Time to combine your baking hat with thinking cap and put together you prefect bread recipe: King Arthur Flour, Fleischmann’s Yeast and Kansas Wheat Commission are co-sponsoring the 2011 National Festival of Breads competition, which seeks the best yeast bread recipes from home bakers throughout the United States. The competition is open to home bakers ages 18 and up from all over the nation.

Beginning Sept. 1, 2010, amateur bakers can submit original recipes for Ethnic Breads, Rolls, Time-Saving and Easy Breads, and Whole Grain Breads, to NationalFestivalofBreads.com. A secure, easy-to-use form is available for bakers to enter recipes online; submissions will not be accepted by mail, fax, e-mail or phone. The deadline for entries is Feb. 7, 2011.

Judges will vet all entries and select eight finalists, each of whom will receive airfare to and accommodations in Wichita, to participate in national competition events June 23-25, 2011. In addition, each finalist will receive a $500 cash award, participate in a Wheat Harvest Tour to a working Kansas wheat farm, flour mill and grain elevator, and take part in other activities.

Judges will evaluate the finalists’ yeast bread entries based on taste, originality, ease of preparation, healthfulness and appearance. One Grand Prize Winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to a baking class of his or her choice at the King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vt., a year’s supply of Fleischmann’s Yeast, plus $2,000 cash.

Find out more about the competition.

Sorry for the late announcement of the recipe contest result. Due to the large number of recipes that we received it was very difficult to choose just one winner. The entire recipes were wonderful and I would like to thank everyone for the support and the recipes. This post is all about the winner recipe. The winner gets free powerful, convenient  L’Equip Stick Blender.

The winning recipe is Crab Stuffed Trout and the winner is Thelma Babin. Congratulation Thelma. Your new stick blender should be arriving shortly after you send me an email at chandani AT kitchenresouce DOT com to confirm your mailing address. And here is the recipe for everyone else to enjoy.

As I haven’t included image of this recipe. I would like everyone to try this recipe and upload their picture then I will take the best picture from the bunch to publish in the blog with the recipe.

Crab Stuffed Trout

Preparation Time:1 hour

Servings:12

Ingredients:

• 12 Trout Fillets

Fish Glaze:

• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons Italian Dressing
• 1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard

Crab Filling:

• 1 cup yellow onion
• 1 cup green bell pepper
• 1 cup celery
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 cup Crab Meat
• 1 8 ounce package velvetta cheese

Method:

• Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

• Mix the milk, Italian Salad Dressing and yellow mustard to form the glaze. Baste each filet with glaze. Line the sides of each muffin cup with a fish fillet, making sure to overlap edges of fish. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. This will form a cup for the crab filling. When fish is done, set aside.

• While fish is baking, use a Alligator Chopper with Collector and chop onion, bell pepper and celery.

• Heat Olive oil in 3-quart saucepan and pour chopped vegetables. Sauté 10 minutes. Add crabmeat and cheese and simmer an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

• Mix well, then fill fish cups with crab filling. Bon appetite!

We all have heard of the whole-grain buzz now and again. But along with this buzz comes many questions, questions and more questions. What are considered whole grain? What are different types of whole grain? What is the daily intake quantity? How can I make sure I am getting the whole grain when I am buying my groceries? What are the methods to include it in your diet? What are the recipes using whole grain? How to make it interesting for kids? Etc the question goes on.

In this post I will try to answer some of those questions. The importance and value of leading a healthy life is vital in today’s fast moving world. You are expected to perform more for which you need to be healthy and balanced. For being healthy and balanced you need to eat right and exercise. Whole grains are important part of it.

First question what is whole grain?

Whole grains or foods made from them, contain all three essential parts (Endosperm, Barn and Germ) and all the naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. (www.wholegraincouncil.com)

This remains the same even with the cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded or cooked grain as long as they are not processed to remove any of the nutrient shown in the figure.

What are types of whole grain?

• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Millet
• Quinoa
• Rye
• Teff
• Wild rice
• Wheat
• Barley
• Corn, including whole cornmeal, popcorn
• Oats, including oatmeal
• Rice (brown and colored rice)
• Sorghum
• Triticale

The underlined are gluten free.

The following are not considered whole gain:

• Enriched flour
• Barn
• Germ, wheat germ
• Degerminated
• Pearled barley
• Grits, hominy, farina

What is the daily intake quantity?

According to Whole Grain Council grains listed below with their amount counts as 100% whole grain serving.

1. ½ cup of Pasta
2. ½ cup rice/other grain
3. 1 slice bread
4. 1 cup cold cereal
5. ½ cup hot cereal
6. 1 small bagel, muffin

USDA recommends on eating at least 3 oz of whole grain daily.

How can you be sure you are purchasing whole grain product?

The next question is bit tricky. Even after all this information how will you know if you are getting whole grain or not. You grab a box of serial from convenient store, and you want to get the whole grain. But you don’t have time to go through each and every ingredient. Well I have mentioned Whole Grain Council a lot of time. But trust me guys it is the best source for whole grain. You will find everything you need on their website. As tricky as the question is the answer is simple. For example: if it says Whole (name of grain) or you can look up for the grains that are mentioned above.  Or even easier check for whole grain logo/stamp.

Nowadays people are more aware of the whole grain so nearly all the food provider are including it in their ingredients and most of the times they are listed clearly on the packaging. Most of this information was gathered from Whole Grain council and I would like to thank them for providing it through the website and their seminar.

With all this information about whole grain I am ready to cook something using it. So here is the recipe for whole wheat rolls.

WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS.

Ingredients:
Grind: 9 cups wheat in Nutrimill or Vitalmill on fine.

• 4 Cups milk, warmed
• 1/2 Cup warm water
• 1/2 Cup shortening or cooking oil
• 3/4 Cup honey
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons dry yeast
• 9 Cups whole-wheat flour

Method:

Combine: Milk, water, shortening, honey, salt and eggs in Bosch mixing bowl.

Add: 5 cups whole wheat flour and knead on low speed until well blended.

Add: Dry yeast and blend again. Add remaining 4 cups whole-wheat flour and knead 10 minutes.

Put: Dough in large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk.

Roll: Out dough 1/2″ thick on floured board. Cut with a round cutter for rolls.

Let: Rise until double in bulk.

Bake: 350° for 20 minutes.

Variations:

Crescent rolls: Roll out a circle of dough 12″ in diameter and 1/2″ thick. Cut in pie shaped pieces. Roll from the wide side of wedge in and place on greased baking sheet point placed underneath. Let rise. Then bake.

Cloverleaf rolls: oil muffin tins and then pinch off 1″ size balls of dough, mold until the top is smooth and dip in the oil and turn right side up, Put three into one muffin mold. Let rise. Then bake.

This recipe also makes delicious cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns, pizza dough or Christmas braid.

Click on the image to see the Full image of Blender.

Click RECIPE CONTEST to enter.

I have a special announcement to share with everyone today. As our blog is dedicated to recipe, on the occasion of bringing our blog to you we are running a small recipe competition. We need your help to make this competition a success. So let’s tell everyone about the competition. The prize is as amazing as the competition itself.  It’s a beautiful L’EQUIP stainless steel stick blender with four interchangeable blades that crushes, mixes, chops, blends, whips, purees and minces.

The rules are easy and simple. All you have to do is submit a recipe. Yes it’s as simple as that. Recipe must be original using one of the products sold by Kitchen Resource, LLC and little hint of creativity. Weather you love grilling, baking, slow roast, whatever your specialty is share with us.  You will get a chance to make that blender yours and feature your recipe in our blog with your name. The competition ends Sep.13, 2009.  Winner will be announced on the blog and in dealer convention 2009.

So, what are we all waiting for lets click on the link and take a first step towards making that blender yours.

CONTEST RULES.

It was the Egyptians who discovered how to make yeast-leavened breads between 2,000 and 3,000 B.C. Since wheat is the only grain with sufficient gluten content to make a raised or leavened loaf of bread, wheat quickly became favored over other grains grown at the time, such as oats, millet, rice, and barley. The workers who built the pyramids in Egypt were paid in bread.

In 150 B.C., the first bakers’ guilds were formed in Rome. Roman bakeries produced a variety of breads and distributed free bread to the poor in times of need.

In 1202, England adopted laws to regulate the price of bread and limit bakers’ profits. Many bakers were prosecuted for selling loaves that did not conform to the weights required by local laws. As a result of the bread trials in England in 1266, bakers were ordered to mark each loaf of bread. The bakers’ marks were among the first trademarks.

Wheat is not native to the United States. It was not grown by the colonists because it did not do well in the New England soil and climate. In 1777, wheat was first planted in the United States – as a hobby crop.

There are indications that wheat was produced as early as 1839 in the area that became the state of Kansas. Records on Kansas wheat production pre-date statehood (1861). Production statistics on wheat in Kansas have been published since 1866.

Between 1874 and 1884, 5,000 Russian Mennonites settled in Kansas. They brought with them Turkey Red winter wheat. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture also introduced wheats from eastern Europe in 1900. These wheats from the Russian Mennonites and the USDA provided the basic genetic material for the successful production of hard red winter wheat in the Great Plains. Although most of the early wheats are no longer grown for commercial production, most of the strains of hard red winter wheat grown on the Great Plains prior to 1969 were developed from those early ancestors, first brought to Kansas in 1872.

The invention of the mechanical reaper by Cyrus McCormick in 1831, made it possible to harvest wheat much more efficiently than by hand with scythes or sickles. By hand, farmers could cut only 2 acres of wheat a day. With Cyrus McCormick’s invention of the mechanical reaper, farmers could cut 8 acres a day.

In 1928, the commercial bread slicer was perfected and used for the first time in a commercial bakery at Chillicothe, Missouri. By 1930, sliced bread and the introduction of the automatic toaster had increased consumption of toast at breakfast. But, in 1942 during wartime rationing, the sale of sliced bread was banned in an effort to hold down prices.

Today, wheat is grown on more acres in the United States than any other grain. Between 60 and 63 million acres of wheat are harvested each year in the United States. If all the acres were side by side, the wheat fields would cover more than 100,000 square miles. Today’s modern combines can cut an acre of wheat in 6 minutes or less.

42 states produce wheat, which is divided into 6 different classes in the United States. Soft red winter wheat and soft white wheats are grown east of the Mississippi River. West of the Mississippi, the wheats grown include hard red winter, hard red spring, durum, hard white, and soft white. Soft white wheat is grown in the Pacific Northwest while spring and durum wheats are grown in the Northern Plains.

More foods are made with wheat than any other cereal grain. Wheat contributes between 10-20% of the daily caloric intake in people in over 60 countries. There are more than 1,000 varieties of bread on the market.