Tuesday, June 5, 2012

As Healthy As It Gets Bread / Bread Crumbs


1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup orange juice (lemon juice will work as well, I've even used the "real lemon" powder reconstituted with water)
1/4 cup melted butter (yes, I'm a butter believer - you could use olive oil here, but do NOT use a margarine of other butter substitute) 
3 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup baby or toddler formula (this is where the extra vitamins come from)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour

-Line a regular 9 X 13 metal pan with parchment paper (I'm a big believer in parchment paper, it keeps things from sticking and you don't have to use extra oil or flour - perfect for when you're baking GF foods).
-Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat the mixture vigorously for about 3 minutes; an electric mixer set on high speed works well here. You should have a very sticky dough. It won't be pourable, but neither will it be kneadable. Scoop it into the prepared pan.
-Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes; it should just about rise to the rim of the pan, perhaps just barely cresting over the rim. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
-Uncover the bread, and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. The bread is done when it's golden brown on top, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers between 190°F and 195°F. Remove it from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread completely before cutting it.

To make this into bread crumbs preheat oven to 350, slice the cooled bread in slices just a bit thinner than a conventional slice of bread, cover pizza pan (or cookie sheet, whatever you've got) with the bread slices. Using the sprayable olive oil spritz the top of the slices then toss on whichever seasonings you prefer. I like the Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic blend, a bit of dill, some onion powder and a dash of italian seasoning. Put in the oven and let bake for about 20-35 minutes, just keep an eye on it, when it starts to look like it's almost getting black on the edges it done. Take it out and let it cool for about 15 minutes and then either use a sharp knife to dice it up as you would an onion or for super find crumbs just run it thru a food processor or kitchen aid mixer with a grater attachment. This works GREAT for binder for making meatloaf or meatballs as well.

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