Birdseed Loaf

Day 13: By its very nature, my "Birdseed Bread" is more dense than sourdough or white bread, being comprised partly of millet flour. It has a lightly nutty flavour which I sometimes enhance with the addition of golden flaxseed meal and/or flaxseeds. Experimenting with the formula to create a Dutch-oven version, I substituted 50 grams of millet flour for bread flour in a no-knead, 70% hydration recipe which called for 500 grams total, and added 8 grams of gluten because millet flour has none. Baked in my new loaf-shaped, lidded cast-iron bread pan, it came out perfectly, cancelling any plans I had for increasing the amount of millet flour in the future. Slathered with real butter, this bread is almost a meal in itself. It also makes excellent French toast.

Although I used parchment paper here, I invested a whopping six dollars in a pair of silicone bread pan liners to help me get rather wet and oozy doughs into the pan. I'll try them out in my next experiment, but that may be a ways down the road because I now have three loaves of bread in my freezer, and I have got to make space for a Thanksgiving turkey.

Beware: Mad Scientist

Day 11: The flask are filled, the beakers bubbling, the retorts rumbling, and the Grand Experiment is under way. Can I successfully adapt my "birdseed bread" recipe to make a high-hydration Dutch oven loaf? If there are 12-24 grams of gluten in every 100 grams of bread flour and I want to substitute 50 grams of millet flour for the same amount of bread flour, I will need to add 6-8 grams of gluten, i.e., in my 500-gram loaf, I will want to use 450 grams of bread flour, 50 grams of millet flour and 6-8 grams of gluten (close enough for gov'mint work). That's where I'll begin. If the bread rises properly, I will try increasing the millet flour next time. Dough goes down for 18 hours. If it's nice and bubbly in the morning, I should have an update for you by 9 AM.

Birdseed Sourdough

Day 105: The sound you just heard was my palm connecting with my forehead. "Why didn't I think of this a long time ago?" I've been making sourdough bread in my Dutch oven for almost two years now, and it only just occurred to me to substitute a little millet flour to make my delicious "birdseed bread." The recipe calls for 460 grams of white flour. For this first experiment, I used 50 grams of millet and 410 of regular bread flour. The interior of the loaf was more yellow and had a nice, subtle crunch while remainng moist, and I did NOT need to add gluten for a good rise. The flavour isn't quite as nutty as my original birdseed bread, so I will try increasing the amount of millet flour slightly the next time I bake, and I may toss in one or two tablespoons of golden flax seed. Birdseed bread has always been one of my favourite loaves.

Mill-it!

Day 101: It's been a while since I found out that Bob's Red Mill produced a millet flour, and I have to admit I've gotten a little spoiled by having it at my fingertips, ready-made. I used to buy millet in bulk, and although I sometimes used the whole seed in crackers, my primary use for it is as flour, notably substituting it for a portion of the bread flour called for in my favourite sourdough loaf. With Bob's Red Mill in easy reach, the last of my whole seed migrated to the back of the refrigerator freezer and only came to the forefront in response to a sub-vocal question about the contents of the container. "Oh!" said I. "I should grind that and use it up." Thus you see today's project: turning four cups of whole millet into flour. It should only take an hour or so, allowing time for the grain mill to cool down between batches.

Birdseed Isn't Just For Birds

Day 32: Put away the Cheez-its, Wheat Thins and Ry-Krisp and join me for some birdseed! Millet crackers are delicious, especially when slathered with real butter. It's been a while since I made crackers, and home-baked can't be beat.

The recipe for these nutty delights comes from Linda Foust and Tony Husch's cookbook, "Crackers!" It is out of print, but can occasionally be found through Amazon or your local used book dealer.

You will need
1/4 cup whole millet
1/2 cup millet flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
5/8 cup (1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp.) milk
1 Tbsp. honey

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Stir together the millet, flours and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Warm the milk and honey in a small saucepan and add it to the flour mixture, blending to form a dough which holds together in a ball. If necessary, you may add a little more milk.

Divide the dough into two portions and roll out on a floured surface. You want it to be thin (no more than 1/8 inch, or approximately as thick as the diameter of a millet grain). Cut out circles with a cookie cutter and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick each cracker three times with a fork.

Bake for 10 minutes, then turn crackers over and bake for an additional 8-12 minutes or until medium brown. Serve with butter and enjoy!