Over the last couple weeks, I decided to clean off all the bits and scraps stuck with magnets to the side of my fridge. I found a multitude of recipes that I constantly use, and I decided to type them all onto one sheet of paper, so my fridge would look better.
>> You can download my Refrigerator Recipes here. (Note: They are not complete recipes — just ingredients — or they wouldn’t all fit.)
The first recipe I include is my mother’s simple White Bread. This is the easiest bread recipe I have, good in the busiest of times and delicious, too. I use unbleached, white flour for this. I just throw all the ingredients in my Bosch mixer, knead it for 6 minutes, then let it rise. After shaping and a second rise, it bakes at 350-degrees for 30 minutes. This bread is best fresh, but for day-old loaves, we enjoy toasting the bread and slathering with butter and honey or jam.
Once a week, we enjoy eating Homemade Pizza. I also use unbleached, white flour for this, although I’m hoping to try using soaked, wheat flour this year. You can find my entire pizza recipe here.
On Sabbath, I often make three loaves of Challah, which is a braided egg bread. I’ve used both unbleached, white flour and whole-wheat flour, but I have a goal of learning to use soaked, wheat flour this year. The braids are symbolic of folding our hands and resting from work, and we make three loaves — two to eat over Sabbath, and one to give away. Here is our favorite recipe.
One of the healthier breads we make is Soaked Whole-Wheat Bread. I grind the wheat into fresh flour, then I soak it in either raw milk or water and yogurt, preferably for 16-24 hours. This neutralizes the phytates in the bread, making it much more healthful and easier to digest. (It also improves the flavor, I think.) The next day, I throw the bread starter and all the other ingredients in my Bosch mixer, knead it for 8-10 minutes, then continue on as normal. The dough is often cold in our Michigan kitchen, so in the winter, it often needs longer rising times than white breads. My recipe calls for 1/4 cup of gluten, but I’ve been making it for a few months now without it, and it seems to work just fine. (Here is the recipe.) It bakes for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Last but not least, my favorite bread is Sourdough Bread. My refrigerator recipes sheet includes the starter because I tend to forget about it (and grow a mold collection rather than sourdough — ick). Then I have to start all over again! But when I remember to feed my starter, sourdough is an easy bread to make. (Before I owned a Bosch mixer, back when I had to make bread by hand, this was super easy to do in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon. If you try this, just cut the recipe down so it’s not so large.) I enjoy shaping this bread into a round, artisan loaf, slashing the loaf with a sharp knife before its final rise. So pretty! Read more about sourdough techniques here…
What breads do you make? Feel free to post links in the comments below!
I really really like your posts your regularly write I don’t read all of them but recently I’ve interested in your healthier way of cooking and baking. I love trying new recipes and am wanting to cook healthier for my family. We live on an extremely tight budget and so cost is definitely an issue here but I’m willing to try a little at a time and eventually things will improve to where I’m hoping we can do everything healthy! So thank you so much and keep up the good work! We home school five and have a 3 yr old preschooler. I love it and wouldn’t trade that time with ’em for anything.
One question tho’ I noticed you use a lot of gr. turkey. Is it because it’s more lean. What are the health benefits vs. beef? I’d be interested in any websites you could refer me to or info you have on that. I have already bought gr. turkey and we did not like the taste. It wasn’t organic meat by any means so maybe that would taste better but I was totally turned off at the taste.
Thank You, Joanna
Hi, Joanna,
If I had to choose between ground turkey and ground beef, I’d pick the beef every time, because it’s such a better meat – and yes, yummier, too.
However, if I had to choose between pork and turkey, I would always choose the turkey, because we don’t eat any pork here. So I make my own sausage, and I think it tastes better with the turkey than with the beef.
I hope that makes sense, and if you need or want any “proof” or “links” or recipes, just say so! 🙂
~Anne
Thank You Anne, After I sent my message I realized first of all, I didn’t proofread it 🙂 and secondly I discovered where you have lots of info on your home page that I hadn’t looked at much. So I will definitely be checking that page out some more esp. the one for beginners.
Thanks again and God bless!
-Joanna