Bread with ground Harvest Grains

Last time I used the Harvest Grains Blend from King Arthur Flour, I soaked the grains overnight to help soften them in this recipe.

This time, I decided to use a more forceful method on them, and whizzed them up in the food processor. The result wasn't a smooth flour by any means, but the pieces were much, much smaller and there was a good bit of powdery stuff as well.

Since I already dirtied the food processor, I decided to use it my make my dough. I usually use my stand mixer, but variety is the spice of life, or so they say.

This version of the bread didn't expand as much as I expected. The resulting loaf was a bit small, but it had nice color and it did have some oven-spring, as you can see by the size of the slashes. This wasn't a fluffy loaf, by any means, but it wasn't overly dense, either. It was hearty and a little chewy, much like a rye, and the interior color is rye-like as well.

Overall, it was a good loaf of bread, and the flavor of the multi-grains was nice, but it didn't make me leap up and dance with joy. It's good with a little butter and will be fine with sandwiches, but this isn't a loaf that I'm going to go back to and nibble on all day long.

Harvest Grains Bread

1 cup Harvest Grains Blend

2 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2/3 cup whey (water is fine, too)

Egg wash and sesame seeds (optional)

Put the Harvest Grains Blend in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the metal blade, and process for a minute or two, until it's about as fine as it will get. There will be some flour and some small bits of seed and whole small seeds, but you shouldn't have any large chunks.

Add the bread flour, salt, yeast, and sugar. Process to blend them. Add the Greek yogurt, and then add the whey (or water) through the feed tube while the food processor is running, adding the liquid as fast as the flour will absorb it. Continue processing until the dough form a ball.

Turn off the processor and let the dough sit for 10 minutes or so. Then process again for another minute. Check to see if the dough had become smooth (relatively - there are seed bits, so it won't be completely silken) and elastic and no longer sticky. If it isn't done, continue processing. You might need to redistribute the dough in the bowl so it all gets kneaded.

If the dough starts feeling warm, stop processing and let it rest and cool before processing further.

When the dough is elastic and no longer sticky, take it out of the processor, form it into a ball, and put it into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil to coat it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside until the dough has doubled in size.


When the dough has doubled, knead it briefly, form it into a ball, and put it back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise again, until doubled.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Take the dough out of the bowl, form it into a tight ball, and place it, seam-side down, on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled.

When the dough has risen, brush it with the eggwash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if desired), Slash the dough in an X pattern across the top and down the sides, and bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Your Butcher, Frank

When I first moved to this town, I was pleased to see that a real butcher shop existed. And I love the quirky name: Your Butcher, Frank. While I often lament the unavailability of many items that were availble to me in Chicago, places like Your Butcher, Frank help make up for those lost items.

When I started writing my "Vicinity and Beyond" column in the Left Hand Valley Courier, Your Butcher, Frank was the first place I visited. This is that first column, published in June, 2004. Today, Your Butcher, Frank is still going strong, and I still shop there. So even though the article is beyond old, the message is the same.

To Vicinity and Beyond

As much as you like your neighborhood, there are times when you must venture beyond to visit friends, buy things that aren't available locally, or just stretch your horizons. While you're out, why not take a look around with the Courier, and see what's in the vicinity.

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Lamb, Two Ways

The lighting is weird - they were medium rare, not totally rare.

Every year, I buy a whole lamb so I can have it on hand any time I want it. Buying a whole lamb is cheaper than buying the occasional high-end parts, even after I pay for the whole lamb plus the processing free.

Even better, I get all the parts, so I've got a good selection of tender bits and stew-worthy meat. And I get some odd cuts that never show up in grocery stores.

So when lamb was on the menu recently, and I decided to make it two different ways: racks and meatballs.

No exact recipes for either version, but here's how it went.

The racks (4 bones each) were seasoned, then seared in a hot pan. Then I brushed them with mixture of dijon mustard and honey, then covered that with some fresh bread crumbs.

The racks went into a 425 degree oven until they reached about 130 degrees.

I pulled them out and let them rest for a bit more than 20 minutes, then cut each rack into two 2-bone pieces. They were perfectly cooked, juicy, and wonderful.

The meatballs started out as lamb stew meat, which I ground, then seasoned with Greek seasoning from Penzeys, and a generous amount of cracked rosemary.

After the lamb made its way through the grinder, I also ground some onion and some bread, which I added to the mixture. I also added an egg, and mixed it all up gently before I let it rest overnight in the fridge.

Before I stashed them in the fridge, I cooked a couple test meatballs. They needed a little more flavor, so I added a bit more salt and more rosemary. Seasoning is to taste, and I wanted more.

The next day, I formed the meatballs and browned them on all sides, then finished them in the oven. For presentation, I put the meatballs on skewers, and I served the meatballs with some homemade tziatziki sauce for anyone who wanted it.

I've got to say that I liked both dishes. Hard to pick a favorite. But next time I make lamb, the sure bet is that it will be something else. I've got plenty to choose from.