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!

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!

At the cabin – For a week we concentrated on nature, walking, fixing, building, cutting firewood, and eating.  Please don’t misunderstand.  Perhaps eating should not be last on the list because it was surely always on our minds.  On this day our dinner was Salmon grilled and smoked over a wood fire, Pasta with uncooked fresh tomato sauce, wood-fire grilled asparagus, and that great Sturdiwheat Focaccia Snack Bread.  Interestingly, EVERY day the question was asked “Are we having bread?”  They wanted to be sure that the cook/baker did not forget to include the Sturdiwheat.

They had, of course, become acquainted and had acquired a taste (or a slight addiction) for Sturdiwheat, whethere it was a Sturdiwheat Baguette, Sturdiwheat Pancakes, Sturdiwheat Limpa Rye, or this wonderful Italian Snack Bread mix.  Actually we made this in two pans.  Had one pan that evening, and the other warmed so beautifully in the oven the next evening for snacks!  Sturdiwheat, thank you!

And it was easy to accommodate!  Sturdiwheat is so easy to prepare.  But in addition it is simply and wonderfully delicious.  You couldn’t ask for a better friend in the kitchen or at the cabin.

Of course one day I was required to make “Mabel’s Buns” – which would be my mother’s famous (in our family) buns and caramel rolls.  Other than this requirement, we depended on Sturdiwheat.

This morning’s temperature was cool. So some warm hot chocolate hit the spot. And then I couldn’t resist making some bread. Don’t you love the smell of bread baking? It fills the house with that warm feeling and aroma. It just may warm the heart too. The smell elicits definite images of fresh bread even before it is done baking. The taste and smell invades your senses as you imagine enjoying the flavor. And that’s just what the smell does. Just wait for the taste!

Long process to make it? No! Sturdiwheat! It was in the pantry. Baguettes today. Opened the bag. Added the water. Kneaded the dough (THIS is one of the reasons I wanted to make the bread.) Later I formed the loaves and put it in the oven according to the simple instructions.

And now that smell has permeated the entire house. So easy. So healthy. So delicious.

I won’t be able to wait for lunch. I will be having some bread in a few moments. With just a touch of some marmalade. Wish you could join me. (I will be having more bread for lunch.)

These bread mixes are incredible. And nutritious. Check them out. You are in for a treat.

I never thought that I would be accused of being a Sunday Driver. Of course that was in some younger years. Oh well. But hey! It’s great to saunter along in the car taking in all of the beauty that nature has to offer. Stop along the way and see the budding trees. The flowers emerging from the soil. The birds darting from here to there heralding the awakening with their songs of spring. There is so much to see and enjoy. And there are no deadlines today. I’m really can’t apologize for taking my time. This journey from Red Wing, MN to Nelson, WI along the Mississippi River via the Great River Road is worth taking one’s time.

I wonder. Why are there no cars ahead of me? Do those cars behind me think that I should be going faster? Pull over? Go home? Perhaps they do. But it’s not time to go home yet. But pull over? That is a good suggestion. Because there is a host of things to see at this wayside rest. Wonders to enjoy.

And lunch. We did prepare. Sandwiches on that great Sturdiwheat bread. A bit of fruit. Crisp carrots. A glass of wine. Of course the guests of honor are the ants. They are eager about spring too.

This warm spring sunshine shining on our faces as we enjoy the homemade Deli sandwich on Sturdiwheat Dark Caraway Rye bread helps make this day. Oh – - we made the bread. From those wonderful Sturdiwheat bread mixes. And the bonus of the aroma of fresh baking bread is well worth it. Can you do it? I surely think so. Just add water! That’s it! Well, you need to bake it too. www.sturdiwheat.com You will find it there!

Celebrate Spring! It is the season of new life. Smell the freshly baked bread. And enjoy a picnic along the way.