Day 20: Mar. 29

A Day to BAKE

What Can Your Toaster Teach You? - a spiritual practice

Wherever you are, look around — choose an unlikely suspect — for example, your toaster in your kitchen. Imagine that toaster is your spiritual guide with something crucial to teach. What might it be? Free associate, enlisting your mind, your humor, your subconscious, and the revelatory power of God.

Hmmm. A toaster must be placed on the right setting to cook a piece of bread properly. Hold onto the bread too long and it will burn. Is there a relationship, a project, in your life that you're holding onto even at the risk of ruining it? Maybe it is time to let go, to let it pop out before it turns crisp and blackened.

Then too, a toaster only works when connected to its power source. You may, on occasion, have waited and waited for your bagel only to realize the toaster wasn't plugged in. Is there an area in your life you feel stalled? Maybe the toaster is reminding you to plug into God and God’s people – to find the energy, guidance, and companionship you need.

Multi-Grain Loaf

Ingredients and Supplies

1 ¼ cups eight-grain hot cereal mix
2 ½ cups boiling water
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter melted
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds optional
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

Instructions

Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100-105 degrees (F), about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, whisk flours and salt together in separate bowl; set aside.

Once grain mixture has reached 100-105 F, add honey, butter, and yeast and stir until combined.Let mixture sit for 5-10 minutes.

Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough starts to come together.Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes. If it does not clear sides, keep adding 2 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does.

Once it comes together, continue to knead dough for 5 additional minutes. Add seeds, and knead until seeds are evenly dispersed throughout the dough and dough forms smooth, round ball.

Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic, and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.

Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half.

Stretch first piece of dough into 9×6 inch rectangle.

Roll dough into a cylinder, and place dough seam-side down in prepared loaf pan. Repeat with second piece of dough.

Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable oil spray.

Sprinkle both loaves in oats.

Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic, and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Bake until loaves register 200 degrees, 30-40 minutes.

Transfer pans to wire rack, and let loaves cool in pan for 5 minutes.

Remove loaves from pans, and let them cool to room temperature on wire cooling rack.