I have been on my own "Prepper Diet" roughly since the new year and it has worked out well for me. To recap, I eat oatmeal with honey only in the morning, rice and beans during the day and not much after 7PM. I drink lots of water and tea.
So far, I have lost several pounds and have managed to get rid of some of this gut. I am sure this has lowered my cholesterol as well. I have been running and lifting weights again - less food and more activity and you will lose weight.
Now, I like bread. Not that pale old Wonder What It Is Bread, but real bread. I love bread. I have been baking for the past year on weekends because it is will be necessarily after the SHTF to be able to do it yourself and not depend upon the Happy Mart for a sack of sandwich bread.
However, with the Prepper Diet, I have been laying off the traditional bread and excess carbs. But I finally had enough. I wanted bread but wanted to find something different.
So, I researched a good old fashioned, Old Testament kind of bread. Something Jesus would have eaten on a normal day with some fish, lentils or olives. I came up with this recipe from here.
1 package yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 cups flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in oil, sugar and salt. Stir in about 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour until easy to handle. Knead 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a greased bowl until double (about 1 hour).
Punch down. Divide into 6 equal parts, and shape into balls. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Roll into 6- to 7-inch circles 1/8-inch thick. Place 2 circles in opposite corners of each of 3 ungreased cookie sheets. Cover. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F until puffed and brown.
Credit - Recipe Goldmine
I switched out the sugar for honey. I also skipped the last 30 minute rising after flattening and put them straight in the oven then.
Results? I made this Bible Bread last night around 9PM. Six pieces. There is none left. The family coveted my Bible Bread and ate it all. So I call it a success.
Post-SHTF, yeast may be a problem, so I have to figure out how to stretch what I have and if I can grow more.
Cooking is accomplishable. Only ten minutes and I can use a brick oven with fire or even a solar oven for something this basic.
POST SHTF Yeast:
ReplyDeleteHere is a little tip, yeast is a wild animal that floats fre on the breeze. Classic San Francisco Sourdough is made by creating a starter, basically flour, water and sweetner (sugar or honey) and left to ferment with a tea (kitchen) towel draped over the bowl. The natural, wild yeasts come floating in through the tea towel and grow like crazy in the starter. You have to "feed" the starter occasionally. Look up Sourdough Starter.