Bread Recipes Please

[onebuggirl]

Cackle, tell us more about this notion of powdered milk...proteins being modified and neuro toxins...I am fascinated. Some of my bread recipes call for powder milk.
I too have stopped buying my favorite Brummel & Brown margarine spread when I found out that hydrogenated oils, even partially, are bad for you. We have converted back to being "buttertons" Hahaha I love butter, so I just need to remember moderation. I also just use butter in my bread recipes instead of oil. I found I did not like the olive oil taste.
I looked up how to render fat but don't know if I want to attepmt to do this or not.
Natural is always better...if it isn't natural than it isn't for us!

 

[freemotion]

Cackle, tell us more about this notion of powdered milk...proteins being modified and neuro toxins...I am fascinated. Some of my bread recipes call for powder milk.
I too have stopped buying my favorite Brummel & Brown margarine spread when I found out that hydrogenated oils, even partially, are bad for you. We have converted back to being "buttertons" Hahaha I love butter, so I just need to remember moderation. I also just use butter in my bread recipes instead of oil. I found I did not like the olive oil taste.
I looked up how to render fat but don't know if I want to attepmt to do this or not.
Natural is always better...if it isn't natural than it isn't for us!

Onebuggirl, I think you are quoting me....for more info on milk, go to www.realmilk.com and put "powdered" in the search, lots will come up. Here is one quote I found quickly:

"Powdered skim milk is added to the most popular varieties of commercial milk one-percent and two-percent milk. Commercial dehydration methods oxidize cholesterol in powdered milk, rendering it harmful to the arteries. High temperature drying also creates large quantities of nitrate compounds, which are potent carcinogens."

Cholesterol in foods is not the big enemy, even moderate (I said moderate, not talking about extremes, here) amounts in your blood tests....it is when it is oxidized that it causes problems. Yet another reason you hear so much stuff about harmful free-radicals and oxidization and anti-oxidants. The way foods are processed can create very harmful free-radicals. That is one reason why the oils you use are important, as heating them can create free radicals, too. And the way they are extracted is important, because some methods create a lot of free-radicals, some do not....like cold extraction methods do not. But that doesn't matter if you take them home and heat them up on your stove. Stick to extra virgin olive oil for cooking, sesame oil to a lesser degree and be careful not to heat it too much. I use cold-pressed canola only to make mayo and salad dressing, used cold.

Rendering your own fats is really very simple. I do it all the time. You can simply save the fat from baking chicken by straining it into a container and sticking it in the fridge, then when it is hard, scrape off the gelled (sp?) broth and freeze the fat unless you will use it quickly. We use chicken fat for roasted root veggies, which we are making tonight for supper (SO yummy!) I freeze it in 1/2 cup portions to make it easier to use later. I use it in cooking, like saute'ing garlic and onions, etc. and in some baked goods, like part or all of the fat in pie crust or biscuits when serving them with stew or soup.

To make lard, go to the butcher and ask for pork trim, preferably leaf lard. If they will grind it for you, great! Probably not, though. You can often get this fat for free, no one wants it anymore.

If you have a meat grinder, run it through, directly into a pot that is about 2 quarts bigger than the amount of fat you have. If you don't have a grinder, you can cut it into the smallest dice you have the patience for. Add a quart or so of water (for a small batch of under, say, 6 lbs) and put it on low with a cover. Turn the heat down to the lowest simmer and let it melt. It will smell pretty nasty, so just think about all those good pies! Or put some pumpkin pie spices in another pot to simmer to make it a bit more tolerable!

Later, when most has melted, pour it into another pot through a screen-type strainer. Let it drip a bit, and press the remainder with a spoon to get the most out. Or put it back into the pot and simmer some more.

Pour the hot, strained fat into sturdy jars, like canning jars. I use glass peanut butter jars. Straight sides are best, so you can scoop it out when it hardens.

I usually let it cool a bit before doing this, but you could heat the jars in your dishwasher or boil them, dry them, and try getting a seal on the jars.

Feed the leftovers to the chickens, they LOVE it!

It is really not a lot of work, unless you have to dice the fat. It is one of those tasks that you do a few minutes of work, then leave it alone and check on it occasionally, then do a few more minutes of work. You just need to be nearby for a couple hours or more, you don't want to leave grease on your stove unattended. If you are interrupted, you can just take it off the heat, and resume later, no big deal.

Hope this helps!