Matzah using our Saj

Cooking pita on a saj (internet pic)



We love matzah!  For us, it is not just for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Matzah is our dinner bread but we also eat it for breakfast and lunch sometimes.  We use a Saj that the Big Chicken purchased.  What is a saj?  A saj is a large, flat or convex disc-shaped griddle made from metal.  Here's ours:

So let's start at the beginning with soaking our flour overnight.  Of course, I have made matzah (and other baked goods) without soaking the flour but, as I have mentioned in earlier posts, planning ahead and soaking flour for all baking projects is good practice. 

I took all the fresh-ground flour that I had stored in my freezer - about 8 cups - and put it into a large mixing bowl.  To this I added 1/3 cup of raw milk keifer, 1/3 cup of yogurt and 2 to 3 cups of warm water.  I usually add the water 1 cup at a time.  You don't want your soaked flour mix to be too dry but you don't want it to be too sloppy either.  Add your water slowly mixing as you go.  Remember that you have liquid in the form of the keifer and yogurt so don't add all your water in one go or you may need to add a lot more flour.

The next part is very easy: I put a reusable cover on the bowl and go to bed. 

I have now left the flour to soak for around 18 hours. 

Around two hours before I am going to bake the matzah I add the yeast.  If I left my flour soaking overnight on day 1, I usually start this part of the process around 3 pm on day 2.

In a mason jar or measuring jug, mix together 1/4 cup of warm water with 6 teaspoons of yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey.  Allow the yeast mix to proof or become bubbly (about 5-10 minutes). When it is all bubbly and puffy add it to the soaked flour in the large mixing bowl. 

Mix everything together, adding a little more flour if your mixture is too wet or sticky.  Now leave the dough to rise for about an hour.  As I am making a flat bread, I do not worry about letting the dough rise twice as you would when baking a traditional loaf. 

Now I fire up my saj!  All this means is that I put the saj on my stove and turn the heat to high.  If the Big Chicken is home he usually gives me a hand at this point.

While the saj is heating up, I start rolling out small balls of dough, about the size of a tennis ball.  You can make the bread as big or small as you prefer.  I have found that when the flour has been soaked, it is easier to roll out the dough a little thicker.  We have found that the dough will break up if rolled out too thin. 

 

Once the dough is on the saj you cannot move it until it is baked.  While the dough is still raw it sticks to the saj just for a minute or two and then loosens as it cooks. 

The dough doesn't take long to bake at all, no more than a minute or two and then, using a metal spatula, the Big Chicken flips the bread over to cook the other side. 

Here's our end result:

It sure is yummy!  One of our summer projects is going to be building a clay tandor oven in our backyard but for now, our saj on the stove works perfectly.


Frugally Sustainable Blog Hop #66

Sprouting grain and soaking flour

                                                    Sprouted lentils and wheat berries

When I first read through Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, I saw the section devoted to soaking flours and grains.  It would seem that most of the world understands that many grains and flours should be soaked before being used and eaten.  To most people, that would be too much faffing around.  You want to bake bread or make pancakes and it has to be done in a snappy amount of time.  What I learned about soaking flour and grains has turned our diet around and made me realize that not everything has to be done at break-neck speed.

Grains: I started soaking whole wheat berries and lentils about a year ago.  I bought some sprouting lids from my health food store but I have also used a metal canning ring and a piece of muslin cloth.  Sprouting is super easy and improves the nutrition and digestibility of the grain by a number that I cannot remember but, trust me, it's good!  I put one cup of grain, lentils or beans into a quart size mason jar and then fill it with spring water.  (A quick side note here:  I don't use our tap water for anything other than washing due to the levels of fluoride and chlorine).  I put the sprouting lid on the jar and leave it for 24 hours.

                                                                    Sprouting lids

After the first 24 hour soaking period, I drain the water from the jar and invert it into the sink dish drainer.  Now I will simply rinse the beans/grain/lentils two to three times each day for up to three days.  By day 2 you will start to see little sprouts coming out of your chosen grain.  These will continue to grow.  I have left my sprouts to really grow for up to a week but anything over a a couple of days is fine. 

                                                                    Sprouted wheat berries

Once I am happy with the length of the sprouts, I steam the sprouted grains, allow them to cool and then store them in the fridge.  I add sprouted grains/lentils/beans to pretty much anything.  They are great with rice, in soups and stews and even cold on salads. 

                                                       Sprouted lentils - green and brown

Now soaked flour is slightly different.  I have seen recipes where folks use their sprouted wheat berries in their bread recipe and they grind the with a meat grinder.  I tried this just once and found my bread to be very heavy. 

I recently found this soaking recipe by The Elliott Homestead: http://theelliotthomestead.com/soaked-whole-wheat-bread.  Not only is it a great recipe but it produces fantastic bread.  I had to tweak the amount of gluten that I add.  I actually had to double the amount called for in the recipe.  Other than that, I follow her recipe to the letter and usually make one or two batches each week.  I get three very lovely loaves from each batch.  One lesson I have learned, is that the bread must be at the correct temperature inside for it to be cooked.  I use a probe thermometer to check the bread at the 30 minute mark.  I am looking for at least 190 degrees Fahrenheit.  Your bread may look cooked on the outside but the middle can still be soft a gooey. 

I try to soak flour whenever I'm baking something.  I always have keifer or buttermilk in my fridge so that acid medium is never an issue.  I just have to be organized enough to know what I am going to be making during the week.  Obviously, there are times when I want to mix up a batch of matza to go with dinner and I haven't soaked my flour.  I don't stress about this, I just make the matza and try and think ahead a little more the next time. 

I also soak my oats in milk overnight in the fridge if I am making oatmeal for breakfast.  I find that the oatmeal cooks a lot more quickly and is softer and creamier.  I did try soaking it in keifer but the taste was a little too strong even for me, let alone Chicken Man.  If I make pancakes, I soak the flour in the correct amount of milk in the fridge overnight.  Organization and pre-planning is key. 

We live in a society that wants everything to be "now" and "fast" but in our house, things take time.  Good food takes time and personally, I love that.



Frugally Sustainable Blog Hop #66

Cloth for everything

I was always slightly bemused reading blogs and articles by those who had gone "paper free".  I understood exactly what they had done and why, but it still seemed like a huge jump from normal to a little bit strange.  No toilet paper, kitchen towel or even femine hygiene products.  The Big Chicken was less amused, more terrified.

Kitchen paper:  This wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  We used a lot of kitchen paper, endless reems of the stuff.  It was so quick and easy to rip off a sheet and wipe up whatever had spilled.  We use cast iron cookware a great deal, so there is a lot of seasoning done with coconut oil.  Doing this with resuable cloth did seem a little bit of a challenge.  I had recently bought some cotton/flannel sheets from our local charity shop and began to cut paper-towel sized pieces and pile them up.  I have seen many posts of folks who actually stitch them and even apply poppers to hold them together in a roll.  While I have a sewing machine, this was a step too much for me.  I found that the flannel sheet was perfect as it didn't fray.  So now instead of paper towel, we have a crock full of reusable cloth.

I keep a bucket under the sink with water and detergent in it.  When we have used a cloth, we simply drop it into the bucket.  Once or twice a week I empty the bucket and then soak and boil the cloths.  Then they go through a normal dark wash with our usual laundry.

Toilet paper:  This is something that most households go through a lot of.  We certainly do, along with wet wipes for the younger visitors.  I had used cotton sheets to start with but they did fray and were not as soft as I would have liked.  The flannel sheets came out again but this time I cut smaller squares, closer to the size of one sheet of toilet paper.  I have two garbage cans in my bathroom.  They are repurposed pots.  The silver one is for regular garbage and the blue one, filled with water and some soap, is for our reusable toilet paper. 

I also keep a small spray bottle with some water and aloe vera in it.  When the cloth is sprayed, it becomes a wet wipe.  I empty this pot three or four times a week and transfer the cloths into a vinegar, baking soda and peroxide solution.  These cloths are also boiled before going through a usual washing cycle. 

 

Femine hygiene products: This was a switch that I wish I had made years ago.  I again read about cloth feminine hygiene products and decided to get a few to try.  I personally like Gladrags.  I was totally convinced within the first day of using Gladrags.  They are so comfortable and very easy to clean.  I keep a third pot filled with water and detergent in a bathroom cupboard during these times.  I empty this pot each day and put the napkins into a bucket to soak.  They are boiled and then washed either in the washing machine or by hand. 

Reusable cloth has been much easier to adjust to than I thought it would be and I would encourage anyone who is hesitant to give it a try for a week or even a month and see how you feel at the end of that time. 



Frugally Sustainable Blog Hop #64