words here are “used to be”.  Perhaps my priorities have changed.  I really don’t know.  I’m still trying to figure out how to find balance in my life…

Anyhoo, to celebrate the occasion, I made bread for the very first time.  Actually, this was my second time.  The first time was a fail since I used expired yeast and the dough didn’t rise.  All in all, this recipe is pretty simple, just 10-15 minutes of actual prep work and lots of waiting.  It’s not so difficult to have fresh bread in the house after all.  This bread tastes great toasted and even better topped with some passion fruit butter from Hawaii. 😉

Happy Belated Blogiversary to Me!

100% Whole Grain Bread (Recipe adapted from Kelly’s Healthy Kitchen)

• 1 cup quick oats
• 2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
• 1 package yeast
• 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 ½ tbsp agave syrup (or 3 tbsp honey) (I used honey)

1. Allow all dry ingredients to come to room temperature. In large bowl, stir flour, oats and yeast together for 1 minute.
2. Add 49-54ºC water, olive oil, agave (or honey) and mix a bit.  Add salt.
3. Stir till mixed then knead for 6-8 minutes. You may have to add more water, but do so carefully – different flours respond to moisture differently. If you add too much water, that’s okay! Just add more flour in small increments. Add small amounts of water or flour as necessary. By the end of the kneading, the consistency of the dough will change and should feel moist but not sticky or dry. (I ended up adding 1.5 cups water total and using ~1/3 cup extra flour and kneading until the dough doesn’t spring back when indented – see link below for more details on bread making)
4. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave the dough to rise for 30 minutes. (I covered with saran wrap and put in oven with light on) Dough should approximately double in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
6. Punch the dough and knead again for 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Shape dough and place in oiled (or nonstick) bread pan (or on a cookie sheet). Allow it to rise a second time for 30 minutes (or more if you like).
8. Bake dough for 30 minutes.
9. When finished baking, take bread out of bread pan immediately and put on a cooling rack. Enjoy! (Store in airtight container or bag and in the fridge if not eaten within 3 days). (I cut the bread into slices, wrapped in saran wrap, put in a container and put in the freezer.  Just toast it when you want to eat it.)

Notes and Tips:

Check out epicurious for more details on mixing and proofing.