Servings: 2 large loaves
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups flour (I used 2 cups white flour and 1 1/2 cups of stone-ground whole wheat)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar or whole sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil (measured as liquid)
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups cooked (mashed) pumpkin

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bread pans with extra coconut oil and flour.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together (the first six). Add remaining ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not overmix. Top loaves with crushed walnuts if desired.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

Recipe submitted by Joleen, West Point, NE.

Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.

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Whole Wheat Bread

Servings: 2 loaves
Preparation Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups warm water*
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup oat bran
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4+ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• butter, as needed

Directions:

Mix water and 2 tablespoons honey together in glass bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the water, then let proof for 10 minutes. Add the rest in order given and mix well. Add more flour as needed, perhaps up to four cups until dough is no longer sticky.

Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.** Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and divide it in half. Let rest 10 minutes.

Shape into loaves and place in greased pans. Let rise until nearly double, about 1 hour. 20 minutes before the loaves are finished rising a second time, set oven to 350 degrees. When they are done rising and oven is at the right temperature, bake for 25–35 minutes or until the bread is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped. Brush the tops of the loaves with butter.

*Usually, I test the water by sticking my finger in it, and if I can just barely leave my finger in the water for 5 seconds, then I know it’s the right temperature.

**The dough is elastic “if you lightly poke your finger in the dough, it pretty much springs back.”

Recipe and photo submitted by Ra’chel, Heredia, Costa Rica.

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Homemade Matzah

Servings: 6 cookie sheets full
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 eggs, (large)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups bread flour*

Directions:

Heat oven 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, honey, salt, eggs, and water. Stir until well mixed, then stir in 4 cups of flour. Mix, add more flour as needed, and knead into a fairly stiff dough. Divide into 3 pieces.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a large rectangle. You can make your matzah as thin or as thick as you want; everyone likes it thick (about as thick as pie crust). Cut rolled dough into squares. (I used a knife, though a pizza cutter would be better if you have one.) Place squares onto baking sheets. Prick with a fork. Sprinkle with salt if desired.

Bake it:

For thin matzah, bake 10–11 minutes. For medium matzah, bake 13–14 minutes. For thick matzah, bake 15–20 minutes or until done. Matzah should be very lightly browned on top. Overbaked matzah will be hard and not very good, so be careful to not bake too long! Removed baked matzah from baking sheet and place on wire rack to cool, covered with a clean towel. Store in an airtight container or bag.

*I used about 1 cup of whole wheat flour in place of one cup of the all-purpose to make it a little healthier. I like it with the whole wheat better. I also used the flour I got from Tropical Traditions to make it! The best I’ve used!

Recipe and photo submitted by Ra’chel, South Whitley, IN.

Sarah’s Notes: Since this is a bread recipe, you can play around with the whole wheat flour amount, using as much or as little as you want. Just keep in mind that the more whole wheat flour you use, the more the water may have to be increased.

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