Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Home-made wheat bread has been a staple in our home since the early 1980s. When we joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1981, we soon learned that food storage was something people were encouraged to do. Wheat was a big part of that plan. We asked what we were supposed to do with all that wheat. Bill and Geraldine Twitty invited us to their home for a breakfast and demonstration of how to use wheat. They treated us to bread, pancakes, cereal, and other treats made from wheat. Not long after that we bought a grain grinder and bread mixer from Darla Anderson. 30+ years later those machines are still going strong. 

We've enjoyed sharing the bread. Over the years the wheat bread has received rave reviews from family and friends. Eleanor Shearman, a dear friend and North Street neighbor, said the bread kept her alive into her 90s. When I made bread I looked forward to taking her a warm loaf fresh from the oven. Every time I take bread out of the oven I think of Eleanor. 

25# of wheat - half hard red wheat & half hard white wheat

The grinder makes a LOT of noise. It sounds like an airplane taking off. I use ear plugs when grinding the wheat. Since some fine flour particles escape the pan and filter, I often did the grinding in the garage at North Street. If it was too cold for that, I set up in the basement and used sheets to cover things that would be adversely affected by any fine dust. Now I'm using our garage in Kirkland. I can't start too early in the morning out of consideration for our neighbors. 

Wheat, honey, oil, yeast, salt, dough enhancer & water

6 batches of dough

 8 # of raisins

Each batch yields 16 small loaves

Some with raisins and some without

 Wrapped & bagged - 96 small loaves to the freezer

The bread freezes well and tastes great even after a few months in the freezer. Once I tried to save time and money by not wrapping the loaves before putting them in freezer bags. That wasn't enough protection. Wrapping makes for better preservation. 

The smell of freshly baked bread lingers around the house for a few days. 

"Give us this day our daily bread."

This has been our bread plate for many, many years. 

One of Joe's favorite snacks

Good for you and it tastes good too!