The Good Stuff. Raw Butter

My grandmother used to treat us grandkids. With butter and sugar on bread. And we loved it.

Nowadays we are so afraid of fat that it's actually affecting our health. Google Weston A Price foundation. They've got some amazing studies on there related to fat, ADD and other brain related disorders, bone formation etc. Ok back to butter.

It's so easy. I was shocked. There are a million ways people do it.
Cultured
Washed
Drained
Seasoned
Mine is just plain easy butter.

I put a quart of raw cream in the vitamix blender. You can use another kind but it'll take much longer. But it'll work!
In the V I blend it maybe a minute or 90 seconds. Until it looks like scrambled eggs. Past the whipped cream stage. You'll see bits of butter sliding down the sides while blending.

Then into my milk jar I pour off all the buttermilk I can. Poke the butter a few times with a spatula and pour off any more milk.

I wash my butter. Makes it last longer supposedly. Removes the last of the milk proteins. But optional.
Put some ice in a glass and fill it with cold water. Let chill a minute and dump just the water into the blender. Yes, on the butter. Pulse ten times or if a normal blender blend ten seconds.

Don't save this liquid. Strain it off. You can repeat this until the water comes out clean. I don't. Once is enough for me. Put your new creamy golden amazing butter in a bowl and add some ice water again. Work through it with your hands (this is fun!!) and then drain off all the water. I tip the bowl a bit so that as I work it, the water goes to the other side.

Add 3/4 tsp of good (Real) salt and work in well.

Now take a palm full of butter at a time and squeeze any more liquid out, and set in your mold or dish. Molds can be just making a ball with your hands, a biscuit cutter, or I use a disposable muffin tin. It makes 1/2 cup pieces so I'm ready for baking. Chill your mold, covered or wrapped in Saran or waxed paper. Pop them out and store in the fridge.

Now spread some on your homemade bread and have a glass of buttermilk for lunch. Feels good doesn't it!!

Easy Italian Homeground Flour bread!

I DID IT!!! After much experimentation I did it. I've been trying to recreate the No Knead Bread recipe using all fresh ground flour for a year and finally did it. What is the trick? Time.

The original recipe is
3 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 5/8 cups warm water
Mix, let sit 12-18 hours and bake as in my other post.

I did two things Wednesday and both worked!
Loaf 1
Same recipe, but with 2 cups ground soft white wheat flour and one hard red wheat.
I set aside covered at 10 am Wednesday and baked it at 2 pm Thursday so set aside for 28 hours before rising etc. Was fantastic. The Sicilian said it had a strong wheat taste but truly I loved it, and didn't smell yeasty.

Loaf 2
Many fresh flour recipes have you treat the wheat with apple cider vinegar, so...
3 cups hard red wheat flour
1 5/8 cups warm water
2 tbsp ACV
Let sit 24 hours covered.
Pour off liquid (may be underneath but it's there)
Add 1/2 tsp yeast, 1 1/4 tsp salt and 1/3 cup flour and mix in. Set aside 12 hours covered or till you see it stringing when tip the bowl. I set it 18.
Then bake like the other post. I had to add more flour when I poured it out though. No biggie. Everyone voted it the winner.

Below are the three of the four recipes we tried. And ate. Brown holey is loaf 2. Brown denser is my quick wheat sandwich bread. Light holey is the no knead with white flour just for comparison. Oh and can't forget the golden homemade raw butter that is just unbelievable on it. Had some fresh ricotta from this morning on it too. Carb overload for sure but WOW!

Happy no kneading!!