Do you remember the folk tale of The Little Red Hen?
I've been thinking a lot about her the last few months.
My big kids might remember a note I posted
in my kitchen (years ago) stating
"Please rinse and load your own dishes...
Sincerely,
The Little Red Hen"
Yes, I do admit that at times I have identified with the plight of this
feisty farmyard fowl. However, that particular note has long since
disappeared and that is NOT why I've been pondering poultry as of late.
No, it isn't the Little Red Hen's work ethic I've
been contemplating recently.
I've been wondering more about her bread recipe.
You see, for the last year or so I've been on a mission to find the perfect
whole wheat bread recipe. THE recipe that satisfied my desire
for healthy and my family's desire for delicious!
Unlike The Little Red Hen I didn't plant, harvest, or thresh the wheat.
But I did start pretty much from (chicken) scratch.
My Little Red Hen adventures always began here...with already harvested
whole wheat berries - straight from my food storage mylar bags.
Next, I would mill the wheat and watch it almost magically
become wonderfully warm whole wheat flour.
I can't resist the 'feel' of this newly burst grain.
Handfuls of golden, sun-kissed, powdery goodness.
Then came the endless experimenting.
Day after day our kitchen would fill with the
sweet, hypnotic aroma of homemade bread baking as I
curiously speculated about what Little Red's
favorite ingredients might have been...
Did she prefer...
Red Wheat, White Wheat or Kamut Wheat?
Or a combination of those ?
Eggs or no eggs?
Water or Milk?
Honey or Maple Syrup?
Olive oil or Grapeseed oil?
What about Potato Flakes?
Flaxseed or not? Cold milled flaxseed vs regular?
Lecithin? Liquid or powdered?
Gluten or no?
Well, after months of milling, mixing, adding,
omiting, kneading, rising, baking, and tasting
(ta-da) we finally have the modified and
perfected Kendrick version of what I like to think of as
The Little Red Hen's Whole Wheat Bread!
And along the way I've come to realize a few other things...
"There is no one pathway to delicious bread."
"It doesn't have to look the same every time
or match a picture in a book."
"A bread baker is like that of an improvising
jazz musician or a nurturing gardener."
And my favorite -
"The more you are kneaded, the higher you rise."
(quoting my mom)
Perhaps The Little Red Hen knew that all along!
