Making Earth Bread

Today: Day 33 for our house being on the market. We had a couple of showings this weekend with good responses but still no offers. So doesn't it figure that today of all days, while the house is unusually clean and tidy, I find myself inclined to make....bread. It is a very delicious bread, courtesy of my Savor the Flavor of Oregon cookbook. It's called Earth Bread and it is a tasty (and healthy) combination of cracked wheat, unbleached bread flour, whole wheat flour, oatmeal and sesame seeds. Now, I am not a clean and tidy baker...I make a mess. Just now, simply opening up the Quaker oatmeal container had flakes literally flying through the air. Just opening the container...what's up with that? I guess I just cook with wild abandon. That's not a bad thing, though, right? I read somewhere once that it is the creative, artistic bakers who make huge messes, while the cooks who clean up as they go are much more restained and recipe-bound. I don't know if this is true, I just know I am now walking over oatmeal as I proceed with mixing my ingredients.

I took some baking pics to show my progress. I love that this dough is wonderful for either loaves or rolls, as you will see. I like to make square and round rolls and then one or two larger round loaves all from one batch of dough.

My staging area:


Watching the cracked wheat sit, the scalded milk cool, and the yeasty stuff bubble:


Just before the kneading:


Starting to rise:


Ready for the oven:


My kitchen smells so good right now:


Let me know if anyone is interested in the recipe, I will happily share it.

1/19/2008 update: You can find the recipe to this marvelous bread here!!.