This is a simple and inexpensive week so take this opportunity to stock up on items you may have missed in past weeks or items on sale this week that you may be short on. Even take this opportunity to replace any foods you’ve used and not replaced.
This is an important week even though it's inexpensive.
Food - Yeast & Salt
This week add 1 pound of yeast and 1 pound of salt per person to your storage. If you don't use yeast now, now’s the time to learn to bake even if it is just one type of bread. Bread is filling and a must-have during a time of limited food supplies. You can make easy breads with all-purpose flour. You can find one-pound packages of yeast at Costco, many grocery stores, and bulk food sellers.
If you haven’t tried my recipe for Easiest Ever Bread, try it this week. It really is easy.
Easiest Ever Bread
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 5/8 cups water
1. Using a spoon mix together all ingredients in bowl.
2. Cover and let sit for 18 hours.
3. Drop dough onto a floured surface. Let sit for 15 minutes.
4. Mold into a round loaf. Do not knead or squeeze. You want those bubbles left in there. Drop on floured surface. Put towel over it and let sit for 2 hours.
5. Heat covered oven proof dish or Dutch oven in 450-degree oven. Take pan out.
6. Place dough into hot pan. Again, do not knead or squeeze, just plop it in.
7. Bake for 30 minutes with lid on.
The bread comes out with a wonderful crunchy crust...yum. This can also be made with 2 cups of white flour and one cup of wheat flour. Substituting more wheat will not produce an acceptable result. This is a great recipe for a beginner who is caught off guard and forced to learn quickly.
Parmesan Garlic Herb: Add 6 Tablespoons dry Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 tsp. basil and 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder to flour before adding water. Mix well. Add water and finish as usual.
Olive Herb: Add 2 tsp. Italian herbs and 1 tsp. garlic powder to flour before adding water. Mix well. Add water and finish as usual. After 18 hours place dough on a floured surface and stretch dough until thin. Slice olives and scatter over dough. Fold dough in small segments from opposite directions enclosing olives. Let dough rest and rise for 2 hours. Bake as usual.
Cheddar Cheese: Prepare dough following directions. Grate 1 Cup of Cheddar Cheese. After the bread raises for 18 hours place it on a floured surface and sprinkle it with grated cheese. Fold dough over randomly, a few inches at the side, then a few inches from a corner toward the opposite corner, and so on until all the cheese is covered. Let rest for 2 hours and bake as usual.