And YOU just add water.

Healthy with that natural goodness you expect from Sturdiwheat.

This is not like any other Focaccia you have tried!  The color and texture are so great – The flavor earthy and just a bit sweet.  It is a hearty bread.

You can bake this in a sided cookie sheet to contain the shape – or you can bake it in free form as I did on a flat pan.  Actually I use a silicon baking sheet and minimize the cleanup.

The addition of the toppings really made this bread a wonderful part of the meal.  And the aroma of onions and peppers sauteing is great for the kitchen.

Follow the directions on the package. While it is rising, saute sliced onion and sliced sweet red pepper in a bit of olive oil until it is soft.

When ready to bake, put the onions and red peppers on top of the focaccia along with other herbs.  I used sliced garlic (see it in the second photo?) And some thing slices of fresh basil.

Finally I topped it with the olive oil and sea salt that Sturdiwheat supplied.  I also added some larger crystals of sea salt that I had in the house . . . . and found that the balance between the slightly sweet Focaccia and the salt was very good!  Try out something new!

Top it with:  Sage? Rosemary? Parmesan? Tomatoes?  Marjoram? How about Scarborough Fair Herbs of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme?

I admit – having an iPad in the kitchen is wonderful. It is so handy for finding ideas and recipes.  And having thousands of recipes available through the Internet is a great way to find recipes that are new and even some that give us a new twist on our favorites. Google is your kitchen friend!  I Googled “cornbread recipe” and received “about” 1,100,000 hits in less than two-tenths of a second.  Now THAT is too many for me — so what’s next?

Where does one go for perfect cornbread?  How about Sturdiwheat? Oh – you thought that Sturdiwheat only had dynamite pancakes and awesome bread? Look behind Door Three!  This cornbread is excellent.  Moist.  Flavorful.  And as always, Sturdiwheat has made your kitchen an easier and more pleasant place to be.

With Sturdiwheat, of course, you can always just add water (and in this case some melted butter) and that’s it.  Or – you can try some new tricks of your own.  This time I used the Lemon Corn Bread.  And added some frozen blueberries.

Follow the simple instructions on the package.  When the batter is ready, spoon half of it into the bottom of the 8″ x 8″ pan.  Sprinkle a cup of fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries on the batter.  Top with the remaining batter.  Baking may take an additional 5 minutes because of the moisture in the blueberries.  The cornbread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

The light lemon flavor and the blueberries combine for an excellent result. Use it for brunch, for breakfast, for a mid-day snack, or for an addition to an appetizer table.  It didn’t stay around for long.  Color this Lemon-Blueberry Cornbread GONE!

Enjoy.

Sturdiwheat.  As always – Putting a smile on your kitchen time.

Click image for larger photo.

What can’t one do with this Sturdiwheat Baguette mix?

This takes a bit longer than the regular Sturdiwheat mix, but it is sooooooo worth it.

To start, dissolve yeast packet contents in 2.25 C warm water.  Add 1.5 C of the mix and stir until smooth.  Cover and let this sponge cure for up to 24 hours. If cured in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature for 1 hour before using.

When the sponge is ready, add the remaining contents of the Sturdiwheat bag to the sponge and mix thoroughly until smooth.  The dough will be wet and very pliable.  This is OK.  This is a wet dough.

Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil or nonstick spray.  (When working with this dough, put a bit of olive oil on your hands to prevent sticking.) Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Drizzle some olive oil in a 9 x 13″ pan, smear your hands in it and coat the sides of the pan.  Press the dough evenly into the pan. (It will go into the corners with the rise.) Cover and let rise until doubled – about an hour.  It is important to let this rise fully before putting it in the oven because of the high temperature and fast baking time.  There is not much time in the oven for the focaccia to rise.

Before baking, top the focaccia with any number of goodies.  I like rosemary.  If you use fresh rosemary, blanch it quickly so it retains its color during baking.  I also like sautéed onion and sweet peppers.  To prepare them, slice onion and peppers thinly and sauté in a bit of olive oil until they are softened.  Or leave it plain!  It is great any way you bake it.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Click image for larger photo.

When the focaccia is ready to bake, brush the top somewhat generously with olive oil.  Sprinkle your favorite topping and then press your fingers or a wooden spoon into the top to make indentations in the bread.  Not too many.  This will give that authentic appearance.  You may be pressing some of the topping into the bread, and this is OK. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt (if you have it) or table salt.

Bake until golden brown and the sides pull away a bit from the pan.  25-30 minutes.  Transfer the bread to a cooling rack.

Click for larger image.

Enjoy this bread warm or at room temperature.  Cut it in squares and then horizontally for sandwiches.  Cut it in strips for snacks.  Enjoy it with soup, salad, dinner.  Enjoy it with appetizers.

Especially, enjoy the compliments.  It tastes as good as it looks! I love trying new things with this Sturdiwheat mix.  Go ahead.  Be creative.  Enjoy!

Sturdiwheat – Making you look good! Always!

Natural and Healthy!

Sturdiwheat Focaccia / Snack Bread Mix is a wonderfully surprising and pleasant change from what we often consider Focaccia.  It is filled with healthy grains and steps up a BLT and other sandwiches beautifully. It has a great robust earthy flavor from the grains and you can truly taste this bread – whether it is on a delicate veggie sandwich on a mighty sandwich with intense meaty and flavorful fillings.

As an appetizer bread with cheeses it is a special treat for your guests – or even just for you and yours while waiting for dinner in the evening – or for a snack whenever!

For this baking session I added fresh rosemary to the top.  As you can see, it looks delicious and tastes equally as nice!  Use the package instructions – just be sure you let it rise in the pan before baking.  About an hour is good until it doubles in size.  You do want to let it rise in the pan because with the thinness of the bread, it doesn’t get a long time in the oven to rise.

I will report on my next experiment with some other toppings.  I am expecting similar results.

Oh – I used a pizza pan from a local take it/bake it outlet (pizza came in it and I just re-used it), and it made a great undercrust on this bread.  But you can use any metal pan.

This is such a great bread.  And Sturdiwheat, as always, is making your life in the kitchen easier.  Enjoy!

This Cornbread Mix is so easy.

Measure water and melted butter.

Mix.

Into the pan.  Into the oven.

Enjoy

And it comes out of the pan without even greasing the pan.

When putting the batter into the pan, put 1/2 on the batter in – - sprinkle with a cup of  blueberries – - cover with the rest of the batter.  YUM!

I used frozen blueberries from last summer and they worked perfectly.

Sturdiwheat Cornbread Mix.  Making your life easier.

Add some Rosemary and Voila!

This was a great success.  Add  a few tablespoons of chopped rosemary – This was with fresh rosemary – Don’t be shy about the spice.  Let it sing!  Add it at the same time the water is added. Crush the rosemary with a small bit of oil in a mortar and pestle if you have one to force the flavors.  If using dry rosemary, be sure to crush the spice.

Let is rise for up to 24 hours.  Punch down a couple of times during the rise.  The long rise isn’t necessary, but the flavor and texture improve with the longer rise.  Let the loaves rise for an hour or so after shaping the loaves.  Put a pan of  HOT water on the bottom shelf of the oven when preheating is started.  This moisture is so important for getting that wonderful artisan crust.

Slit the loaves across the top with a serrated knife or a scissors just before putting the loaves in the oven.  Also, spray the top well with water.  Spray twice more during baking.  This water also goes to giving you that beautiful crust.

Bake as directed on the package at 425 degrees –  but bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is a golden brown. A longer baking time is required because these loaves are thicker than the baguette loaves.

This bread turned out so beautifully.  The texture was exquisite.  The crust – Exceptional. Use this Baguette Mix in many ways.  Test it out!  Let us know what happens.

Enjoy this Rosemary Artisan Bread and the compliments you will be hearing!  And be sure to visit Sturdiwheat for this and other great mixes.

Several days ago I was making some bread using Sturdiwheat baguette mix. Oh my, these baguettes are SO good! And easy. I had some leftover cooked wild rice and I added a cup of cooked wild rice when I mixed the bread. Let it rise overnight (as in the instructions) and Poof! This bread, in addition to being a great baguette is also versatile. Don’t pass up this simple mix at Sturdiwheat.com.

Look what happened. The aroma of fresh bread. Great flavor – and there is no doubt about how it looks!

The texture was wonderful! Soft and chewy. A sturdy crust beautifully browned. I put a small pan of HOT water in the oven (be sure there is enough water to last the entire baking time) on the lower shelf when the pre-heat was started, and sprayed the bread with water when it went in the oven. Spray the bread with water twice more while it is baking. It helps make that perfect crust we all love. Also – let the bread rise for a while after shaping it into loaves. And bake for 30 minutes (this is longer than the instructions on the package, but it is a wider loaf than the baguette instructions) and it makes for a crusty, dense, delicious loaf. You will be SO proud to serve this.

The one caution I would give you is this: You might not be able to resist eating ALL of it when it comes out of the oven!

It is so easy to enjoy Sturdiwheat just as it comes to you from www.sturdiwheat.com. Simply add water. – - – - Go ahead – get creative. Enjoy both the wonderful bread and the loads of compliments!

Jo from Illinois made the winning pizza.

Great job Jo!  Thank you to all to played and stay tuned for future contests. 

We will be announcing the winner of the Sturdiwheat Hot Cereal Contest in early March.  We had a lot of entries so we need a little more time to try them all.

For a 9″ x 13″ pan size 

(For 8″ x 8″ pan size divide quantities in half including the cornbread)

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 c. Chopped onion

2 cans (15oz) tomato sauce

2 TBSP brown sugar

4 tsp Worchestershire sauce

2 tsp yellow mustard

1 pkg Sturdiwheat Corn Bread mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  In Skillet cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked. 

Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce and mustard. Cook for 3 min or until simmering.

Prepare Sturdiwheat cornbread according to package (just add water and butter or oil).

Pour hot sloppy joe mixture into baking pan and immediately spoon corn bread mixture over the top.

Bake 25 to 35 min until a toothpick inserted into the center of topping comes out clean.

Enjoy!