For the Love of Food (and Eating!): whole wheat

So I was searching around the Internet and happened to come across the concept of making bread in the crock pot. I was like no way! but it's possible! And to make it even better- it's easy! Now a disclaimer here: this bread is not like store bought bread- considering the process of making bread the correct way involves rising, or even double rising, lots of kneading, special ovens etc. So this bread was a bit on the small size, it didn't rise too much, it also is a bit dense. This bread is a whole wheat/grain bread so that could be why it is like that. But...

Regardless, for a healthy bread that you make at home with no oven (aka no hot house), no kneading and no rising it is pretty awesome. Toast it up for breakfast or I even sliced it as thin as I could for sandwiches.

Perfect for making bread in the summer and basically fool proof. So go and try it tonight!!! I am going to experiment with different doughs to see different results.

Oh and sometimes the bread doesn't get that crispy texture on the outside- this one kind of did, but I wanted more- so just pop under the broiler for a couple minutes to get that nice brown crust. But be careful handling the dough out of the crock pot- it will be hot.

Ingredients

1 cup of (boiling) water
1/2 cup of bulgar (cracked wheat)
2 to 2 1/2 cups of bread flour
1 packet of active dry yeast (or 3 tsp of instant yeast)
1 tsp of salt
1 cup of whole wheat flour (or 1/2 of wheat flour and 1/2 of rolled oats)
1/4 cup of flax seeds* (or any seed/nut you have- like sesame, poppy, walnut etc)
1/2 cup of silken tofu (or you could use yogurt or cottage cheese)
1/4 cup of honey (or a about 2-3 tbsp of sugar)
2 tbsp of oil (I use canola)
1 egg

Directions

In your crock pot line the bottom with some parchment paper and sprinkle with a bit of flour.
In a small pot bring the cup of water to boil and add the bulgar- then shut off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes.
Add all your dry ingredients into one large bowl (bread flour, yeast, salt, wheat flour, seeds) and mix.
In another small bowl add your wet ingredients- tofu, honey, oil and egg- beat the until the mixture is combined well.
Drain bulgar (but reserve excess water if possible, I needed a bit more liquid for the mixture later for it to come together, so I figured use the left over water from bulgar- but you may not need it, or you could just use regular water)
Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just comes together a bit, then add the drained bulgar.
Mix until it becomes a dough. I had to knead it until it became dough (but just until it came together). (This is where you might need a bit more of that water or if it is too sticky/wet add more flour).
Form it into a ball shape and put into your crock pot on top of the parchment paper.
Close up your crock pot and put on high for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. They say the internal temp should be at least 200 degrees F. You can tell when it is done- the crust will be firm and the dough will hold its shape.
Carefully remove with mits or a towel and let cool before slicing. Let it cool on a cooling rack otherwise the bottom of the bread will get soggy.
As I mentioned before if you want a crispy crust just put under the broiler for a couple minutes- just keep an eye on it.

Enjoy!

* Here's the low down on flax seeds- if you can find them for a good price get them- if not, it's not the end of the world but here's what's so good about them:

High in calories. Most calories are fat calories (which are common in nuts and seeds)
Super high in iron, calcium, protein, fiber and vitamin E
Excellent source of health-benefiting nutrients, dietary fiber, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.
The seeds are packed with many important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates
Furthermore, flax seed is rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium
Flax seed is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid. It is also one of the top vegetable sources of omega-3 essential fatty acids. One spoonful of flax seed oil provides about 8 g of omega-3 fatty acids.
Helps lower LDL or “bad cholesterol” and increase HDL or “good cholesterol” levels in the blood.