Ezekiel Bread

[grower]

I've got some Ezekiel Bread mix, and tried it out last week. The bread did not rise very well. I have experience making other types of bread...usually yeast bread that you let rise. I thought maybe I didn't get the yeast warm enough in this case, because I have a cold, drafty kitchen. But I thought I'd ask if anyone on the forum has experience with Ezekiel Bread. Is there a trick to it?

[Shamrock1121]

There's any number of recipes for "Ezekiel Bread" using many different combinations of grains/beans/seeds, flour combinations, *sprouted grain, or dried sprouted grain/milled.... *It isn't just one type of bread or ingredients.

If you'd post the recipe I might be able to be more helpful. *;) *

Many of these mixtures include low- and no-gluten grains/beans/seeds, so a nice lofty loaf of bread is not going to happen because of the low-gluten ingredients.

Many of these recipe are designed to make a small, compact, hocky-puck type loaf.

In some recipes an Ezekiel Bread Mixture is added to a "standard" bread recipe. *If the mixture is more like chopped grain and flakes than flour, you need to be careful adding this mixture to dough, and add it late in kneading. *The sharp edges of the chopped grain will cut the gluten strands and will result in a short loaf.

When it comes to yeast... *Be sure to check the water temperature with an instant read thermometer (for accuracy) when proofing yeast. *If the water is too cool, glutathione will leak out of the yeast cells causing your dough strength to be weakened.

If the recipe includes whole wheat flour or wheat germ and didn't include some ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C powder), Glutathione (found in the wheat germ) will break down the gluten. *Adding 1/8 t. ascorbic acid per loaf will help prevent the gluten bonds from breaking down when using whole wheat flour (or wheat germ).

Those are just a few guesses...

Modified to add: Having a cool ambient temperature isn't a problem for rising the dough. It will just take longer. I use my oven as a proofing box in the winter when the kitchen temperature is much cooler. I turn the oven light while preparing the dough. The temperature is close to 80°-85°F (as far away from the light as possible in my oven), which is the optimum temperature for proofing dough. About 10-15 minutes before the dough has risen enough, I take it out of the oven so I have time for pre-heating.

-Karen

[grower]

Thanks, Karen! That's some really useful information. Mine is a prepared Ezekiel Bread mix that follows the biblical formula. I think it has wheat, barley, spelt, rye, lentils and two kinds of beans. I used olive oil, honey, yeast and warm water. But I did not know what the chemical processes are that keep wheat breads (and Ezekiel bread) from rising like white bread. I'll try some of your suggestions next time.

Karen (the other one!)

[Klapton]

You do realize that the Biblical story was one where Ezekiel was supposed to be illustrating the suffering that was coming to the nation for their disobedience? In other words, it was supposed to be gross, lol. Essentially he was prophesying that grain was going to be so scarce that they were going to end up making bread from anything they could get their hands on, and that it was going to be yucky.

Don't get me wrong... I had a box cereal that was made with sprouted grains of a similar mixture, and it was YUMMY! I'm just not suprised that this mix of grains doesn't make very nice bread. That was actually God's point.

[grower]

I think it had more to do with "eating your bread by measure" rather than the bread being "yucky". In other words, they would be rationed, not free to eat whatever they wanted. Wheat, barley, etc., are pretty good eating, in my opinion.

I ate some Ezekiel bread someone else made about a year ago, and while it was heavy, it was delicious.

[Shamrock1121]

FYI - If the Ezekiel Bread mixture contains today's hybridized version of wheat, it's a "false prophet". If it's leavened with bakers' yeast, it's a 20th/21st Century version. Ancient Egypt cultivated barley, an early form of wheat, and spelt (another ancient form of wheat).

All loaves were "hocky pucks" or flat breads back then. The grain was coasely gound using this method...

"...households adopted very basic techniques for making flour: the grain was first crushed in a stone mortar and then ground between a stone an an angled stone slaf; the roughly ground flour was then sieved. To obtain finer flour, the grain was lightly toasted or dried in the sun before being ground (millstones were not used in Egypt until Greco-Roman times). As a result of this technique, bread always contained stone dust, the probably cause of the worn-down teeth that have been found in most Egyptian mummies." (Source: Food - A Culinary History by Albert Sonnenfeld)

Unleavened bread was made by adding water and a pinch of salt to the flour, then kneaded by hand. If they make large batches, they kneaded it with their feet in a large container.

The flat loaves (since there was NO leavening) were cooked on a stone slab placed directly on the fire or on a shelf in an open oven.

Sourdough was used to produce leavened bread from approximately 1500 BC.

We didn't even have hard wheat varieties we use today until the introduction of Hard Turkey Red Wheat, mid-1800's, in the United States. Prior to that it was all soft wheat (low-gluten levels). Before that it was spelt (which is the ancient version of todays hard and soft wheat). Kamut (which is the ancient version of durum wheat) was . And before that it was the grasses known as EINKORN and EMMER.

Spelt - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelt

I use a lot of spelt, especially for quick breads where I don't need or want a lot of gluten development like you get with wheat flour. I like to use kamut for pasta/noodles.

-Karen

[Klapton]

I keep picturing an old man posting this, and adding at the end, "AND WE NEVER COMPLAINED!"

Great historical info!

[grower]

FYI - If the Ezekiel Bread mixture contains today's hybridized version of wheat, it's a "false prophet". *If it's leavened with bakers' yeast, it's a 20th/21st Century version. *Ancient Egypt cultivated barley, an early form of wheat, and spelt (another ancient form of wheat).


I'm not trying to recreate what Ezekiel did. *For one thing, God had him lie on his left side for 390 days, and then on his right side 40 days, symbolizing the rebellion of the Jews. And I don't plan to do that!

But the people of that time did use yeast -- although I'm not sure what the difference is between that and "bakers' yeast" -- because at the Passover God had his people eat "unleavened" bread, which apparently was not what they usually ate.

I actually got into cooking with the Ezekiel Bread mix because it's supposed to be high in protein and makes a good "survival" food for times when you can't get anything else.

[Klapton]

And that cooking it over doody thing is seriously yucky.

[grower]

:D
Amen to that!

[Shamrock1121]

I'm not trying to recreate what Ezekiel did. *For one thing, God had him lie on his left side for 390 days, and then on his right side 40 days, symbolizing the rebellion of the Jews. *And I don't plan to do that!

But the people of that time did use yeast -- although I'm not sure what the difference is between that and "bakers' yeast" -- because at the Passover God had his people eat "unleavened" bread, which apparently was not what they usually ate.

I actually got into cooking with the Ezekiel Bread mix because it's supposed to be high in protein and makes a good "survival" food for times when you can't get anything else.



You can make your own Ezekiel Bread mixtures when you have the grains/seeds/beans in storage, like I do, and have the equipment for milling. They are very inexpensive to make at home. That's the best way to be prepared for everyday AND survival food. My "survival foods" are foods I make all the time at home so we're already accustomed to the methods of preparation, as well as the tastes and textures. I generally make multi-grain bread mixtures and include a variety of grains/seeds/beans. Not just wheat flour.

The "yeast" used for leavening back in Biblical times was a natural leavening using any of the various methods of it (old dough, flour/water starter, hops, etc.). These are naturally-occuring yeast which are found everywhere in nature.

Naturally occuring yeast that colonize a good starter are found coating the outside of whole grain, so wholegrain flour is the best to use for making a starter. Some starters use grapes and flour. The silvery "coating" on grapes are a type of yeast. The same thing with cabbage leaves. There is a light gray/silver tinge to cabbage leaves and this is yeast which can be used to make a starter. I've even seen recipes where peach leaves are use to provide the yeast for a starter.

These types of yeast are not like today's bakers' yeast we use as a leavening. The types of yeast we use today are manufactured and generated from well-controled yeast types, not like the yeast found in a natural leavener/starter. It's a good think to know how to make a starter to use for leavening should bakers' yeast no longer be available. An easy method of this that I use is mixing freshly-milled whole wheat flour (or other grain mixtures) with homemade kefir (a fermented dairy product similar to yogurt). This will make a quick, naturally-leavened, dough for pizza. I also keep a sourdough starter.

The protein levels are increased in Ezekiel bread by the addition of beans and some seeds - occasionally you'll find recipes that also add nuts. I often mill bean flour and add to breads and other baked goods to increase protein.

You can wash the starch out of freshly-milled whole wheat flour and make GLUTEN, the high-protein portion of wheat. You can make all kinds of things with gluten - including fake meat. This is something good to know for "survival" food. Gluten containes 8 amino acids. Since wheat is low in lysine, in order to make the protein in wheat complete, add foods that are high in lysine to the meal - legumes, vegetables, nuts, seeds... Making gluten at home is also a way to make an inexpensive protein food. The incomplete protein of whole wheat is why I serve homemade tortillas with beans, or incorporate bean flour in the tortillas when I make them. Tortillas and beans are a complete protein and my #1 homemade emergency foods.

Gluten:

-12 cups whole wheat flour makes 4 c. raw gluten
-4 c. raw gluten bakes into 9 cups ground gluten
-9 c. baked ground gluten pieces is equivalent to 3-pounds of hamburger (cooked)
(Source: The Amazing Wheat Book - by LeArta Moulton)

I make unleavened bread. They are called flatbreads - like Naan, Matzo, Chapati... Many are more like a tortilla or a cracker than what we think of as a loaf of "bread".

-Karen

[fnfredux]

Karen, is it possible to make gluten at home? It is rather expensive if you don't have an Amish store nearby, I see they sell it online but$$$$$ Is it a process that is doable in a typical kitchen?

[Shamrock1121]

Karen, is it possible to make gluten at home? It is rather expensive if you don't have an Amish store nearby, I see they sell it online but$$$$$ Is it a process that is doable in a typical kitchen?

Do you mean (raw) gluten (meat replacer - aka seitan) or Vital Wheat Gluten (the powder you add to bread recipes)?

You can make gluten, but I don't know of a method for making Vital Wheat Gluten.

I can give you the instructions for gluten/seitan, if that's the kind you mean.

-Karen

[fnfredux]

Sure, meat replacer would be GREAT... one never knows what's coming next.
Also, I can get wheat($13 )and oats($8) by the "bushel" bagged.
I'm wondering what can be done with these items and what is the degree of difficulty involved in converting them to use.
I can purchase chemical free and non-roundup ready grains from my Amish friends. Just need to think about how I might be able to use them. A fifty pound bag sound like a lot of stuff. Anyone out there know how to process oats at home into a usable product?? I'm thinking that a fifty pound bag of wheat might be a good buy if it's not too difficult to turn it into "meat".

[Shamrock1121]

Sure, meat replacer would be GREAT... one never knows what's coming next.
Also, I can get wheat($13 )and oats($8) by the "bushel" bagged.
I'm wondering what can be done with these items and what is the degree of difficulty involved in converting them to use.
I can purchase chemical free and non-roundup ready grains from my Amish friends. Just need to think about how I might be able to use them. A fifty pound bag sound like a lot of stuff. Anyone out there know how to process oats at home into *a usable product?? I'm thinking that a fifty pound bag of wheat might be a good buy if it's not too difficult to turn it into "meat".

I'd suggest getting a good mill, a subject near and dear to my heart and well-covered in Bread & Grains, but you can do lots of things with whole wheat berries and whole oat groats without a mill. You also need to know what types of wheat to use for what type of baking... All wheat is not created equally.

Here's a link to recipes I posted at the Gulch:

http://thegulch.proboards102.com/index.cgi?board=emergencyfoodstocks&action=display &thread=4604

Recipes for blender foods using whole grain from Sue Gregg's web site:

http://www.suegregg.com/teaching/WholeFoodsCookingLessons.htm

Fifty pounds of wheat is nothing ;), when you use it all the time. I mill nearly all the flour I use and make all our breads and baked goods for a fraction of the price of commercial flour or commercial baked goods. I also mill a large assortment of grains/seeds/beans.

45 pounds of wheat berries will yield approximately 158 cups of flour. I use 4-3/4 cups of flour to make 2 loaves of 100% whole wheat bread (or approximately 2-1/2-pounds of dough).

Here's a site that explains how to make seitan (gluten wheat meat). You can add all kinds of things and find all kinds of recipes for using seitan...

http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Alison/recipippes/seitan.html

A YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H2qzA50jZQ

Check your local library for a copy of "The Amazing Wheat Book" by LeArta Moulton (or have them get it through inter-library loan). You'll find more information there and a "ton" of recipes.

To bring this back to the original subject, here's a recipe for the grain/bean mixture for Ezekiel Bread:
http://www.breadbeckers.com/recipes/ezekiel_bread.htm

-Karen

[Shamrock1121]

...Anyone out there know how to process oats at home into *a usable product??

OAT GROAT PANCAKES
(source: *The Splendid Grain - by Rebecca Wood)

Makes about 15.

2/3 c. oat groats
1/3 c. buckwheat groats, toasted
1-1/4 c. milk
3 large eggs
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 t. sea salt
2 T. Sucanat or light brown sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. grated nutmeg

Combine the oats, buckwheat, and milk in a blender container. *Cover and let soak refrigeratoe overnight or for 8-hours. *(Karen Note: *I add a tablespoon of whey, kefir, or yogurt to this mixture - according to soaked grain methods found in the book, Nourishing Traditions. *

When ready to make the pancakes, blend until smooth. *Add the remaining ingredients and process to combine. *Preheat a griddle. *Drop the batter by the ladleful onto the griddle and bake for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden. *Serve hot with the usual pancake accompaniments.
----------------------

I mill oat groats into oat flakes and oat flour. *I can also set my flaker to "chop" grain in coarse chops, similar to steel-cut oats, or coarse flour that can mill grain into a farina-type powder. *This is how I make cream of wheat and cream of rice for cooked cereal.

-Karen

[fnfredux]

DUH...I never even considered SOAKING grain, THANKS!
Thanks to you too Karen.
Will be moving on to those recipes.
Karen, I buy wheat berries now at the Amish store. I use them cooked, are those the same thing you're talking about??