Fresh baked bread with simple and complex carbs,
healthy fats and protein. And it tastes good.

If I have the right kind of home-baked bread I really don’t need anything else for my breakfast or lunch. By supper I’m ready for something to go with it, but if the recipe is right bread gives me everything I need. Reading about what the Tarahumara eat (and wanting to be able to do the things they do) made me reconsider my bread recipe. I’ve added some of the things the Roman Legion fed their troops, and I’m still tweaking the system. So far it’s the best bread I’ve ever eaten.

The basic recipe came off the back of a bag of Gold Medal Whole Wheat flour, and it’s called Honey-Whole Wheat Bread. I’ve changed it either a little or a lot every time I make it, but mostly by adding things and not by changing the basic plan.

The original parts I kept are as follows:

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 tsp dry yeast

Instead of 1/4 cup butter I’ve substituted 1/4 cup spreadable vegetable margarine;
I use 1/4 cup honey mixed with either 1/4 cup dark molasses or 1/4 cup sorghum for a total of 1/2 cup, while the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup honey.

I’ve added whole grains of different types, depending on what I have on hand. I’m always using 1/4 cup of flax seed and will probably increase that amount later in the summer. I also added 1/4 cup of amaranth and 1/4 cup of teff this last time, but soy flour and sesame seeds came out pretty good, too.

The dough after the first rise.

Lately I’ve had really good results with my bread but it hasn’t always been like that. Instead of believing what I see on the yeast package I now start the yeast in warm water and honey, as this recipe recommends. Actually I’m mixing the honey and other sweetener with the margarine and the full amount of warm water, not the 1/4 cup the recipe recommends. Seems to work pretty well so I’m staying with that method.

I mix the dry ingredients together with a wire whisk, and I’m not a fancy baker so I add the liquid yeast mixture all at once and work it in by squeezing. When the dough is fairly uniform I adjust by adding a little water or a little flour and turn the dough out on the counter for kneading. After kneading until it forms a nice glutinous dough I shape it into a ball and rub a little cooking oil on it, then put it back in a covered bowl in a warm place and let it double in size.

The second rise and success nears.

This recipe makes quite a lot of bread, so I’ve been using pizza pans covered with aluminum foil. I divide the dough in two equal pieces, shape it again, and let it rise at least double on the pans. Then it goes into the oven at 375 degrees F. for 30 minutes. At 15 minutes I open the oven up and switch the top loaf to the bottom shelf and the bottom loaf to the top shelf, otherwise the top loaf will get too brown. At 30 minutes the temperature has to be reset to 350 degrees F., and the loaves bake for another 10 minutes. The crust should be hard enough that it resists a good thump.

The Romans received a daily ration of 1 1/2 kg of wheat and rye when times were good, according to what I’ve read lately. Some historians say it was less, only about two pounds. That’s still quite a lot of grain to eat in a day. The magic ingredient in Roman rations seems to be flaxseed, which is very high in beneficial fats just like the chia seed the Tarahumara eat. This bread probably has more fat and sugar in it than the old Roman rations.

Next recipe I’m substituting 1/2 cup of coconut milk for the 1/4 cup of margarine, which should come out to about the same fat content. Eventually I’ll come up with a "Roman bread" that’s sub-standard, but I sure haven’t yet. This bread is a meal by itself, just the way I like it.