Chistmas and Winter Baking.

My favorite baked good made with rye is 100% rye muffins. They don't rise as much as wheat, but they are delicious. We use dried blueberries, so they caramelize into nicely sweet tidbits.

Here is the recipe:

Blueberry and Rye Muffinsyields 12 muffins
2 cups Elliott Family Farms Whole Grain Rye Flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon corn starch ( xanthan Gum and / or guar gum may be used )
½  cup of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries dried / fresh/ frozen blueberries


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Combine dry ingredients except the blueberries in a medium bowl.  I combine the wet ingredients separately in another bowl or large or measuring cup, then to the dry and mix until just combined.  Fold in 2 cups of blueberries.  Evenly distribute the batter between the 12 cups in the muffin pan.Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving. 

Pumpkin Bread with Rye

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup of water
3 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of Elliott Family Farms Whole Grain Rye Flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg                                                                     

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves                                                    

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately you should melt the butter and mix it with the wet ingredients. Mix together until blended. Pour equally into 3 7"x3" loaf pans. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean,

 

The rye bread will be quite a bit darker than one made from wheat flour. This is a much cake as it is bread. I will update this with pictures tomorrow, when I start baking for Christmas!

Fall Planting

We plant our small grain in the winter. We raise rye and winter wheat. This years crop looks good and was about 3" tall at the time of this photo in early December.

We plant this crop no till and fertilize in early spring with liquid organic fertilizers. The crop is scouted through out  the growing season for pests and disease. Organic remedies are used for both if necessary.  Incidence of disease in our crops is very low.