I'm so grateful for the gift of a bread machine! (posted about this in 2014 on it being a blessing but this is part 2) #givethanks
We need bread every week for Sacrament meeting at Church. Some members have health concerns but buying a special type of bread was very costly - and I determined to find a way we could bake our own, since we have everything on hand in abundance for our business.
I had learned a great deal from some people who did several different methods of bread making. Sprouted wheat bread or sourdough are both types that many people were finding they could eat.... I tested those.
One method was a 'no knead' recipe that was almost like a sourdough, but I still needed the bread machine to cook it because our present circumstances I do not have a typical oven. And this 'no knead' recipe didn't fit the cycle the machine was fixed with -- you can't turn off the "kneading" part. So, I had to figure a way to work around that.
Starting this bread in a bowl on Friday night before bed, and in the morning, transferring the dough into the bread pan, but putting it back in the place to rise while the bread machine was turned on empty and went through its cycles... when a set amount of time has passed, the pan is put into the bread machine for its last rise and bake of the cycle. Its ready Saturday each week.
I have given a slice of this bread to various people in our community to try -- most who avoid gluten can eat it with no problems and Its been a joy to share this with people whenever I can. (I've only had one person say it still didn't work for them -- I wish it did!)
So every Sunday morning, I slice this bread and bring it for the Sacrament. I bring the remainder of the loaf to share it with someone who would be blessed as well. Doing this has been a blessing in my life when I know it helps others.
I always worried about 'what if' someday, this bread machine would quit working. I also felt the need to find another bread pan so I could keep one dedicated for the Sacrament bread only. One day I went over to the thrift store across the street... there was a different model of the same bread machine (I thought it was 'newer' it turns out its 2 years older but was only used ONCE!) and for a few dollars I had a second machine and extra bread pan!!!!
Pictured is the loaf I make for my family, which is very different.. I never thought to take a picture of the Sacrament bread - its a distinctly different loaf! I will try to do that next week maybe and post it to this thread.
