Steel Cut Oat Bread

Background first on how I cook my oats:

I make steel-cut oats (SCO) as follows

3 cups SCO
12 cups of water
1 stick Butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt

I brown the oats in the butter first.  Then I cook it for about 30 minutes or so and enjoy.  My boys didn't like the extra nutty taste at first but they have since learned it is really good.  I make a HUGE batch and keep it in the refrigerator.  They are creamier reheated and I don't have to wait for it to cook.  To reheat I chop it up with a wooden spoon and add hot water.  Heat until hot. Another plus about browning it,  the butter keeps the oats from boiling all over my stove.  Moving on....

This bread recipe uses the oats how I cooked it above. You can cook them with out browning them but add the fat, EVOO or butter to the dough.

2 cups Cooked SCO room temperature
1/2 cups Black-strap Molasses
Butter or EVOO (see above) 1-2 Tab.
2 cups warm water
4 cups unbleached white flour
4 cups graham flour
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tab lecithin granules
1/8 tsp vitamin C powder
1 tab and 2 tsp yeast or 2 packets

This may be a tricky dough, depending on how wet your SCO are, so you may need to add additional flour.  This can be halved.  The amounts listed above made 5 pounds of dough.  Kneed 10 minutes.  Let rise till doubled, punch down form into loaves, let rise till doubled.  Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.  I weigh my bread dough.  I have 1 pound and 1.5 pound pans depending on your pan size is why the time varies.  Bake until golden brown and when tapped with the back of your finger nail you get that hollow sound.

This is my new favorite whole grain bread.  It is not very sweet, if you like your bread sweeter than I would add some sucanat.

Let me know your thoughts.

Bacon Jam

Yes you read it correctly Bacon Jam.  Of course I have revised this to make it more healthy.  Is it even possible with 2 pounds of bacon in it.... of course it is, I can talk myself into anything.  For instance chocolate is a vegetable, as is coffee.  Gummy bears or any fruity candy that has at least 1% fruit juice is a fruit and so on.  So now onto the healthy version of this  recipe.

2 pounds of bacon cut into small pieces with scissors
3 medium onions (about 3 cups)
4 cloves of crushed garlic. (2 1/2 tsp.)
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sucanat
1/4 real maple syrup (NOT Log Cabin)
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup bourbon
1/8 tsp real salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

Brown the bacon drain on a towel (no paper napkins in my house), leaving 1 Tab bacon "juice" in the pan. Saute onions and garlic for about 5 minutes on low.  Add remaining ingredients and stir well to remove the brown bits off of the pan bottom.  Pour the contents into a crock pot.  Cook on high uncovered for 3 1/2 to 4 hours until thickened.  Coarsely pulse in a food chopper.  Chill for up to a month.  I am freezing some of this too.

My healthy changes areas follows:
-I used raw vinegar with mother.  Click the above link to find out why it is better for you.
-I used sucanat instead of brown sugar.  It is pure cane sugar not refined white with color and flavor added.
-Real Maple Syrup, expensive, but it doesn't contain HF corn syrup.

I plan on making some bread on Friday to try this out on in the morning.
The alcohol cooks out of this so it is safe for children.

Leave me a comment if you give this a try.