This past Tuesday, my lovely and talented chef friend Libby and I decided to get together for me to teach her a bread recipe I learned from a lady we had worked with many years ago. And we were blessed by a surprise visit by another amazing lady chef friend, Jess, who was visiting from the next city over.
Now, about this bread!
This bread was inspired by the dear Ms. “Honey Bee” Melissa. My favorite renegade Canadian who was visiting Texas bringing in a wave of health food goodness with her daughter (who runs a successful business in San Antonio, Tim the Girl & The Good Kind).
This bread, for sure is the hippiest of all breads I have ever made. Years ago I was asked to learn how to make this bread with Melissa so that I could record a recipe. At the time I did successfully record the recipe, gave it to her daughter, and replicated it using the recipe….but do I remember it?
Heck no!
What I do remember is the feel of the recipe. The sponginess of the starter, and gently working in globs of starter on a pile of flour, nuts, and seeds in order to avoid a goopy mess…..which is so hard. Ha!
The excessive kneading, the work out, fold after fold, until the dough feels so thick and dense that it feels like pressing on the pad of your thumb on an outstretched hand…
Ah! One long loaf down…three more to go! Thankfully Jess played the role of bread baking party entertainer. Mixing up mocktails and music to get us through this work out. Needless to say she was perfectly okay watching. “Mix a bunch of stuff together until it feels right, noted,” she said as she bypassed the offer to make a loaf. We let the bread rise for about 30 minutes while we worked on the next loaves.
Into the oven they go! I really don’t know how long they baked…like I said…hippie methods. The bread is done when it is done, sounds hollow when you tap it and feels crusty.
So….maybe an hour later…
First round of bread done! Whew! Hard work, and I was 48 hours fasted!
We kneaded the remaining dough, set it aside, and decided it was break time. Stepping out into the garden for fresh air and to harvest random garden bits to whip up into a well earned meal, I was pleased to see Libby had this cute little gnome watching us from the garden bed post.
I honestly wasn’t feeling too hungry and my intentions were to do a 72 hour fast, but after my very talented friends started making vegan tostadas with a hominy chili, mashed avocado, and a slaw whipped up from ingredients from the garden….my heart was telling me I wouldn’t get a chance like this to eat food made with so much love from people who care deeply about food like this any time soon. I couldn’t resist. I indulged without taking any photos.
I left that night with a full belly of vegan food, a full heart of love, and 2 very large loaves of Health Nut Bread. One ended up more bready and large, perfect for breakfast. The other was mini sized and extra dense with nuts and seeds, perfect for snacking…or some high quality butter, fig preserves, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Oh! I failed to mention this bread falls into the s.o.s. safe zone with no salt, oil, or sugar. None the less, it is very delicious with a sprinkle of Himalayan salt.
I shouldn’t eat bread, though I am awful at resisting, especially when it is so delicious, made with love, organic sprouted wheat, and a variety of organic nuts and seeds.
I was thankful to have the opportunity to gift this bread to people like the food faerie I always am. Some went to Rebecca, the dog nanny whisperer extraordinaire. Some went to Edward, the mostly vata music man dedicating his work to Earth. And some went to Mr. Jason, the peach colored, bearded, and nice teacher for teacher appreciation week (I used the description from the five year old I know in his class! Hahaha!)
The Conscious Table 