Be the Change

SOURDOUGH STARTER

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Instant Potato Flakes

Stir all in a quart jar, cover and let ferment out of the refrigerator at least 48 hours. Refrigerate. Night before baking, take it out of the refrigerator. Take 1 cup of above starter and put into a clean jar, add the following to it:

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup Instant Potato Flakes

This is feeding the starter and will be for your next batch. I leave it out all day and refrigerate it that evening.

Put the remainder of your original starter into a large bowl and add:

3 cups water

1 cup oil (I use Canola)

3/4 cup sugar (I use only 1/2 as I don't like my bread sweet)

1 package dry yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water (I let it foam up before I put it in the batter, make sure it is good.)

4 teaspoons salt

9 cups flour (You may need a little more, make a stiff dough)

Pour onto a floured board and knead well. Put into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until double in bulk. Knead lightly and make into 4 loaves. Put into greased loaf pans, cover with a dish towel, and let rise until double. (I put mine in the oven and close the door, the pilot light keeps it just right to rise high)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool on rack, brush the top with butter, and remove from the pans.

To give someone a starter, feed, let out for 8 hours. Give them 1 cup, use 1 cup starter and keep 1 cup in the refrigerator. Then half the recipe and make 2 loaves of bread.

This also makes great Cinnamon Rolls. You cannot fail with this recipe, as each time you use the fresh packet of yeast. It is a very good recipe. Happy Baking.

For fluffy pancakes, add 1/4 cup of starter to your basic pancake mix. They rise so pretty and are so good.

The reasons you need heirloom seeds!

The loss of genetic seed diversity facing us today may lead to a catastrophe far beyond our imagining. The Irish potato famine, which led to the death or displacement of two and a half million people in the 1840s, is an example of what can happen when farmers rely on only a few plant species as crop cornerstones. One blight wiped out the single potato type that came from deep in the Andes mountains; it did not have the necessary resistance. If the Irish had planted different varieties of potatoes, one type would have most likely resisted the blight. We can help save heirloom seeds by learning how to buy and save these genetically diverse jewels ourselves.
ABOUT SEEDS
One kind of seed, called First generation hybrids (F1 hybrids), have been hand-pollinated, and are patented, often sterile, genetically identical within food types, and sold from multinational seed companies. A second kind of seeds are genetically engineered. Bioengineered seeds are fast contaminating the global seed supply on a wholesale level, and threatening the purity of seeds everywhere. The DNA of the plant has been changed. A cold water fish gene could be spliced into a tomato to make the plant more resistant to frost, for example. A third kind of seeds are called heirloom or open-pollinated, genetically diverse jewels that have been passed on from generation to generation. With heirloom seeds there are 10,000 varieties of apples, compared to the very few F1 hyprid apple types.

The Mayan word “gene” means “spiral of life.” The genes in heirloom seeds give life to our future. Unless the 100 million backyard gardeners and organic farmers keep these seeds alive, they will disappear altogether. This is truly an instance where one person–a lone gardener in a backyard vegetable garden–can potentially make all the difference in the world. Here are sources for finding heirloom seeds from seed saving organizations. These organizations represent a movement of several thousand backyard gardeners who are searching the countryside for endangered vegetables, fruits and grains.
I sincerley hope that if you plan on planting vegetables at any point in the future you bookmark this page and use the resources below to purchase your seeds. I believe with out heirloom seeds the future of what you eat is no longer in your hands. I personally always have a large stash of seeds on hand, just in case I need to provide food for my family that is safe and chemical free.