Solar and Non Solar Bread

It was just one of those days. I decided to try a different recipe from my "Kneadlessly Simple" bread cookbook. This one, "English Muffin Bread" called for a lower oven temperature, 375ºF instead of the 425ºF for the "Peasant Loaf". I wanted to get it ready and in the Sun Oven by 11:00am to take advantage of the warmest hours of the day, but I overslept. It wasn't ready until much later, about 1:30. And of course by then the status of the sun was a bit iffy. Every ten minutes or so a big cloud would roll in, blocking all sunlight and just when I would start to think it was time to call it a day for solar cooking the sun would come back in full force. The Sun Oven was hovering between 250ºF and 300ºF, a little bit lower than I was hoping for. So I compromised. I put one loaf in the Sun Oven and the other in the electric one. Even with the off and on sunshine the Sun Oven loaf seemed to be doing fine. Unfortunately, when it was close to being done a massive, dark cloud moved in and the Sun Oven temperature began to drop rapidly. Since the indoor oven was already on I finished baking it there. Both loaves came out good and there was very little difference between them. I think the breads that bake at a lower temperature are more suitable for the Sun Oven. I'll try again when the forecast is for a day of full sun. It's not like we don't get plenty of those here.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Solar Baked Loaf

 When my dentist's office called yesterday to reschedule today's surgery - the lucky dog is stranded in Europe because of the volcano - my first thought was, "I'll be able to bake some more no knead bread!" What else could one possibly do with an unexpected day off?

 I got it started right away and by 11:00 this morning it was ready for the Sun Oven. This loaf was better than Sunday's but still not quite as good as the conventionally baked one. The problem, I think, is the air-tightness of the Sun Oven's cooking chamber. The bread is coming out a little too moist. The loaf is baked in a pot with the lid on at first then uncovered towards the end of the baking time. The recipe calls for a temperature of 425ºF for 55 minutes, then the lid is removed and the bread bakes for another 20 minutes. Because of the Sun Oven's lower temperature I baked it covered for a full two hours and uncovered for another hour. Next time I am going to try leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow more steam to escape. Hopefully I'll get this right in the next few attempts. Consuming a loaf of bread every other day is not good for our waistlines.

Solar Chef, Not Solar Baker

The day started out good for solar cooking. I had yesterday's solar cooked stew in the fridge, so dinner was already taken care of. I was ready to bake some bread. I got started right after breakfast. I doubled my normal recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. I usually use small loaf pans but today I wanted to use the larger standard size ones. I don't own any kind of electric mixer - that's something I have on my wish list - so I use my bread machine to prepare the dough. The double batch was pushing the poor machine to its limit, but it managed. When the kneading cycle was over the dough looked perfect. I formed two loaves and let them rise in their pans for about thirty minutes before placing them in the preheated Sun Oven.

About an hour later I took the two beautifully baked fragrant loaves of bread out of the Sun Oven to cool. I had to hurry off to run some errands and was extremely proud of myself for not devouring half a loaf right away. I actually let myself believe that I wouldn't even taste it until tomorrow morning for breakfast or maybe tonight with the stew.

Of course when I got back the two loaves were too tempting. I had to cut myself off a piece right away. It was a small piece. Just the heel; my favorite part. I didn't even bother to butter it. I bit right in and to my horror I realized I'd forgotten the salt - again. This is the second batch of bread I've ruined that way. Normally I have no problem fessing up to my culinary mishaps, but I confess that for the first time I felt a tiny bit ashamed to admit that I'd done something so stupid not once, but twice. I really do not recommend unsalted bread. It's insipid and bland. I was going to throw it all away but Martin said he'd eat it. He's such a trooper.

Solar Baked Milk Bread

Today was a bread day. Partly because we needed bread and partly because I haven't baked any in a while. I was in the mood for white bread, not the 100% whole wheat I usually bake. Yeah, I know, whole wheat is healthier, but you can't always be 100% healthy and most of my family prefers white bread. I used a recipe from my bread machine book by Jennie Shapter. It's a milk bread. I chose this recipe because we accidently opened two cartons of milk yesterday. The only thing we normally use milk for is coffee, so one of the cartons would have gone off before we could finish it.

As usual with solar baked bread, is was delicious. Even though we had just had lunch when I took it out of the Sun Oven we immediately devoured almost half a loaf. Hopefully we'll have enough left over to make meatloaf sandwiches to bring with us when we go volunteer at the Humane Society tomorrow.

Solar Baked "Pane Sciocco"

I woke up to clear skies and no bread. If I hurried I could have some freshly baked bread in time for lunch. I hauled the bread machine out of the pantry and got started. I showered and had breakfast while it was busy making the dough. Around noon I took two beautiful golden loaves out of the Sun Oven. As usual I could not resist cutting myself a slice and slathering it with butter. I bit into it and immediately realized I had forgot the salt. That's the last time I try to do any baking before my morning coffee.

Needless to say it was pretty bland, but all was not lost. True Tuscan bread, known as "pane sciocco" bread is made without salt. Because of that many Tuscan dishes are very salty. Saltless Tuscan bread is perfect for making "pane condito" (seasoned bread). It's easy to make. Just rub some sliced bread (day old is even better) with a clove of garlic and some tomatoes cut in half. Chop up a few more tomatoes and spread them out over the slices. Drizzle olive oil over everything. Dust with oregano and SALT! Let it sit for at least thirty minutes and enjoy.

Return of the Sun Oven

The Sun Oven is back in business. I was home all day today. The sun was shining. We were out of bread. Baking a couple of loaves seemed to be a no brainer. By midday we were enjoying hot, fresh, 100% whole wheat bread - too bad we didn't have any butter. The only downside to solar baked bread is, it's so good that we are almost out of bread again.

The forecast for the rest of the week is very favorable for solar cooking. After scouring the internet for a recipe I plan on making Panforte tomorrow. It's a traditional Italian cake from Siena. I've never made it before, in fact I don't know anyone who has ever made it, but I miss it so much that I'm willing to take a stab at it.

The First Rule of Solar Cooking

The first rule of solar cooking is always check the weather forecast. Yesterday I scoured my cookbooks and the internet for ideas on what to make in the Sun Oven today. I finally decided on bread. I wanted to try a new recipe that used a starter. A starter that needed to be prepared the night before. Not a problem I thought, I have all the ingredients and unlike most days I'm actually planning my solar cooking a day in advance. I gathered everything I needed, made the starter, and went to bed. The possibility of unfavorable weather didn't even cross my mind. Of course it was cloudy this morning, extremely cloudy. I went ahead and made the bread. The starter was ready and it seemed a shame to waste it. Right when the loaf was ready to go in the oven the sun started to come out, but it was too late. The bread came out good, but I am looking forward baking it in the Sun Oven next time. It will be fun to compare the results.

Solar Baked Bread

Ever since our guests left I've been cooking for four, but we've only been eating for two. The fridge is full of leftovers; tonight's dinner only needed to be reheated. It's been a while since I baked bread so that's what went in the Sun Oven today. Good thing, turns out we were running low on bread and with all that leftover meatloaf I wanted to make some sandwiches.

It's my usual 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe.

Solar Baked Christmas Partybrot

Luckily for me my cousin invited us to Christmas dinner so I didn't have to cook much. It was a potluck kind of thing and of course I had to bring something from the Sun Oven. The main courses were covered - turkey, porchetta, and rib roast. Almost everyone else was bringing dessert. That left me with the rolls. The hardest part was the timing. I wanted to go visit the kitties at the Arizona Humane Society in the morning so I had to get two batches of bread dough ready for solar baking by 9:30 a.m. I measured out all the ingredients the night before, set my alarm for 5:30 a.m, got the first batch going in the breadmaking machine, and went back to bed. An hour and a half later I was up again to start the second batch, then it was back to bed for one more hour. The rolls had to rise one last time before going into the Sun Oven which at 9:30 a.m had reached 200ºF. I popped them in the Sun Oven and went off to play with the cats. I left instructions with the three people at home to keep an eye on them and take them out when the were brown. When I got back at 11:30 a.m. there wasn't a soul in sight, they'd gone out for a walk, the Sun Oven door was covered in condensation, and the rolls were brown. I got them out in the nick of time.

Turkey, Ribs, Chicken, Bread and More...

Today was an amazing day of solar cooking. I was invited to an emergency preparedness fair by a local Sun Oven dealer. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Without a cloud in the sky and record high temperatures the multiple Sun Ovens were cranking out food like crazy. I made my signature Chicken with Two Lemons over Rice and baked two loaves of bread. Terry, who invited me to the fair, made cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, baby back ribs and roasted a thirteen pound turkey. Everything was devoured so fast I didn't even get a chance to take pictures, especially since I was doing my part to sample the fruits of our labor. The turkey, of course, drew the most attention. It was fully cooked in four hours, but we left it in for five, and it was moist and delicious. Unlike with a conventional oven where overcooking would dry the meat out, the additional roasting time made it juicier. I will definitely be solar roasting my Thanksgiving day bird, but what impressed me most were the ribs. I always thought ribs were hard to cook but all Terry did was season them with salt and pepper. After two hours in the Sun Oven they were fall off the bone tender. These will probably be on the menu of my next get together with friends. I really hope we achieved our goal of encouraging more people to cook with the sun. I'd love to have a few more solar chefs to exchange recipes with.

Clouds Curtail Cooking of Chocolate Croissant.

On a day like today I realize I'm totally spoiled. Arizona is a perfect climate for solar cooking, the Global Sun Oven is, in my opinion, the best solar cooker on the market and I get to take advantage of both. Even today, with less than ideal weather conditions, I managed to bake some bread.
 I slept in this morning and woke up to a partially cloudy sky. I put the Sun Oven out to preheat first thing. I had taken two chocolate croissant out of the freezer before going to bed. At 350 calories each I consider these a special treat and had been looking forward to enjoying one all week. Unfortunately after they had been in the Sun Oven for ten minutes the sun went behind a large cloud where it looked like it was going to stay for a while. I wanted to savor my croissant with my coffee that was brewing so I finished baking them inside.
In the meantime I was second guessing my decision to bake bread today. I don't mind turning the indoor oven on for the short amount of time to bake a croissant but bread is another story. It's not so much the cost, I just prefer the taste and texture of solar baked goods. I rarely baked bread before owning a Sun Oven, now I do almost weekly. Of course I needn't have worried. The weather was not ideal, but it was adequate. The baking time was simply longer. Unlike with a conventional oven a longer cooking time does not affect the quality of the food. So with intermittent sun and a little patience by mid afternoon we were able to enjoy some freshly baked bread.

Sunday Solar Favorites

After yesterday's big meal I wasn't feeling very creative today. I baked some bread in the morning and made a pot of split pea soup in the afternoon. Add to that the left over pulled pork and we had a nice relaxed Sunday dinner. Now that I've been using my Sun Oven almost every day for two months I hardly think of it as solar cooking, it's just plain old cooking.

More Solar Bread and Sun Ovens on T.V.

Today I met the president of Global Sun Ovens Int. He invited me to do a segment on solar cooking with him on a local morning news show. I got a lot of tips and ideas for future meals. I found out that the Sun Oven can also be used as a food dehydrator and that if you leave the oven door closed the food will remain hot even after the sun goes down. This is great news. We no longer have to eat dinner so early. I am even more convinced that, especially in Arizona, solar ovens could replace crock-pots. They are just as easy to use and the food comes out much better.

In my oven today I made some more bread. It's the same recipe as my previous post but I made two loaves instead of one.

Here's a link to our T.V. segment if you'd like to see it:

http://www.azfamily.com/video/gmaz-index.html?nvid=390095

100% Whole Wheat Bread Take Two

This is my fourth attempt at solar baked bread and my second at 100% whole wheat. Today's solar cooked loaf is definitely the best so far. I used to bake bread weekly with my bread machine and had tweaked the recipe until it was perfect every time. Unfortunately, I never actually wrote it down. I stored it in my head, which in retrospect is a very bad place to store anything. The following recipe is as close as I remember.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 1/2 cups water

3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 TBS dry milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS honey

1 1/2 TBS vital wheat gluten

1/4 cup flax seed

1 TBS molasses

1 packet Hodgson Mill active dry yeast for whole grain

Set solar oven out to preheat

Put ingredients in bread machine following manufacturer's instructions. Set on dough cycle. Remove dough from machine, form into a loaf and place in loaf pan. Let rise in pan approx. 1 hour. Place in preheated solar oven and bake for approx. 1 hour or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

More Solar Baked Bread

Sorry, no picture today but Martin reassures me that the bread was delicious. I left early this morning for a weekend get away at Cathe's gym in New Jersey. I made the dough with my bread machine and when the sun came up Martin put it in the sun oven. It's the same recipe as last weeks loaf but I got new measuring spoons. Turns out that the dollar store teaspoon was actually two teaspoons! I guess there was a manufacturing error so they were dumped at the dollar store. I've left detailed instructions and three days worth of meals in the freezer. All Martin has to do is put them in the sun oven. I'm pretty sure he can handle it and he'll definitely eat better than the last time he was home alone. He had frozen pizza every night for a week and had to call me to ask if the oven needed to be turned on to bake or broil.

Solar Oven Bread

I've always been a little suspicious of the measuring spoons I got at the dollar store. I don't do much baking, where a little too much of something can make a big difference, so I haven't had any problems with them until today. The recipe I used called for 1 1/2 tsp. yeast. The yeast packet said it contained 2 tsp. but when I measured it with my dollar store spoons it came out to less than 1 1/2 tsp. I was so concerned that the incorrect amount of yeast might cause a disaster that it did not even occur to me to worry about any of the other ingredients. This time I used a recipe that called for a mixture of white and whole grain flour. I prepared the dough in the bread machine on the dough setting and let it rise a second time in the bread pan. I put it in the sun oven around noon and when I got home in the late afternoon it looked and smelled perfect. As always with freshly baked bread it was hard to wait for it to cool down to taste it. When I did taste it, I knew the spoons have got to go. It's edible, it's already half gone, but it's a little on the salty side. Despite the fact that my first two loaves of solar baked bread have been less than perfect, it is in no way the fault of the cooking method; In fact I am willing to say that in addition to beans and braised meats, solar cooking is the best way to make bread at home.

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.