>Delicious!

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If you’ve been to this blog before then you know that I enjoy bread…I enjoy making it but mostly I enjoy eating it, and sandwiches are one of my favorite ways to do this. Almost any food, I’m convinced, can be made into a delicious sandwich. This, for example, is one I had today:

Brown Rice Bread (click here for a recipe), tomato, cucumber, fresh basil, thin slivers of jalapeno, raw onion, sharp cheddar, and mayonnaise. With it I had a side of raw sauerkraut made with red cabbage and shredded beets (click here for a recipe).

Za’atar

This is basically a Lebanese-style focaccia, but with other ingredients (mainly yogurt cheese and onions) it can be more pizza-like. I made this the other day for an employee snack using a piece of leftover brown rice dough. Za’atar is a Lebanese spice blend that offers a refreshing and unique flavor. Click here to see an earlier post on a description of this spice blend and how to make a Lebanese pizza. This is simple to make and truly delicious!

>Za’atar

>

This is basically a Lebanese-style focaccia, but with other ingredients (mainly yogurt cheese and onions) it can be more pizza-like. I made this the other day for an employee snack using a piece of leftover brown rice dough. Za’atar is a Lebanese spice blend that offers a refreshing and unique flavor. Click here to see an earlier post on a description of this spice blend and how to make a Lebanese pizza. This is simple to make and truly delicious!

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#191 & 192)

Top Photo, on my way to work in the morning…
A canvas book bag containing, among other things, four books and a day planner.
Two pints of live red sauerkraut (on the front rack), click here for a story and recipes.
A plastic bucket with 6 pounds of raw brown rice bread dough, click here for a recipe.

Bottom Photo, on my way home in the afternoon…
A plastic bucket containing 6 pounds of unbleached bread flour.
A cardboard box containing 5 loaves of freshly baked brown rice bread, click here for a recipe.
A canvas bag containing books.

>Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#191 & 192)

>Top Photo, on my way to work in the morning…
A canvas book bag containing, among other things, four books and a day planner.
Two pints of live red sauerkraut (on the front rack), click here for a story and recipes.
A plastic bucket with 6 pounds of raw brown rice bread dough, click here for a recipe.

Bottom Photo, on my way home in the afternoon…
A plastic bucket containing 6 pounds of unbleached bread flour.
A cardboard box containing 5 loaves of freshly baked brown rice bread, click here for a recipe.
A canvas bag containing books.

Brown Rice Bread Recipe

This is yet another example and variation of how you can add healthy ingredients to bread to make them not only more nutritious but also have a longer shelf life. Unless you are using a natural leaven (sourdough starter) homemade breads can go stale pretty quickly. But with the addition of beans and grains the bread stays moister longer and is in fact healthier…it’s like a meal in itself. This is another example of a variation of one of my favorite breads, which is Ezekiel Bread. Click here and here for earlier posts with pictures and recipes. Click here for a recipe for Turmeric Chickpea bread. Key factors in this style bread are making sure that the grain is cooked sufficiently and using the cooked grain and the cooking liquid in the preferment, which then becomes the dough. Also the slower the bread rises the better. It is a misconception that bread has to rise “in a warm place.”  A slowly risen bread will have more flavor, character, and will stay fresh longer. The below recipe is a basic formula, but somewhat different from how I actually made it (the method not ingredients or amounts). When I made it I allowed the preferment to rest in my refrigerator overnight, made the dough in the morning (carried the raw dough with me to work on my bike), and after a slow four-hour rise, I baked it about 18 hours after it was started. Delicious. The following recipe is simple and straightforward. Post a comment or email if you have questions. Pictures follow the recipe; click any one for a larger view.

Brown Rice Bread
Makes 5 (1 lb.) loaves

   1 cup brown rice
   3 quarts water
____________

      cooked rice
   2 cups cooking liquid
   2 cups whole wheat flour
   1 tablespoon instant yeast
____________

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
   1 tablespoon instant yeast
4-5 cups bread flour
   1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine the rice and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil; lower the heat to simmer and cook the rice for about 45 minutes or until very soft. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to cool in the cooking liquid. Strain the rice, squeezing out excess moisture and reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Make a pre-ferment by combining the cooked rice and 2 cups of cooking liquid with 2 cups whole wheat flour and a tablespoon yeast. Allow the pre-ferment to ferment for 1-12 hours. Transfer the pre-ferment to an upright mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Stir in the honey, olive oil, additional tablespoon of yeast, 4 cups of the bread flour, and kosher salt. Mix on low speed until it begins to form a dough. If it seems too sticky add the remaining cup of flour. Mix on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to dough to a lightly oiled bowl or bucket and allow to rise for about 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Transfer the dough top a work surface and cut it into 5 pieces, approximately 18 ounces each. Gently shape the dough into loaves, place them into lightly oiled pans and allow to rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat an oven to 425F. Bake the loaves for about 1/2 hour, or until golden brown. Turn the loaves halfway through their baking. They are done when they sound hollow when tapped upon. Remove the bread from their pans and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before slicing.  


                               
 


>Brown Rice Bread Recipe

>

This is yet another example and variation of how you can add healthy ingredients to bread to make them not only more nutritious but also have a longer shelf life. Unless you are using a natural leaven (sourdough starter) homemade breads can go stale pretty quickly. But with the addition of beans and grains the bread stays moister longer and is in fact healthier…it’s like a meal in itself. This is another example of a variation of one of my favorite breads, which is Ezekiel Bread. Click here and here for earlier posts with pictures and recipes. Click here for a recipe for Turmeric Chickpea bread. Key factors in this style bread are making sure that the grain is cooked sufficiently and using the cooked grain and the cooking liquid in the preferment, which then becomes the dough. Also the slower the bread rises the better. It is a misconception that bread has to rise “in a warm place.”  A slowly risen bread will have more flavor, character, and will stay fresh longer. The below recipe is a basic formula, but somewhat different from how I actually made it (the method not ingredients or amounts). When I made it I allowed the preferment to rest in my refrigerator overnight, made the dough in the morning (carried the raw dough with me to work on my bike), and after a slow four-hour rise, I baked it about 18 hours after it was started. Delicious. The following recipe is simple and straightforward. Post a comment or email if you have questions. Pictures follow the recipe; click any one for a larger view.

Brown Rice Bread
Makes 5 (1 lb.) loaves

   1 cup brown rice
   3 quarts water
____________

      cooked rice
   2 cups cooking liquid
   2 cups whole wheat flour
   1 tablespoon instant yeast
____________

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
   1 tablespoon instant yeast
4-5 cups bread flour
   1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine the rice and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil; lower the heat to simmer and cook the rice for about 45 minutes or until very soft. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to cool in the cooking liquid. Strain the rice, squeezing out excess moisture and reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Make a pre-ferment by combining the cooked rice and 2 cups of cooking liquid with 2 cups whole wheat flour and a tablespoon yeast. Allow the pre-ferment to ferment for 1-12 hours. Transfer the pre-ferment to an upright mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Stir in the honey, olive oil, additional tablespoon of yeast, 4 cups of the bread flour, and kosher salt. Mix on low speed until it begins to form a dough. If it seems too sticky add the remaining cup of flour. Mix on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to dough to a lightly oiled bowl or bucket and allow to rise for about 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Transfer the dough top a work surface and cut it into 5 pieces, approximately 18 ounces each. Gently shape the dough into loaves, place them into lightly oiled pans and allow to rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat an oven to 425F. Bake the loaves for about 1/2 hour, or until golden brown. Turn the loaves halfway through their baking. They are done when they sound hollow when tapped upon. Remove the bread from their pans and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before slicing.  


                               
 


Love at First Bite

To quote Tom Petty, “The waiting is the hardest part.” I’m of course referring to tomatoes; I’m one of millions of Americans who find this to be their favorite garden vegetable (fruit, actually). It really does make summer feel like summer to me when I can pick tomatoes from their vines. I’ve been eying this one for a couple days…the first tomato to show signs of ripeness (there are many more on their way as I type these words). It probably could have stayed on the vine another day, maybe even two, but I couldn’t take it any longer. While I was rummaging around the garden for dinner tonight I stood and looked at it for a minute, and as I bent to cup it in my hand it fell from the vine…ready! I pressed it to my nose and took a deep whiff…nothing like the smell of a fresh tomato. Then I brushed it off and bit in. It was delicious and still warm from the sun. Excellent!

To read an article about tomatoes I wrote for Edible Buffalo Magazine last year click here. For an earlier post with a recipe for 20 minute tomato sauce, click here. To see an example of how I deal with tomatoes towards the end of the summer–when they ripen faster than I can eat them–click here.

>Love at First Bite

>

To quote Tom Petty, “The waiting is the hardest part.” I’m of course referring to tomatoes; I’m one of millions of Americans who find this to be their favorite garden vegetable (fruit, actually). It really does make summer feel like summer to me when I can pick tomatoes from their vines. I’ve been eying this one for a couple days…the first tomato to show signs of ripeness (there are many more on their way as I type these words). It probably could have stayed on the vine another day, maybe even two, but I couldn’t take it any longer. While I was rummaging around the garden for dinner tonight I stood and looked at it for a minute, and as I bent to cup it in my hand it fell from the vine…ready! I pressed it to my nose and took a deep whiff…nothing like the smell of a fresh tomato. Then I brushed it off and bit in. It was delicious and still warm from the sun. Excellent!

To read an article about tomatoes I wrote for Edible Buffalo Magazine last year click here. For an earlier post with a recipe for 20 minute tomato sauce, click here. To see an example of how I deal with tomatoes towards the end of the summer–when they ripen faster than I can eat them–click here.

Something I Could Have Carried On My Bike

It’s funny that since owning a cargo bike I’ll see things that are being carried in a car or truck and think how it could have been carried on a bike. This is an example; it was a car I saw parked on my street this evening. The plywood may have been a challenge, though I have carried a sheet of plywood cut into quarters and strapped to the side of the Mundo. But the long boards…no problem.

>Something I Could Have Carried On My Bike

>

It’s funny that since owning a cargo bike I’ll see things that are being carried in a car or truck and think how it could have been carried on a bike. This is an example; it was a car I saw parked on my street this evening. The plywood may have been a challenge, though I have carried a sheet of plywood cut into quarters and strapped to the side of the Mundo. But the long boards…no problem.

Another Meal From The Garden

It is that delicious time of year when things are starting to come to fruition in the garden. I picked just enough vegetables for dinner tonight and made a variation of my favorite pasta dish…aglio e olio. Click here and here for earlier posts with pictures on how to make this dish with a recipe.

Big Guy on a Trike

I was walking down Elmwood Avenue today (yes, believe it or not I choose to walk rather than ride a bike) when I saw this guy coming at me on the sidewalk. I had my camera with me so I snapped a picture. He saw me take his picture, nodded, then rode past me doing like a mile-and-hour. Then I snapped the second photo. He looked really content as he passed. I know it is not my imagination that I have been seeing more people than ever before on bikes this summer…awesome. Ride on big guy, ride!

>Big Guy on a Trike

>

I was walking down Elmwood Avenue today (yes, believe it or not I choose to walk rather than ride a bike) when I saw this guy coming at me on the sidewalk. I had my camera with me so I snapped a picture. He saw me take his picture, nodded, then rode past me doing like a mile-and-hour. Then I snapped the second photo. He looked really content as he passed. I know it is not my imagination that I have been seeing more people than ever before on bikes this summer…awesome. Ride on big guy, ride!

Two More Beauties (and a something a little odd).

OK, first a couple things, and this is to my fellow Yuba Mundo riders out in the blogesphere. I am not planning on selling my Mundo, nor am I comparing these bikes to it…I love my Mundo and think they are truly unique and versatile bikes (not to mention the most comfortable bike I’ve ridden). But I am living vicariously as a rich man…you know the type, the guy who has a ten car garage to house all of his sports cars. Only with me it would be bikes. If I were wealthy I’d probably own a lot of high-end cargo bikes (but then I’d probably feel guilty for my greed and give them away).

Anyhow, I came across these bikes a while ago and think they look awesome, particularly the second one. Both are sold by Henry WorkCycles. The first one is called the Monark Truck (Baker’s Bike), and the second is simply called Fr8 (a phonetic play on the word freight, no doubt). Click here to see more specs for the Baker’s Bike, and here for the Fr8.

Now here’s the thing that I find a bit odd. Take a look at the photo below. This is taken directly from a WorkCycle Site (but a different location), click here to see it.. It’s their page advertising the Fr8 as their industrial bike (which it seems to be). What I find odd is that while the driver has that beautiful and plentiful front rack (oddly no rear rack) he is carrying his cargo in his hand. I don’t know about you, but the reason I want a cargo bike is so that I don’t have to carry stuff. And I’m also no marketing genius, but it seems to me it would be better to show this bike loaded with stuff rather than the rider driving one-handed carrying something with his front rack empty.

Maybe I’m being picky. It’s just an observation but I felt like expressing it. I still think these are truly beautiful-looking pieces of machinery and would gladly own one.