Winter, Summer, Red Or White Wheat - What is the Difference?

Winter and Summer Wheat

Crops can be planted in the fall and harvested in the spring or can be planted in the spring for a fall harvest.

The first are hard winter wheat varieties. These are mostly grown in the Western plains states. The crops are planted in the early fall. The seeds germinate and the wheat grows until the cold weather forces the plant into dormancy. In the best years, a light snow cover can protect the young plants and provide sufficient moisture for the crop to rocket out of dormancy in the spring. Harvest begins in Texas as early as June. Winter wheat is considered to have the best protein characteristics for artisan baking.

Spring wheat is grown throughout the Midwest and is most often of the high protein kind. High protein flour has special applications in the pan bread and pizza bakeries, and should not be used for home baking.

Red or White Wheat?

Most home bakers never realized that they have an option. In the last 10 years, hard white wheat has been widely introduced to professional bakers. Just as there are several colors of corn such as blue, red, yellow and white, to name the obvious, wheat can be hard red or white, depending on the color of the bran layer.

White whole wheat flour has gained in popularity as consumers and bakers have noticed a sweeter flavor in the white wheat in contrast to the slightly bitter flavor of the red variety.

Traditionally, whole grain recipes call for honey or sugar to mellow this bitter flavor. But with white wheat, there is no need to add any sweetener to the recipe. If you are looking to bake whole grain, King Arthur sells a 5-pound bag of white whole wheat, and you can be certain that it is whole grain and will have the same excellent baking characteristics of the hard red winter type.

Achim Thiemermann aka Chef Keem blogs about artisan bread baking methods, nutritious eating and healthy living in co-operation with renowned baking artist George Eckrich at http://breadhealthy.com Watch easy-to-follow focaccia bread video tutorials and learn the recipe for the most nutritious bread.

For not so healthy but oh-so-good recipes from Chef Keem's German/Austrian heritage visit http://kitchen.chefkeem.com

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Bread Machines Are Cool for Baking in the Hot Summer

The aroma of freshly baked bread can bring out one's appetite and remind them of home at the holidays. During the cold months baking is like a national past-time. We have so many great recipes for pies, cakes, cookies and specialty breads, it's a shame to not use them. But who wants to be in a hot kitchen with the oven on for any amount of time during the summertime? Most of us find other activities during the heat of summer.

A lot of people do baking only at the holidays and for special occasions. It takes time and planning to put together a great dessert or to bake a fresh loaf of bread from scratch. Many of us find it hard to come up with the time to do baking, so we take shortcuts when we can like using a bread machine to make bread and other goodies.

Bread Pan

Bread machines can help to fill the void when you don't have time to cook, let alone bake. It's as simple as measuring ingredients into a mixing pan, selecting a bread cycle, and hitting the start button. In a few hours the bread will be perfectly done and ready when you are.

Many bread machines have a delay cycle where the bread cycle doesn't start for the selected time period. This feature allows you to ready the machine at night and have freshly baked bread in the morning. Or, you could set up the bread maker before you leave for work and come home to a fresh loaf. Be forewarned that some recipes won't work well on a timer-delay cycle. Basic breads that don't have any ingredients added during the kneading cycle, like raisins, seeds, or nuts, are good candidates for a timer-delay cycle.

One fantastic thing about bread maker ovens in general is that the heat they produce is contained very well. It won't heat up your house or the kitchen when you make bread using a bread machine. If you enjoy baking breads and cakes, try using a bread machine in the summer.

Bread machines can also make your bread up to the dough stage. In other words the machine will mix all the ingredients, knead the dough, and let it rise in a warm atmosphere. All you need do is measure in the ingredients and take out the dough after about an hour and a half. Then, you can let the dough rise again, shape it into a loaf or scoop it into a baking pan. During the colder months try using the bread maker to make the dough and finish off the bread in your oven. That way, you can have the best of both worlds by having the machine do most of the work, yet you can enjoy the added heat given off by your kitchen oven.

Bread Machines Are Cool for Baking in the Hot Summer

Naomi Gallagher is a writer and a fantastic cook with a love for machines that help her make the most of her time in the kitchen. Making homemade bread has become one of her specialties. Learn more by visiting her sites where she likes to write about making bread and cooking great food: http://carouselspicerack.com/ and http://sunbeambreadmachine.com/.

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Pan Bagnat - The Ultimate Summer Sandwich

If you haven't had a pan bagnat before, you're in for a treat. Bite into the soft luscious filling and you'll see what I mean. If ever a sandwich was lip smackingly juicy, this one is it. I've even heard pan bagnat described as a big wet sandwich which sounds awful and certainly doesn't do it the justice it deserves.

The actual French translation is bathed bread which gives you a clue what to expect. Basically you're looking at a large hollowed-out loaf with a layered filling (see below) that's drenched in a Mediterranean olive oil dressing.

Bread Pan

You can load it up with pretty much anything. Popular fillings in France include salad nicoise, salami and ham. Vegetarian options include goats cheese and artichokes.

What ever filling you decide upon, the resulting sandwich is likely to be a hit. I've been making Pan Bagnats for years and don't know a single person who doesn't like them. I shall be making pan bagnas all summer long as my kids love them and they're pretty economical too. But besides filling up ravenous teenagers Pan Bagnats make a great addition to picnics because they won't dry out or curl up like normal sandwiches have a tendency to do.

PAN BAGNAT RECIPE

For authenticity I'm using cheese and ham from Provence France in this recipe, but you can get just as good results using local produce from your area.

Ingredients:

1 large rustic loaf
100g Tomme de Savoie
50g Bayonne ham
handful lettuce leaves
3 -4 vine ripened tomatoes

Mediterranean Dressing:
3 heaped tbsp pitted olives (black or green)
1 tbsp capers
2 cloves garlic
1 pickled gherkin
1 handful parsley
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Freshly ground salt and black pepper

Equipment:

Food processor
Bread knife and chopping board
Heavy book or other weight
Cheese grater
Cling film

Here's What You Do:

Make up the Mediterranean dressing by placing all the ingredients in the food processor and blitzing to a sloppy, chunky paste.

Grate the cheese and slice the tomatoes (discarding the end pieces).

Cut the loaf and dig out the doughy part then spread spoonfuls of the dressing over each half, liberally coating all parts of the bread.

Take each half and layer with tomato slices, lettuce, ham and grated cheese, liberally spooning over the dressing.

Now carefully clamp both halves firmly together.

Roll out a length of cling film and wrap the bread tightly with several layers.

Put the bread in the fridge and cover with a heavy weight, (I use a massive book that weighs a ton) but anything heavy that covers the bread will do and leave to compress for a minimum of 4 hours, (for best results leave overnight) and turn it over occasionally so the oil can work evenly through the bread.

Cut into think slices and serve.

Pan Bagnat - The Ultimate Summer Sandwich

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Reliable Grill Pan - the best steak in the summer Cook

One of the best and most exciting activities in the context of a family is to cook the steaks in the summer. Everyone loves a beautiful summer day, when you can go and a barbecue. Anyone can see maybe sports television or a good movie again to drink some beer. Nothing makes the whole day is a grill pan as a safe reliable, you can use to eat steak that is nice and juicy too.

If you want to make sure that you are always a greatyou must ensure decent summer day, you will appreciate a reliable grill pan to help cook a juicy steak and tender to all your friends and family.

There are many grids you can use the function to cook the steak, but if you really want to make sure that the meat is juicy using a reliable network with a pan.

One of the hardest things to deal with those who cooked the steaks is to ensure that it is notnot on the grill and continue to lose the juice that makes it so beautiful and delicate. If you want people can say, congratulations for your great steak, you better be sure to use a grill pan reliable, can not attack a steak.

You do not have a professional chef to do this, just the right tools to be able to cook steak properly. Most people are very discouraged when they see the stick too much meat on the grill and onlyQuit and try to make a hot dog. It 's time to stop, a lazy and make sure that summer is a pretty reliable and regular pan.

Not only can you enjoy a juicy steak, but you will be pleased to know how many people did you enjoy. I am not the best cook in the world, but my wife thinks that I am sure that when a bite of steak Nice I do with my grill pan reliable. There are many varieties and speciesYou can choose to meet your needs as well as in many shapes and sizes.

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