Rae Udy

RECIPES: Raisin Bran Bread, Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, Whole Wheat Bread, Whole Wheat English Muffins, Whole Wheat Fried Bread, Whole Wheat Bread Sticks, Whole Wheat French Bread and Whole Wheat Hard Rolls

By Rae Udy

Food and dietary guidelines recommend adults eat six to ten servings of grains each day and that half the amount be whole grains. Health evidence has convinced the American Heart Association and the Department of Health and Human Services to urge Americans to eat at least three servings of whole grains daily.
The average person eats less than one serving of whole grains and over 30 percent never eat whole grains at all, according to the Whole Grain Council.
Meeting the daily requirement is easy when including three slices of whole grain bread during the day, but that is sometimes difficult when whole grain breads currently make up to just ten percent of supermarket shelf space.
Whole grain breads are easy to make and don’t have to take up your whole day doing it either. Raisin Bran Bread and Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are ‘no need to knead’ recipes so there is no mess when making these nutritious and hearty breads.
The following Whole Wheat Bread recipe with variations, is a traditional process of mixing, rising and baking. Baking bread is very easy but it does take time, skill and patience. Bread machines do the work for you and I use my regularly, but I still like the art and style of bread making and this recipe will help even the novice create a yummy treat.
Whole wheat flour contains the complete whole wheat kernel including the fiber-rich bran, vitamin E packed wheat germ and the starchy endosperm. It is also high in fiber, and vitamins A, C, E and is a good source of calcium, iron and potassium.

RAISIN BRAN BREAD
(www.kraftfoods.com)
2 cups POST Raisin Bran Cereal, divided
1 ¼ (one and one-quarter) cups fat free milk
¼ (one-quarter) cup margarine, melted and divided
1 egg
¾ (three-quarter) cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ (one-half) teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degree oven. Mix one and one-half cups cereal, milk and two tablespoons margarine in a medium bowl and let stand for one minute. Add egg and sugar and mix well. Stir in flour, baking powder and cinnamon just until blended. Spread into a lightly oiled or sprayed loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix remaining one-half cup cereal, two tablespoons butter and one tablespoon sugar until blended. Sprinkle evenly over batter and press down slightly. Bake for fifty minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool ten minutes on wire rack. Invert and remove bread from pan and cool completely. Cut into 16 slices to serve.

EASY WHOLE WHEAT DINNER ROLLS
(www.wholefoodsmarket.com)
1 ¼ (one and one-quarter) cups organic whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons evaporated cane sugar
½ (one-half) teaspoon salt
1 package dry active yeast
1 cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees)
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup unbleached white flour
Have all ingredients, except milk, at room temperature to start. In a large bowl, mix whole wheat flour, salt and yeast. Add warm milk, melted butter and beaten egg and beat until smooth. Add unbleached white flour mixing until batter is smooth and flour incorporated. Cover and allow dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes to one hour. Meanwhile, lightly spray 12 muffin tins with extra virgin olive oil spray and set aside. Once dough has raised, stir batter down and spoon even amounts of dough into prepared muffin tins. Allow rolls to rise again until dough is over the top of the muffin tins, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake rolls for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
1 skim milk
¼ (one-quarter) cup honey or brown sugar
¼ (one-quarter) teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons dry active yeast
6 cups whole wheat flour
Combine milk, honey and salt in a small saucepan and bring to almost boiling. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Pour milk mixture into a large mixing bowl and stir in dry yeast. Set aside five minutes for yeast to dissolve and activate. Add two cups flour and beat until mixture is smooth. Add remaining flour one cup at a time beating well after each addition until mixture forms a stiff dough. Place dough on a generously floured board and knead for ten minutes or until dough is smooth and handles easily without sticking to your fingers. Lightly oil the large bowl the dough was mixed in. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat all sides lightly with oil. Cover with a warm, damp clean towel and set aside to raise for one hour. Punch dough down with a wooden spoon or clean hands and cut dough into two pieces. Shape one into a bread loaf and place in a lightly oiled or sprayed loaf pan. Cover with a dry towel and set aside for thirty minutes to rise. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake bread for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool ten minutes on wire rack. Invert and take out of pans. Slice thin to serve 16 warm or cold. Prepare remaining loaf as bread or make one of these variations.

WHOLE WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFINS: Roll remaining dough into a one-half inch rectangle. Cut into three-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. Sprinkle bottom and top lightly with cornmeal and place on dry cookie sheets about two inches apart. Cover with a dry towel and set aside to rise for twenty minutes. Heat a griddle of frying pan over medium heat. Carefully place each muffin on hot pan. Cook three to five minutes on each side. Yields about one dozen.

WHOLE WHEAT FRIED BREAD: Follow the directions for English Muffins but lightly oil the griddle before cooking. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD STICKS: Cut the remaining dough into 24 equal pieces. Roll and stretch each piece into ten inch long sticks. Lightly brush with skim milk then roll in raw sesame seeds. Place on lightly oiled or sprayed cookie sheets. Cover with dry towel and set aside to rise for twenty minutes. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for eight to ten minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool two minutes before removing from baking sheet. These will crisp slightly as they cool. Yields two dozen bread sticks.

WHOLE WHEAT FRENCH BREAD: Place remaining dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a large rectangle about one-half inch thick. Starting at narrow edge roll up tight, pinching edges as you go. Form into an oval loaf. Lightly sprinkle cornmeal on a dry cookie sheet. Place loaf seam side down on the prepared cookie sheet. Brush loaf with warm water and make one-half inch deep diagonal cuts across the top of the loaf about two inches apart. Set aside uncovered for thirty minutes to rise. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a shallow pan on bottom shelf of oven and fill with hot water. Bake loaf for thirty to forty minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Slice into one inch pieces and serve with butter.

WHOLE WHEAT HARD ROLLS: Cut remaining dough into eight equal pieces. Shape into small loaves. Continue as French Bread. Bake for twenty minutes or until golden brown. Yields eight sandwich rolls.

Sources:
www.wholegraincouncil.org
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/cgi-bin/print10pt.cgi?url=/recipes
www.kraftfoods.com/knet_print_version.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipes