Artisan Whole Wheat Bread

For 3 loaves of bread:
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk or evaporated milk
1 1/2 Tbls. yeast
1 Tbls. + 1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey
5 Tbls. oil

6 2/3 cup whole wheat flour

For 1 loaf of bread:

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup milk or evporated milk

1/2 Tbls. yeast

1/2 Tbls. salt

3 Tbls. honey

1 1/2 Tbls. oil

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

In a very large bowl with a lid, or some other lidded container, mix together the water, milk, yeast, salt, honey and oil.

Stir in the flour (without kneading it).

Cover it (not airtight) and let it sit for 2-3 hours, until the dough has risen and fallen.

Either use it now, or refrigerate it (with the lid on, but not airtight) to make several loaves of dough throughout the week. It's easier to handle when it's cold.

When you want to bake it, scoop out about 1.5 lbs of dough (the size of a cantaloupe, or about 1/3 of the dough). Have your hands be wet with water to prevent the dough from sticking. Form the dough into a ball. Place the ball of dough into a greased loaf pan (it should fill the pan just over halfway). Let the dough rest/rise for 1 hour 40 minutes.

Coat the top of the dough with flour and cut slashes into it. Preheat the oven to 350. Place the loaf into the middle of the oven, with another pan on the side with some hot water in it. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until very brown and firm.

Let cool completely before slicing, to prevent crumbling.

Hamburger Stuffed Buns

Hamburgers with everything on the inside and only bread on the outside.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Take some bread dough, of any kind you like, after it has mostly risen. For every bun you'll need a large handful of dough, like the size of a grapefruit. With wet hands, grab a piece of dough and put it on a well-floured surface. Dig out a little hollow in the middle, not making the bottom too thin. Fill the hollow with whatever you like on hamburgers. I did beef, mushrooms, onions, cheese, and green bell peppers (all chopped up). I got pineapple, pickles and tomatoes specifically for this, but forgot to use them.



Then, with hands still wet, fold up the edges of the dough to cover all the inside food, forming it into a ball. Roll the ball around to coat all the wet surfaces with flour. Place on a greased baking sheet or stone. Cut shallow slashes in the top of the buns.



Put the buns in the oven along with a small dish of hot water. Bake until the crust is quite browned, almost an hour.



Clearly, this concept can be taken very far. These "hamburgers" are merely a step away from being calzones, pasties or turnovers. Or, imagine using sugar cookie dough and filling it with fruit. The possibilities are restricted only by your imagination and palate.

Canadian Molasses Cookies

These are the best molasses cookies ever! They have a really strong flavor and are soft and chewy. However I have no idea if they are actually Canadian; that's just what they're called.

1 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbls. fresh grated ginger root
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. In a large bowl, stir together the molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, and egg. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger and salt; add to molasses mixture. Mix until well blended. The dough is very sticky, so keep your hands wet with water to roll the dough into little balls. Place balls on cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. They spread a lot while baking and you don't want them to meld into one huge cookie because then they don't bake to the proper texture. Bake until edges are golden, about 8-11 minutes, you'll have to check. They should be kind of gooey still but noticeably cooked. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes before removing, they use this time to set/finish cooking.