I've really enjoyed milking our lovely goat ladies and have been drinking the delicious milk as well as making simple cheese. I have to digress here just for a moment. Many people I've talked to give me a funny look when I tell them we drink goats milk. They seem to think it has this horrible goaty flavor. It doesn't. Even Mountain Man was slightly skeptical until he tried it, but his first remark was "it doesn't taste any different than store bought! Just richer!" I couldn't help but laugh at him as I'm not sure how many times I assured him that it wouldn't taste any different but I guess he just didn't believe me. I can understand where some of this skepticism comes from, if you have ever purchased goats milk in a store you may have been turned off. The flavor is completely different than what we have in our fridge.
Despite our joy at having fresh milk every day one of the problems I've run into is what to do with all the leftover whey from cheese making. I just can't stand the thought of throwing it out and so have embarked on a quest to discover all the 'wheys' it can be used. This is how I discovered the wonderful bread I can't seem to stop eating. Basically all I did was take my own bread recipe and modify it a bit. The results have been nothing short of amazing. Of course you can make this bread without the whey but it just won't have the same texture
Whey Out Bread (Makes 3 loaves)
3 cups warm whey (I usually make bread just after making cheese but you could just heat it on the stove)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yeast
Allow this to rest 10 minutes.
All nice and bubbly!
Then add:
2 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Stir together well.
Now add 5 cups whole wheat flour. I usually add the first 4 cups rather quickly or even all together and then take my time adding the rest.
Once the whole wheat flour is incorporated it is time to add the white flour. It usually takes about 3 cups give or take a bit to make the dough just perfect. Once it gets too hard to mix with a spoon it is time to wash your hands remove your jewelry and get them into the mix. You want to keep mixing and adding flour until it doesn't stick to your hands any more. Then kneed for at least 10 minutes. Allow to rise covered in a warm place until about double in size then split into three pieces and form into loaves.
Allow these to rise until the height you would like and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes depending on your oven. Since I bake in a wood stove the oven temperature is never exactly the same so I use the knock knock method to know when it is done. Bread that is fully cooked will sound hollow when you knock on it with your knuckles.
Stir together well.
Now add 5 cups whole wheat flour. I usually add the first 4 cups rather quickly or even all together and then take my time adding the rest.
It may not look like much now but you just wait!
Once the whole wheat flour is incorporated it is time to add the white flour. It usually takes about 3 cups give or take a bit to make the dough just perfect. Once it gets too hard to mix with a spoon it is time to wash your hands remove your jewelry and get them into the mix. You want to keep mixing and adding flour until it doesn't stick to your hands any more. Then kneed for at least 10 minutes. Allow to rise covered in a warm place until about double in size then split into three pieces and form into loaves.
My dough never looks perfect. I'm getting used to the fact that I will never be a baker but the flavors are amazing so who cares?
Allow these to rise until the height you would like and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes depending on your oven. Since I bake in a wood stove the oven temperature is never exactly the same so I use the knock knock method to know when it is done. Bread that is fully cooked will sound hollow when you knock on it with your knuckles.
All done! You can see the one on the right got a little be more brown than I would have liked but my oven heat is a bit uneven.
Once I tasted it I was hooked. The flavor is wonderful and the texture is amazing. It hardly crumbles at all! I just can't stop eating it and I've probably gained a couple pounds.... Now I am off to discover just how many uses for whey there really is. I think I may have to can this stuff so I never run out!
