Which bread flour do you use ? Any organic bread recipes ?

[madbrain]

I just took delivery of a Zojirushi mini bread maker on tuesday. I have made 2 loaves so far. They came out fairly good.
I am using some King arthur flour from safeway. Both the "bread flour" and the "all purpose" as indicated in the recipes I have tried so far.
These are not so cheap, at about $6 for 5lbs at safeway.

I have seen some 50lbs bags of Conagra bread flour at Costco for $15. Is that any good ? That is 70% cheaper.

On the other end of the price spectrum, there is some King arthur organic flour. I can't find it locally unfortunately. Best price I can find is at meijer.com . It comes to $37.90 for 5 bags (25 lbs) including shipping. They won't allow ordering more than 5 bags. Is it worth paying 2.5x the price for organic bread flour ?

If anyone is making organic bread in a bread machine, I would appreciate recipes and which organic ingredients you use.

 

[sunsaver]

Flour is flour, but self-rising has baking powder added which contains baking soda, corn starch, and some strange chemicals. I never use it. Organic is better if you can afford it. Unbleached whole grain is what i use. Here is an easy sour dough recipe that requires no kneading or bread machine:

Put about 4 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl, Add a teaspoon of active dry yeast, a teaspoon of salt, and enough cold tap water to make a loose dough that you can stir by hand, sort of like thick pancake batter. Stir for a minute or two. Cover with a towel, and let it sit at room temp for half an hour. Stir again for 2 minutes to break up any lumps. Cover with a towel, and let it sit over night for about 14-18 hours. Put the dough gently into a greased and floured bread pan, without punching it down. Let it rest for 2 more hours while you go about your day. Then bake at 400 hundred until the top is golden brown. This recipe makes a very robust, and tasty Italian flat bread. It's not really sour-dough bread, but an easy cheat. Works good with seasoned dutch ovens. Just mix it in the pot and let it set, then bake it! Super easy, and super tasty. Your friends and family will be impressed.

 

[madbrain]

sunsaver,
Thanks. I don't use self-rising and don't plan to. I bought some separate yeast and I have plenty.
I don't think I could ever have the patience for your recipe. The preparation in my bread machine takes about 5 minutes to measure the ingredients and put them in the machine. Then I just press the start button, put the timer on, and go to bed. And I wake up to fresh bread. The bread machine doubles an alarm too as it beeps, lol.

 

[freemotion]

Organic grains are worth the extra price, IMO. We are exposed to so many toxins daily that we probably can't remove them all from our lives, but GMO grains and the products made from them are among the most toxic foods (after any hydrogenated oils and soy) because of the insecticides (hormones) used and the herbicides they are doused with, both in frightening amounts. Avoid veg oils for this reason, too, especially canola and soy.

GMO grains were found to cause multiple organ system problems...SEVERE problems....in lab rats in a very short time.

I have a limited food budget but organic grains are a must.

 

[sunsaver]

sunsaver,
Thanks. I don't use self-rising and don't plan to. I bought some separate yeast and I have plenty.
I don't think I could ever have the patience for your recipe. The preparation in my bread machine takes about 5 minutes to measure the ingredients and put them in the machine. Then I just press the start button, put the timer on, and go to bed. And I wake up to fresh bread. The bread machine doubles an alarm too as it beeps, lol.

It just takes a minute to mix up, you do it right before bed, then just cook it for lunch. It really takes no time at all, but you do have to mix it up the night before. I used have a bread machine. They're fun! I used to make very good French bread with it.

 

[HappyHomestead]

Organic grains are cheap if you mill them yourself, and they have tons of nutrients which are lost in commercial flour. I just have a hand crank mill, and I can't stand to run it through enough times to get it super fine, so I use half home-milled flour and half commercial flour. Gives the bread a wonderful, nutty flavor, and a bit of a crunch!

 

[freemotion]

Yes, it costs me 44 cents a pound to make my own flour. I got a great old electric mill off craigslist last year and it makes the most wonderful fine flour.