I am not a fan of kid food. I have never relished the thought of preparing or serving gummy worms in pudding. An appetite for delicious, healthful meals should be nurtured throughout a child’s life. They certainly enjoy great food in a beautiful setting as well as adults do!
A Happy Meal at our house does not resemble the commercial version. Instead, it includes cheese, crackers and turkey slices tastefully displayed on a plate and served with fresh fruit and yogurt. This is followed with cookies for dessert. It is a meal that is never boring as you can vary each item on the menu. My children love to make their own little sandwiches.
Now I am going to leave you with my recipe for whole wheat bread. There is nothing that satisfies a child’s appetite like whole grain bread. It is a favorite snack of my teenage sons.
I grind my whole-wheat flour in a GrainMaster Whisper Mill grinder. However, you can buy whole-wheat flour in grocery stores and health-food stores. My equipment for the following recipe includes a Bosch Mixer. This allows me to knead up to 14 cups of whole wheat flour. You can do the same work in a Kitchen Aid mixer. However, you must cut the recipe in half. If you do not have one of these mixers, please send me an e-mail (bonavitablog AT hotmail.com) and I will help you work with the recipe to fit your equipment. Whole grain flour can be hard on a mixer. I have worn out a Kitchen Aid after about seven years of working with this recipe. It was worth it! This bread is terrific.
Whole Wheat Bread
Pre-heat your oven to its lowest possible setting. Ideally this is 135 F.
Grease ( be generous here) 4 bread pans.
4 cups white flour
10 cups whole wheat flour (If you aren’t using freshly ground flour, you may need to add 2-4 tbls gluten)
4 tablespoons instant yeast
1 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 tablespoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
4 cups warm water (105 F to 115 F)
Place all of the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl including the yeast and mix for 15 seconds. Alternately add half the oil, honey and water slowly mixing after each addition. Repeat with the remainder of the honey, oil and water until all of the liquid ingredients are incorporated into the flour mixture. In the Bosch Mixer, knead on speed 2 for 6 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. I do utilize a kitchen scale to weigh the dough to ensure that the 4 loaves are equivalent . This ensures even cooking.
Place the dough in the prepared pans.
Place the pans in the pre-heated oven. If your oven will not set below 175 F, then leave the door open a bit during the first 25 minutes as this is the rising stage.
Set your timer for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes at 135 F , you will now set your oven to 350 F for an additional 18 to 25 minutes. The bread stays in the oven as the temperature is rising from 135 F to 350 F. The total time for rising and baking is the original 25 minutes plus the 18 - 25 minutes for baking. The timing is dependent on each individual oven.
Remove the bread from the pans immediately after you take the bread out of the oven. You will need to gently loosen the bread from the sides of the pan. An icing spreader works great for this.
It can be a little frustrating perfecting your wheat bread. You need to get used to your oven, pans and mixer. If it doesn’t work the first time….do not give up. The time and effort to perfect this recipe will be well worth it. Once you have the recipe working, it becomes a fairly quick, easy process.
Enjoy!
