BREADS

The question most often asked about solar cooked bread is, “Does it brown?” The answer is yes. It bakes and browns beautifully. As with all other foods, breads take almost twice as long to cook in a solar oven. They will bake in a cooler oven (200 ) but hotter ovens are best. Cooking times and temperatures will always depend on how hot your solar oven is. Pint references are connected to cooking in pint jars.

Cinnamon and Raisin Bread makes 1 loaf or 3-4 pints.
1 recipe wheat bread (use white wheat if possible) 1/8 c butter, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 Tb sugar, ¼ c raisins.
Make the bread recipe and before you roll it into a loaf, spread the butter on the dough, sprinkle on raisins and a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Roll it up, place in loaf pan or jars and bake until browned.

Cornbread makes one 8x8 pan or 3-4 pints.
1 2/3 c flour, 1 2/3 c yellow cornmeal, 2/3 c sugar, 2 “eggs”, 5 tsp baking powder, ¼ c dry milk,
1 tsp salt, 1/3 c melted shortening, 1 ¼ c water.
Make your “eggs”. Melt 1/3 c shortening. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and dry milk in a large bowl. Stir in the cornmeal until well blended. Add “eggs” and water and stir until the batter is smooth. Gently stir in the melted shortening just until blended. Do not over-stir. Pour into your greased pan or jars and bake for 60 to 80 minutes or until browned.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins makes 12 muffins.
1 ”egg”, 3 tsp baking powder, ½ c milk (1/8 c dry + ½ c water), ½ tsp salt, ½ c raisins, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ c melted shortening, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1/3 c sugar, 1 c white or wheat flour, 1 c rolled oats.
Melt the shortening. Make your “egg”. Mix “egg”, milk, raisins and shortening. Stir in remaining ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fill muffin cups ¾ full or mason jars just over half full. Bake until browned.

Wheat Muffins makes 12 muffins.
2 c wheat flour, ½ c melted shortening, 1 c sugar (or brown sugar), 1 “egg”, ¼ tsp salt,1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp baking soda, 3/4 c water, 1/3 c dry milk, ¼ c raisins.
Melt shortening. Make your “egg”. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix liquid ingredients, raisins and “egg” and pour over the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spoon into greased muffin tins or fill mason jars to just over half full. Bake until browned.

Whole Wheat Bread makes one loaf or 3-4 pints.
2 tsp yeast, 1 c water, 3 c wheat flour, 1 ½ tsp salt, 2 Tb applesauce or shortening, ¼ c sugar or honey.
Solar oven: Warm ¼ c of the water, stir in the yeast and let it dissolve. Add to yeast mixture: 2 c of the flour, the melted shortening, sugar, salt and the rest of the water in a large bowl. A little at a time, add enough of the rest of the flour, kneading until smooth and elastic. Cover the bread and let it rise until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, place into a greased pan or jars, cover and let it rise again until doubled. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until browned. For a regular oven, bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

365 Loaves of Bread Whole Wheat Bread - 1 loaf per day - Total for One Year
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2 c wheat (3 c flour) x 365=730 c (12 c / #10 can)
61 #10 cans white wheat
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1 c water x 365 = 365 c (16 c / gal)
23 gal of water
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1 ½ tsp salt x 365=547 tsp (117 tsp/container)
4 2/3 containers of salt
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2 Tb melted shortening x 365=730 Tb (17 Tb/c, 2 ¼ c/#)
19 # shortening
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¼ c sugar x 365=91 c (2 c=1#)
46# of sugar
Or
1/4 c honey=91 c (13 oz=1c=74# honey)
74 # honey
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2 tsp yeast x 365=730 tsp=243 Tb (48 Tb/#)
5# of yeast
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Follow instructions for whole wheat bread.