Solar baked bread is something I've wanted to try ever since I got my sun oven. We're going to Joe's Farm Grill for dinner tonight so it seemed like the perfect day to do just that. I'm not much of a baker and in the past have only made bread using a bread machine. It's been a long time since I even did that and I have lost my favorite 100% whole wheat bread recipe. One thing I did remember from all the trial and errors of past loaves was that it comes out much better with the addition of a little vital wheat gluten. This meant another after dinner trip to the grocery store yesterday. When I saw that only vital wheat gluten they had was $7.99 I decided to take the easy way out and bought a package of Bob's Red Mill mix for less than half that. I followed the instructions on the package for conventional ovens but added 1/4 cup of flax seed. The bread was ready to go in the oven by 11:30 and took about 45 minutes to bake, same as a conventional oven. I used a silicone loaf pan but did not like it as much the cake pan I used a few days ago. It was not rigid enough and the loaf expanded more in width than in height during baking. I'll probably give bread another try in the future but will be on the look out for a better recipe. It did make the back yard smell great.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Solar Baked 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Solar baked bread is something I've wanted to try ever since I got my sun oven. We're going to Joe's Farm Grill for dinner tonight so it seemed like the perfect day to do just that. I'm not much of a baker and in the past have only made bread using a bread machine. It's been a long time since I even did that and I have lost my favorite 100% whole wheat bread recipe. One thing I did remember from all the trial and errors of past loaves was that it comes out much better with the addition of a little vital wheat gluten. This meant another after dinner trip to the grocery store yesterday. When I saw that only vital wheat gluten they had was $7.99 I decided to take the easy way out and bought a package of Bob's Red Mill mix for less than half that. I followed the instructions on the package for conventional ovens but added 1/4 cup of flax seed. The bread was ready to go in the oven by 11:30 and took about 45 minutes to bake, same as a conventional oven. I used a silicone loaf pan but did not like it as much the cake pan I used a few days ago. It was not rigid enough and the loaf expanded more in width than in height during baking. I'll probably give bread another try in the future but will be on the look out for a better recipe. It did make the back yard smell great.
Labels:
bread,
whole wheat
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What a neat project you are embarking on! I am an avid supporter of solar ovens and use mine frequently. Living in sunny Utah means I get to use it a lot. One of my first solar oven projects was to bake bread and I was so thrilled with how it turned out. The great thing about solar oven cooking is that you can't burn what you're making. Good luck with your project! PS: Here is my wheat bread recipe, since you lost yours. Enjoy. http://tinyurl.com/cd2vz9
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