One of my passions over the last half dozen years has been sourdough bread. I’ve been fascinated by fermentation for even longer however. It all began with beer making a decade or so ago and I love creating my own beers. In fact we’re prepping to do some brewing in the very near future, just waiting on the weather – so stay tuned.
When diving into a new passion, I usually overdo it but that’s what being passionate is all about, isn’t it? One of the problems though, is my tendency to procure and collect all of the tools, supplies and accoutrements, that I believe are required to pursue the new passion. After we added a flour mill to our already over-loaded tiny kitchen, I started collecting grain berries.
You Collect What?
We’ve accrued quite a collection. We crush barley for beer making too, so there are a dozen food-safe storage containers in the basement filled with grain berries and barley malts. It looks like we’re prepping for the end of days or something. I’ve also leveraged some storage space in the kitchen on the top shelves where Vickie doesn’t spend much time; she’s not tall enough.
We made some sourdough English Muffins the other day as a special request from one of the grandkids and of course I had to try one and it was really good. It got me thinking, it would be nice to have some of my own for the morning Avocado Toast. What about “Avocado – Eggs Benedict?”
The Staff of Life
I mixed two modern grains with two ancient grains, in my take on a multi-grain muffin. One part Durum Wheat, Soft White Spring Wheat, Kamut and Spelt. Instead of using the old standard of corn meal across the top I used Hemp Seed Hearts – “Hemp Encrusted Multi-Grain Muffins.” A 36 hour cold – fermentation inflated the dough beautifully and the muffins were awesome. I love it when a plan works out. The berries were a mix of hard and soft, making for a tender yet stretchy texture, with plenty of nutty flavor.
“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” ~ James Beard
I’ve always had a fondness for English Muffins. What a wonderful word, “Muffin.” I’ve previously written about English Muffins and how they were invented in New York and not England. Here’s that post – “Makin’ Muffins.” And this probably won’t be the last time I go on about Muffins. They’re just so irresistable, right?