Natural Whoopie Pies and Updated Natural Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix

Oh I love exploding myths and making convenience foods from scratch. Why is it? Why do I love it? Well...perhaps it's the sweet stream of email flowing to my heart thanking me for saving family budgets around the world. Literally. It's so highly motivating to get a thank you note. It warms the coggles of my heart.

How many recipes call for a box of cake mix? Well, in America anyway, I've seen whole books written on the subject. They're books that doctor a cake mix into a lot of other stuff. However...what if the person making the cake or doctored mix had some crazy stipulations? I do. I want the mix being made with all natural ingredients, from scratch and things most people have access to. I want it made to taste wonderful without adding a lot of chemicals to my diet. Yikes...did I just say "diet" in blog entry about chocolate cake? Oh the irony of my existence is sometimes scary.

You will need some very high quality vanilla. It will still make a very impressive cake. If this recipe looks familiar, It is in fact an adaptation of the Chocolate Toffee Buttermilk Cake Mix. A simple form of that cake with some subtle changes. The texture is still perfect.

Chef Tess' Natural Chocolate Cake Mix

yield 16 cups mix (4 mixes total)

1 cup (8 oz) Avocado oil
6 cups (1 lb 11 oz)  Organic grains sprouted  white wheat flour here
3 cups (11.5 oz) baking cocoa
1 cup ( 4.5 oz) non-fat milk powder or soy milk powder
2 1/2 cups coconut sugar or  Pyure Organic Stevia Sweetener
4 tsp salt
1/3 cup baking powder (2 oz)
1T double strength vanilla bean paste
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cayenne pepper

To prepare mix: In a large 3 gallon or larger bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, dry milk
sugar, baking powder and salt very well. You may use an electric mixer if you have one with a large enough bowl. With a wire whisk, ease the avocado oil into the dry ingredients in a steady stream until the mixture resembles sand. Take the mix and a couple of cup fulls at a time, run through a flour sifter. I use a hand flour sifter that works very well to help the mix become smooth and homogeneous. ( Need a picture tutorial on the mix making process? See: My Yellow Homemade Cake Mix) Divide into quart size bags. 20 oz of mix equals one  conventional cake mix. This is almost exactly 4 cups of measured mix.

To bake:
Combine with 3 eggs
1/3 cup Avocado oil
1 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes
2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bunt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed.

Whoopie Pies from Cake Mix

4 cups cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup Avocado oil
Mix to combine. Scoop by rounded Tablespoon onto parchment lined baking sheet, allowing 1 inch between cookies for spreading. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes until cake springs back. Remove from oven and cool completely. Sandwich with cream cheese white chocolate frosting (below).  

Cream Cheese and White Chocolate Orange Frosting

3 ½ c powdered sugar
 ½ c butter, softened 
8 oz cream cheese, softened 
6 oz white chocolate*, melted and cooled 
½ t orange extract 
1 T orange zest

Chop the white chocolate and melt in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds then stir and microwave in 10 second increments until nearly melted. Stir until remaining small chunks melt entirely. Set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar and orange extract and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the white chocolate and the orange zest. Do not over beat the filling, or it will lose structure. (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.) *Please use real white chocolate. White“confection,” “dipping chocolate,” “bark,” or “morsels” will not work. You know it’s white chocolate if in the ingredient list you see cocoa butter. If you can’t find white chocolate, it’s better to leave it out than to use the fake stuff.


There you go darlings! Something wickedly delicious and somewhat healthy for a crazy day.

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

1 Week of Meal Prep Recipes for Health, Fitness and Saving Money

 Over the last year or so, I've been making an effort to prepare fresh meals for the week ahead of time. Part of this is has been to save money, since there's less tendency to opt for the last minute take-out meal if there's food already prepared at home. The other part of this, has been that I've been really trying to watch what I eat for health reasons.  So, today I'm going to share a few menu's and base recipes that can make several different flavorful meals.  Those who've been following my blog for a few years know that this is something I do regularly and it was the basic idea that I used on my TV show in Las Vegas. It just saves so much freakin' time! Different from my Meals in a Jar, this is fresh food. Most of these can easily be put in the freezer as well, so it's possible to have them on-hand for longer than a week. I make at least two of each of these meals, that way I have some for lunch and some on hand for dinner. This also ensures that my teenage boys will also have healthy choices available.

14 meals

Grilled Chicken 5 ways with Bell Peppers and Vegetables
Grilled Shrimp with Multi-Grain Stuffed Bell Peppers
Smoked Maple Salmon Slaw with Sprouted Quinoa

 Grilled Shrimp with Multi-Grain Stuffed Bell Peppers

yield 2 meals

• 12 oz shrimp, peeled and veined
• 1 Tbsp. Garlic infused Avocado Oil
• 5 mini bell peppers, cut in half and seeded. 
• 1 cup cooked mixed grains (wheat, oats, triticale, or rye)
• Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning
• Red pepper flakes
• Green onions

 Directions: Saute shrimp in avocado oil. Remove from the pan and divide between two freezer safe meal containers.  Saute the bell peppers in the pan until tender. Arrange around the shrimp. Fill each pepper with a Tablespoon of cooked mixed grains.  Season well with all purpose seasoning, pepper flakes and green onions. Chill immediately.  To reheat, microwave 2-3 minutes on high. If frozen, 4-5 minutes.

 Smoked Maple Salmon Slaw with Sprouted Quinoa

yield 2 meals

• 12 oz. Smoked Salmon filet 
• 1 tsp. Maple Syrup
• 1/4 tsp Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning
• 4 cups cole slaw greens
• 10 drops stevia
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. garlic infused avocado oil
• 2 Tbsp. fine minced onion
• 1 tsp. poppy seed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup cooked sprouted quinoa

Directions: Grill the salmon until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup and season well.  Divide salmon between 2 meal containers. In a large bowl, combine the slaw greens, stevia, vinegar, oil, onion, and poppy seeds. Season to taste. Divide between the two meal containers, next to the salmon.  Divide the quinoa between the containers, 1/2 cup each.

Grilled Chicken 5 ways with Bell Peppers and Vegetables 

yield 10 meals

A few weeks ago I shared how I've been on a real chicken kick the last bit and experimenting with a ton of flavor ideas to add some real jazz to my family's table with very little extra effort on my part. Yes, I do use Ahuacatlan Avocado Oil in this recipe. They sent me several cases of it to play with and I've been super impressed with the high smoke point and buttery flavors that it adds to my cooking. A high smoking point, by the way, is the best way to ensure that you won't be adding free radicals to your diet. 

One batch of marinade base will season 3 lbs of chicken breasts (about 10 breasts). Just baste them well in the marinade base.  Divide this marinated chicken into 10 meals in 5, quart-sized freezer bags with 2 breasts each to give you the meal variations. It's the perfect amount for a fast meal.  Then, simply combine the flavor ingredients in the quart sized bag with the breasts.  Allow to marinate at least an hour in the fridge, but I prefer overnight.  Then, drain marinade and bake or grill as desired. 

OR for bolder  simpler flavors:  Marinate all in the chicken in the marinade base, drain and bake/grill and then top each breast with the flavor variations in the serving dishes, as you would for a BBQ rub. The flavor will marry with the chicken as it sits in the fridge or freezer for service. 

Marinade Base

1 cup  Ahuacatlan Avocado Oil

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

Here's the flavor options:

Lime Poppyseed

Add 3 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds 

2 Tbsp. lime zest 

Greek Festival

To base add: 

3 Tbsp. fresh minced dill

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp.  ground fennel seeds

 Garnish with kalamata olives and diced red pepper after cooking.

Orange and Onion Balsamic

To base add: 

3 Tbsp. orange zest

1/4 cup garlic

1/4 cup minced white onion

Raspberry and Rosemary

To base add:

1/4 cup raspberry juice concentrate 

1 Tbsp. minced rosemary

1 tsp fennel, ground

Hawaiian Pineapple Orange Guava

To base add:

1/2 cup Pineapple Orange Guava Juice concentrate

1 Tbsp. minced ginger

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

1 Tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

There you go! Now line up 10 meal containers and put one of each of the chicken variations in each container. Add 1 cup of grilled bell peppers  and steamed vegetables to each container and you're set!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

Freezer Friday! Video 3 Ways to use Sprouted Wheat dough: Cinnamon rolls, Dinner Rolls and Sticky Buns

Episode 3 Season 2 Cooking with Chef Tess as seen on the Heartland TV Network in Las Vegas! Here's last week's episode and recipes. 

Freezer to Oven Sprouted Grain Cinnamon Rolls, Dinner Rolls and Sticky Buns

Make the Dough

·       3 cups water (no hotter than 110 degrees)

·       2 Tbsp. active dry yeast

·       ½ cups Organic coconut sugar

·       4 ½ cups Organic Grains bread flour

·       4 ½ cup  Organic Grains sprouted white wheat flour 

·       1 Tbsp. salt

·       ¾ cup coconut oil or Ahuacatlan Avocado Oil 

·       2 egg

Combine everything in one large bowl or mixer. I like that. Knead 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in a mixer on medium setting. This is a less developed dough as far as gluten is concerned. Form into a ball and place in a bowl covered with plastic or a lid for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal pieces.

Cinnamon Rolls

Roll out in rectangle on a lightly floured surface. 

Smear:

½ cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 Tbsp cinnamon or Chef Tess  Wise Woman of the East Spice blend

Cut into 8 rolls. Place 4 roll per 8 inch pan. Raise 45 minutes. Freeze.

Oven-Ready Stuffed Sticky Buns

Caramel Topping:

1 c brown sugar

1/2 chopped real bacon bits

 1/3 c maple syrup

¼ c butter, melted

Cream Filling:

1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese, softened

¼  c shredded coconut (okay...how evil is that?!)

 2 Tbsp.  powdered sugar

 1 Tbsp.  butter, softened

 1 tsp vanilla

 Spread topping in the bottom of each pan.

Combine all cream filling ingredients and beat until well mixed; set aside.

Punch dough down and divide into 6 equal pieces. Flatten each piece of dough into a small circle, about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Place a scant T of cream filling in the center. Pinch edges of dough together and form into a ball; It looks like a little cheese tortellini. Place in prepared pans, pinched side down. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes. Yes, let them raise before freezing! That is the secret! (if freezing, put in freezer at this point. To prepare pull from freezer straight to the oven and add 20 min to bake time for room temp dough) Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown (45-50 minutes from frozen). Cool on rack for only 1 minute; invert onto serving platters. Remember, allow to cool only one minute before inverting onto a platter. Be careful, it's hot and that goo is delicious...but not in a molten mass attached to your arm. Oh my stars!

 Making Dinner Rolls

 I kind of put them in a log form. this helps to keep things pretty even. You can get science-like and weigh the dough and then divide it into 12 equal portions, but on most given days, I just eyeball it. I may go to baker's heck for saying that.

Now, lightly (I do mean lightly) dust the counter top with a little flour...just a little. We don't want the rolls sticking too much. On the other hand, we don't want so much flour that they just roll all over the place. The point is, we want a little tacky stuff so they form correctly. Take the dough piece and pinch the sides together...

Then turn it over so the pinched side is down.

You don't want it to look loose like this...

You want the dough balls to look like they have a skin holding them together. Like this picture below. Place the rolls on a pan lined with parchment paper (or a freezer friendly pan for easy make and bake). If you use metal pans, you don't have to worry about the glass shattering going from the freezer to the oven. I may mention that again.

Allow to raise at room temperature, uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until the rolls are touching if originally placed 1/2 an inch apart. Cover with foil and place in the freezer. Keep frozen up to one month. Removing them from a pan once frozen and placing directly in a freezer bag will save space in your freezer...big time!

 Bake, Serve. Wrap Up

When you want fresh rolls, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove pan from the freezer. Important note...don't place glass pans directly from the freezer to the oven, they will shatter. If you keep rolls frozen in freezer bags, place frozen rolls on pan and then place in the oven.

Bake 375 degrees 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Try not to eat them all in one sitting...alone. 

Special thanks to Organic Grains for sponsoring this episode!

 There you go! Make some awesome buns!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

Pistachio Peach Sprouted Einkorn Artisan Bread

  The concept of sprouted wheat bread isn't new to me, in fact I used it for years to make my Sprouted Wheat Bread in a Food Processor that first saw its way onto the blog in 2009. I have many Sprouted Wheat Recipes but those have been tricky because of the nature of sprouted wheat and the process can be time consuming.  In the early days, I had a lot more time to sprout the grain and make my own products directly, including the option of re-dehydrating the sprouted grains and making them into flour.  If you have the time and means to do it, that is a valuable skill and the most nutritious. When grains are sprouted they are converted into a raw, living food with more vital nutrients which are more readily absorbed by the body. Sprouted flours are digested by the body as a vegetable not as a starch.

When grains are sprouted, enzymes are created that aid digestion. Complex sugars are also broken down and as a result, painful intestinal gases and potent carcinogens and enzyme inhibitors are neutralized. This is especially beneficial for those people with intolerance to wheat as they often discover that they can digest sprouted grains without any problem. Grains are normally digested as starches using pancreatic enzymes but when grains are sprouted the starch molecules are changed into vegetable sugars which the body then digests as a vegetable.  

The trick is getting the dehydration done at just the right enzyme stage of the sprouting as to produce good bread instead of bricks. It is also an issue to use a dehydration method that doesn't get too hot and kill all the nutritional benefits of sprouting (anything over 118 degrees). Those enzymes are critical to the raising process of the bread.   

I personally have changed to just purchasing the Pre-sprouted and dehydrated organic sprouted wheat and milling it at home in a stone mill or if you don't have a mill, purchasing it already ground. The other baking benefit of sprouted flour is that it has the depth of flavor associated with a long slow fermentation in a bread dough that is usually achieved with eight-12 hours of slow raising, but it can be done in a short period of time (usually an hour or less). 

Because Einkorn is an ancient form of wheat, it is already a better option for those who can't tolerate modern wheat, but sprouting the grain takes it one step further!   Organicgrains.com is the only company I know of that actually mills the grains to order to provide the freshest flours possible and retaining the nutrition of the flour. I'm addicted to their  Sprouted Einkorn Wheat Flour .  It has all the benefits of sprouted grain without having to do all the back-work.  I'm okay with that right now.  I've enjoyed working with OrganicGrains.com and their products so much, that I asked if they would sponsor my TV show. They graciously agreed and have been very kind to us. So yes, I do benefit greatly from my association with their brand, but I loved them long before they started backing me. 

Sprouted Einkorn Flour from OrganicGrains.com 

Why Use Sprouted Wheat Flour?

According to research done by the University of Minnesota, sprouting increases the total nutrient density.

• Vitamin B1 (thiamin) increase of 28%
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) increase of 315%
• Vitamin B3 (niacin) increase of 66%
• Vitamin B5 (pantothenic) increase of 65%
• Biotin increase of 111%
• Folic Acid increase of 278%
• Vitamin C increase of 300%

These studies also demonstrated a significant increase in various enzymes including amylase, lipase and Protease. Sprouting grains also helps with the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc as reported by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.*Resource: www.organicwheatproducts.com 

 Gourmet Nuts and Dried Fruit sent me this huge box of my favorite little nuggets of love and asked me to try them out in my baking. We discussed earlier this week all The Health Benefits of Pistachios so I wanted to use them in conjunction with this amazing sprouted wheat flour to really get all that nutrition in one place. 

This is "Staff of Life" kind of bread. It will definitely give you a huge boost of energy as well as a full gamut of benefits.  If you don't want to use dried peaches, this recipe will work with any dried fruit. Figs would be amazing! 

Pistachio Peach Sprouted Einkorn Artisan Bread
Yield: 1 loaf

3 cups Sprouted Einkorn Wheat Flour
1 tsp Salt 
1 1/2 cups Water, lukewarm
1 cup Raw Pistachios, chopped 
1/2 cup Dried Peaches or any Dried Fruit, chopped
1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Yeast, active dry

 Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large 1 gallon bowl, and mix by hand until combined, about 2 minutes.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to sit at room temperature 1 hour.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop.  Cut it in half and form each part gently into a ball. Roll dough into a rectangle and fold into thirds. Roll, pinch, and form into a loaf. Place in greased 4 quart dutch oven loaf and raise one hour. Preheat oven to 425°. When oven is hot and only then, place loaves in the oven. Covered with lid. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 325 ° and remove lid, Continue baking for 30-35 minutes, until internal temperature is over 175°.

There you go! Make some nutritious and extremely delicious bread. Your body will thank you!


Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

5 ingredient No-Knead 6-Grain Bread Anyone Can Make

I have been taking a bit of a break from blogging the last few months, as I was working long exhausting hours in the restaurant and tied up completely with that part of my life. Catering large events during the Holiday season was brutal.   I was spending my day with what I call, "froofie food"...You know...tiny fancy nibbles of heaven. Elegant, but not satisfying in the whole soul kind of way. 

 Don't get me wrong, the fabulous stuff definitely has a place. 

This week, that changed.  
I left the Bistro and Catering Kitchen. 
I'm looking for something more balanced.  I'm nervous about that.  Simply because I've given so much of my heart and time to that dream, that I haven't thought of anything else.

In the last six months, I had completely stopped cooking dinner at home and baking bread was something I did at work.  Usually I'd get home and simply collapse into bed, only to get up and repeat that scenario the following day.  Physical exhaustion had stripped me of passion, and emotional distress had numbed me. I was giving so much to build someone else's business, that I felt like I was suffocating. I needed to spend more time with my family, and find some much needed rest. Everything hurt.   I was so tired that part of me wanted to leave the food industry forever and never look back.  

That being said, the part of me that will forever be passionate about food has won out.  I'm just getting back to the basics of my life and simple truths are finding their way back to my everyday existence.  This week has been remarkable.  

So this week, I pulled out the flour. I opened up the 6 grain rolled cereal. I took off my chef coat and my meat thermometer and I just took time to remember what I loved about baking. In doing that, I've found the reason why I started baking in the first place. The simple, grounding, almost meditative reason why I started baking.  It is the gentle rhythm that a fast paced stress-filled kitchen had taken away from me. This wad of fermenting dough has been sitting on my kitchen table in a bowl all week. I've baked 12 loaves of bread for my family.  The smell has grounded me. The calm pace has lifted me. 

 The gasps of love and awe from my kids and husband when I pulled the bread from the oven was far more gratifying than all the pomp and circumstance that clamoring guests and customers could ever offer. 

I'm not sure what is ahead for me as far as my career goes.  I still need a job.  That's for sure.  I'm taking it one day at a time and I'm okay with that.  I've sent out my resume to everyone I can think of over the last couple of days. Mostly however, I've just been satisfied to be home for a little while and bask in the warmth of my family.  I am trusting that the Lord will hold us in His hands.  

So...here's the recipe for the bread.  Enjoy.  It's a classic.  It is one that I used countless times in the restaurant and that has now found it's way home...Just like me.  I'm so glad.  

My No Knead 5 Ingredient 6-Grain Bread 

yield: 2 loaves

• 6 cups bread flour (measure exactly with a knife)
• 1 cup 6 Grain Rolled cereal OR Rolled Oats
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast (or 1/2 tsp active dry yeast)
• 3 1/4 cup water (under 110 degrees)

Directions:   Combine the ingredients in a 1 gallon food-grade bucket or a large 1 gallon bowl with a lid, just until everything is mixed and smooth. It takes about 20-30 turns by hand to get it all combined. Literally less than 2 minutes.  Cover with a lid and keep covered 10-12 hours at room temperature until you're ready to bake bread. 

Once it has raised overnight you have two options:

Option 1:Form into bread (or rolls, cinnamon rolls, whatever), raise and bake (see below).

Option 2: Dough can be kept in the fridge up to 7 days and warmed to room temperature to use for bread or pizza etc. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get it up to room temperature (70 degrees). 

When ready to bake: 

• Form into 2 loaves (see detailed tutorial here) and place on a lightly oiled baking stone or in an 8 inch loaf pan that has been greased. 
• Allow to raise in a warm room until doubled, about 2 hours. 
• Bake at 375 degrees 35-40 minutes (meat thermometer will register 165 degrees or more).  
• Enjoy!

There you go! Enjoy a simple way to make bread! For  my gluten free bread that is quick and whole grain delicious...go here. It is just as quick and gets rave reviews! My other favorite no knead bread is Lisa's No Knead White Chocolate Pecan Bread. It is to die for. 

End Notes: 

A few factors on the overnight no-knead bread that can have an effect on the lightness of the bread would be:

Temperature: raising the bread during the winter months will take up to an hour longer for the second raise in the pan because our houses are cooler now. If you're like me, we keep it around 70 during the winter and a good ten degrees colder inside will make a difference in how fast it raises....exponentially. Solution would be to turn on the oven to "warm". Place the dough that is in the loaf (ready to bake) in the oven, covering it with a mist of water. TURN OFF THE OVEN. It should raise in an oven around 100 degrees or less so don't leave it on! Once it has risen, pull the loaf out of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 and then proceed to bake. 

Loaf formation: The molding technique Chef Tess Bakeresse: Sandwhich Loaf Molding and baking is a factor in how well the loaf will raise because it is optimal in trapping the air produced by the yeast. The more air that is trapped inside the loaf, the lighter the final loaf will be.

Freshness of the yeast and type of yeast: It is always a good idea to check the freshness of the yeast as well. If you are using the regular active dry yeast, 1/2 tsp is the correct measure but if it is older, it will take more (up to 1 tsp). One may add up to 1/4 cup of sugar or honey to the recipe to help get the yeast active if there is still a problem (especially during the winter months). 

Type and mill of Flour: Finer milled Higher protein white wheat bread flour, Kamut flour or Hard Red wheat flours are the best for this recipe. If you use whole wheat flour, you must increase the water to 4 cups, especially with the rolled oats or 6 grains.   These flours have a stronger amount of protein and will always yield a higher loaf. The finer ground the flour, the better the gluten development will be. Large pieces of fiber in the flour will cut the strands of gluten, and shorter strands of gluten will not connect well enough to hold air in the loaf. 

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

My Mom's 5 Day Bread Dough...Updated Bosch Tutorial!

Homemade matters to us.  For my entire life, this recipe has been the standard of excellence in bread making. This is a bread dough recipe that my mother, Geneve, developed for her college Food Science final. I grew up with this bread and the smell of wheat grinding fresh in our family home.  I remember mom always testing the fresh milled flour to be sure the wheat had not gone rancid in storage.  Today...we milled wheat that I had put away when my first born son was born. Yup. 14 years ago.  I turned into my mom today. I got really giddy to find it was still perfect wheat, ready for bread.

  There was also only one bread mixer that she would ever openly praise.  It was our family Bosch mixer from the Bosch Kitchen Store.  It really was the only machine strong enough to handle this dough, because she made 5-6 loaves at a time. Repeat that several times a week. The machine lasted without a hick-up or need for a tune-up for most of my life. The last time I visited my mother, she was still using the same machine. She got the machine when I was about 2 years old...and I turn...(gulp) forty this year.  Yup. Bosch mixer are that good.

Gathering around Mom’s mixer and watching the dough form into supple perfection was the highlight of my week and the very testing-ground for what became a baking passion for me. We had to watch as it "spun gold out of wheat" and I was able to see first-hand what proper protein development should look like in the bread making process. Baking bread with mom made me what I am today. Some of life’s richest lessons were taught around that bread-board. 

 She'd always dissect the fresh loaves and make sure they were up to her standard.  I still do the same when I make mine. 

• Is the crust thin, crisp, and uniformly colored? 
• Is the crust tight to the loaf or did it separate?
• Is the loaf rounded, uniform in width size, and well domed? 
• Is the taste mild and sweet with the flavor of the wheat?
• Are there any strong flavors?
•  Is it overly yeasty, sour or salty?   
• Is the texture silky and tender?
•  Is the crumb fine? 
• Are there any flour lumps or knots in the dough?
• Are the air holes uniform?
• Can you cut reasonable slices without the bread falling apart?

Life has taken me far from my mother’s home. If I think about it too much, I get misty-eyed.  Now as a pastry chef and mother myself, her recipe for this remarkable bread remains a classic.  I was reminded of this once again this week as we gathered around our mixer. Mine is the newest model, thanks to my friends at Bosch. The recipe...is still mom's. 

It is called 5-day bread, but the dough can be made up to 7 days ahead of time. I still use it every single week! The dough is stored in a large bucket or covered bowl in the fridge.  Sometimes I divide it between 4 gallon sized zipper bags.  I love this dough made into rolls, pretzels, pizzas and yes, decorative ornate braided bread loaves.  You’ll find this to be excellent dough to keep on hand for all your bread making needs. Don’t be dismayed by the number of ingredients in this bread, each one works with the other to make it perfect.

Chef Tess' Mom's 5-Day Bread
2 T active-dry yeast OR 1T SAF Instant premium yeast
4 c milk, scalded and cooled OR water (no hotter than 115 degrees)
3/4 c honey
1T salt
4 large eggs
3/4 c oil (olive or melted coconut oil)
1 1/2 c mashed potatoes, cooled to body temperature
1T baking powder
14-15 cups fresh milled whole wheat bread flour ( tutorial on making-whole-grain-flour-at-home )

Directions: Dissolve yeast in milk (or water) in a Bosch Universal Mixer.  Yeast does matter. I use this one because I know it works.

Stir in honey. Allow yeast to get foamy. Add egg, oil, mashed potato, baking powder, salt and 14 cups of fresh milled flour. Turn to speed 1 and combine about 30 seconds.

 Increase speed to 3 and mix 4 ½ minutes until dough is soft and well developed but not dry.

 It will look almost like spun golden yarn. That's what good protein development should look like in your bowl. 

Allow dough to rest 10 minutes in the bowl (this gives the wheat time to absorb moisture). Don't skip this 10 minute resting step. You'll end up using way more flour than you need to in your bread and your bread will be dry.  After 10 minutes, you should be able to pull a piece out and have it string 6-7 inches above the bowl without the dough breaking. 

Add enough of the flour remaining to make soft dough that is easy to handle but not dry. More often than not, I don't have to add any more flour at all. Turn dough onto a  very lightly floured surface.  Form into a ball. It should hold it's shape without melting into a blob on your counter-top. 

 Place dough  in an ungreased 2-gallon bowl or food-grade bucket, covered tightly. If you don't have a large enough bowl...use two smaller bowls. Or...just half the recipe if you are worried about the dough growing all over your fridge outside of the container.

Put in the fridge, tightly covered.
 Punch down after 2 hours (this may be faster if you use warm ingredients or flour). If the dough is over 85 degrees when you put it in the fridge, be sure to punch down sooner. 
Form into a ball again. Cover tightly and chill at least 8 hours.  This chilling step is what will give you the best taste in your bread.  Long, slow, low fermentations of dough  are unparalleled for flavor development and gluten elasticity. This fermentation process cannot be produced by adding artificial flavors or mixing longer mechanically.  Some people try to mimic this process by adding extra chemical dough conditioners or added gluten powders.  They are not necessary if you do this step correctly.  They happen naturally by slowly raising in your fridge. This is the single most important step in making this bread remarkable and clean from added chemicals. 

Be sure to punch down daily if keeping it more than a day or two (this not only expels gas, but also ensures even temperature in the dough). This will yield 4 standard sized loaves of bread. Yes. You can also use it for anything remarkable at this point. I have such a hard time not making it into at least a dozen cinnamon rolls...or apple pie rolls...

To bake a standard sized loaf: Divide dough in 4 equal portions, about 2 lbs of dough for standard loaves. Form each loaf using the loaf molding technique ( Loaf Molding Tutorial).  Lightly coat the top of the loaf with melted butter and then lightly tent the loaves with plastic or plastic bags OR place in a moist place to rise. Allow to rise (1 -1 ½ hrs) until dough is about 1-2 inches above the edge of the pan. Lightly slit the top with a very sharp knife. 

Bake in preheated 425° oven for 20 minutes then drop the temperature to 350 for the final 15-20 minutes of cooking.

Remove from pans and allow cooling completely before cutting.
I cut this loaf right from the oven. 

Awww. See how it looks fuzzy instead of a clean texture?

Wait 30 minutes...and it slices a lot cleaner and nicer. 

So now I have my dough, ready for the week. It is just part of what I do to make things run smoothly here and save money.  Homemade matters to us. I know what is going into our sandwiches and lunch boxes.  We're using fresh milled grain that keeps the nutrition right in my kitchen instead of a factory somewhere. Plus, saving money and eating whole food is just how we roll.  

Yes. Mom was right. The best things in life cannot come from a store. They come from the heart. As I watched my kiddos rip into this gorgeous bread (while praising my name) I thought to myself, "This is it. This is why I do what I do."   Make a memory. Share some love.  Get the goodness into them!  And by all means, move onward and upward!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess