Rez Bread

[srhcb]

Rez Bread

My friend Big Lou, who pays an visit to my shop early most mornings for coffee and the latest gossip, is a member of the White Earth band of the Ojibway/Chippewa American Indian tribe. Although he's never lived on the reservation, at one-half blood he's a legal member of the band and entitled to their hunting, fishing and wild ricing rights.

One of the other benefits available through the tribal government is access to commodities through the USDA food assistance programs. Every time Lou visits his relatives on "The Rez" they send him home with far more food than he can use. Last week, for instance, he brought flour, corn meal, raisins and a Trial Mix consisting primarily of chopped dates and walnuts.

I try and come up with recipes using as many of the surplus commodities as possible. In the spirit in which the government made the food available, I always bring a sample for Big Lou. We hope to develop enough recipes to make up a small cookbook to distribute on the reservations.

Using a quick bread recipe named from “The Bread Book” by Betsy Oppeneer called "Vi's Brown Bread", (after her MIL), I came up with this recipe:

REZ BREAD (* indicates USDA Commodity)

• 1 c Raisins*
  
• 2-1/4 c Hot Coffee
  
• 1-1/2 c Sugar
  
• 3 T Butter (room temp)
  
• 2 Eggs (or 4 Tbl Dried Egg Mixture* + 6 Tbl Water)
  
• 2 T Molasses (or 2 Tbl Corn Syrup*)
  
• 2/3 c Milk (or 3 Tbl Dried Milk Powder* + 1/2 Cup 2Tbl Water)
  
• 1-1/2 tsp Vanilla
  
• 3-1/4 c AP Flour* (or substitute 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour*)
  
• 1/2 c Corn Meal*
  
• 1-1/2 tsp Salt
  
• 1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  
• 2 c USDA Trail Mix* (or any dried fruit and nut mixture)
  

In a Large Bowl, Soak Raisins in Hot Coffee about 30 min, unitl lukewarm

Preheat Oven to 350, Grease two 8.5 x 4.25 Pans

Add Sugar, Butter, Eggs, Molasses, Milk and Vanilla with Raisin/Coffee mixture. Mix Well.

In Medium Bowl Whisk together Flour, Corn Meal, Salt, Baking Soda and Trail Mix.

Add Flour mixture to Raisin Mixture all at once and Stir until just combined.

Spoon Batter into Prepared Pans.

Bake for 1 - 1 hr 15 min. (toothpick test or 190 degrees)

Cool in Pans for 10 min.

Remove from Pans and wrap in Foil, let set overnight

SB (it's a VERY hearty bread)

Keywords: Bread, Intermediate

( RG1663 )