SOAKED WHOLE WHEAT & CINNAMON RIASIN BREAD

I've been thinking a lot about nourishment recently. Maybe it's being a new mom and breastfeeding. Maybe it's always been a curiosity and maternity leave has given me the space to explore. Maybe it's the influence of our pediatrician who strongly believes in the power of food and nutrition for health. Maybe it's all of the above (probably this one). Baking has always intimidated me, but I've been branching out. Today I tried my hand at bread. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY!

SOAKED WHOLE WHEAT & CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD

INGREDIENTS

1 c. whole milk (I use raw)
1 1/4 c. water
5 1/2 - 6 c. whole wheat flour
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sea salt
4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 c. honey





For Cinnamon Raisin Bread:
2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. raisins

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine milk, water, vinegar and flour (one c. at a time). The dough should be sticky and a bit stiff. Cover the bowl with a towel. Allow to sit overnight (12-24 hrs.).
2. After the soaking period, add the honey, salt, and yeast to the flour mixture. Attach the dough hook and knead dough for 8-10 minutes. Depending on the flour, you may need a 1/2 c. more flour to reach stiff, workable dough.
3. Cover the bowl with a towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs. until doubled in size.
4. Once doubled in size, gently punch down and form the dough into two equal balls.
5. If making sandwich bread, roll one ball with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape. Roll dough into a loaf and place in a buttered bread pan.
6. If making Cinnamon Raisin Bread, roll one ball with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape. Spread the dough with honey, then sprinkle the 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 1/2 c. of raisins. Roll the dough into a loaf and place in a buttered bread pan.
7. Preheat the oven to 350F.
8. Cover the pans with a towel and allow to rise as oven preheats (30 minutes).
9. Bake for 40 minutes.
10. Allow to cool before slicing.

*Thanks to Kristin and her blog Livesimply.me for the great recipe!!

Caffeine on the go...

Homemade coffee shots. YUM!

How Shall I Pray?

How shall I pray?
    Are tears prayers, Lord?
    Are screams prayers,
        or groans
            or sighs
                or curses?
Can trembling hands be lifted to you,
    or clenched fists
        or the cold sweat that trickles down my back
            or the cramps that knot my stomach?
Will you accept my prayers, Lord,
    my real prayers,
        rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,
and not just my pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
    bouquet of words?
Will you accept me, Lord,
    as I really am,
        messed up mixture of glory and grime?
Lord, help me!
Help me to trust that you do accept me as I am,
that I may be done with self-condemnation
    and self-pity,
        and accept myself.
Help me to accept you as you are, Lord:
    mysterious,
        hidden,
            strange,
                unknowable;
and yet to trust
    that your madness is wiser
        than my timid, self-seeking sanities,
and that nothing you've ever done
    has really been possible,
so I may dare to be a little mad, too.

   

What I've been reading...

Staying home with little E. has give me a little bit of time to do some more longform reading which is great! Here's a look at my recent reading list, gathered almost solely from my twitter friends.

Current events:

• Conflict Risk Alert for South Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen from the International Crisis Group - CrisisWatch Conflict Alert
• POTUS Bungled His Negotiations with Vladimir Putin
• Russia's position explained - The crisis in Crimea could lead the world into a second cold war

Curious Longform:

• Only people with privilege have the time to argue the semantics of #banbossy
• Saving Little Mogadishu by Dorothee Moisan
• The Future Looks Good by Lesley Nneka Arimah
• Branson: Behind the Mask [book review] by David Runciman

Empty Me

Gracious and Holy One,
    creator of all things
        and of emptiness,
I come to you
    full of much that clutters and distracts,
        stifles and burdens me,
            and makes me a burden to others.
Empty me now
    of gnawing dissatisfactions,
        of anxious imaginings,
            of fretful preoccupations,
    of nagging prejudices,
        of old scores to settle,
            and of the arrogance of being right.
Empty me
    of the ways I unthinkingly think of myself as powerless,
        as a victim,
             as determined by sex, age, race,
                 as being less than I am,
                     or as other than yours.
Empty me
    of the disguises and lies
        in which I hide myself from other people
             and from my responsibility
                  for my neighbors and for the world.
Hollow cut in me a space
in which I will find myself,
    find peace and a whole heart,
        a forgiving spirit and holiness,
             the springs of laughter,
         and the will to reach boldly
             for abundant life for myself
                 and the whole human family.

Lead Me Out of My Doubts and Fears

Eternal God,
lead me now
    out of the familiar setting
        of my doubts and fears,
    beyond my pride

        and my need to be secure
into a strange and graceful ease
    with my true proportions
        and with yours;
that in boundless silence
    I may grow
        strong enough to endure
            and flexible enough to share
                your grace.

Bless What Eludes My Grasp

Lord, so many things skitter through my mind,
and I give chase to gather them
    and hold them up in a bunch to you,
but they go this way and that
    while I go that way and this...
So, gather me up instead

and bless what eludes my grasp but not yours:
    trees and bees, fireflies and butterflies,
    roses and barbecues, and people...
Lord, the people...bless the people:
    birthday people,
        giving birth people,
            being born people;
    confirmed people,

 dying people,
        dead people;
    hostaged people,
        banged up people,
            held down people;

    leader people,
        lonely people,
            limping people;
    hungry people,
        surfeited people,
            indifferent people;
        first world people,
             second world people,
                 third world people;
        one world people,
            your people,
                all people.
Bless them, Lord.
Bless what eludes my grasp but not yours.

(~ Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle)