Below is what a typical four-hour class includes.  I provide the baking equipment and supplies to make two quick breads and 2 to 4 kinds of chips and crackers (this depends on oven space).  We can make it a potluck lunch if held mid-day.

This 4-hour class costs $200 at my home for up to ten students, and the same price at your home if you live within half an hour of Oakland.

Audubon Canyon Ranch, Bolinas, CA

Saturday, January 26th, 2013  10 AM –  2 PM  Volunteer Canyon, MGP

Alice Friedemann

The first 10-30 minutes or so, depending on interest and questions, I’ll devote to simple grain, lentil, split pea, brown / wild rice, and seed mixes you can make at home, where to find unusual flour and grains, and how you can easily mill your own fresh flour at home without an expensive flour mill to make whole grain chips or crackers.

We’ll have a light lunch of whatever crackers and flat breads we make for lunch, augmented with fruit, vegetables, cheese, and dips (like hummus, guacamole, etc).  I’ll bring some extras, feel free to do so as well.

What we’ll make

Chips and crackers

Then we’ll make delicious and healthy whole grain corn chips, curry papadam chips, cheddar chips, pine nut crackers and some dessert sugar-free diet ginger ale crackers. You can make these for about 25 cents – up to 30 times cheaper than store-bought.

They’re more than snacks or appetizers, I crumble them on salads as croutons, on top of soups and stews, and I have dessert crackers — thin cookies — that are delicious and a lot better for you than store bought.

Simple recipes can be in the oven within 5 minutes, baking away while you do other things.

Really quick Quick Breads

No recipe required!  Just use up what you’ve got on hand — fruit, onions, vegetables, tomatoes, nuts, seeds, eggs, milk, cheese — just about anything.  Traditional quick breads in 5 x 9 pans take 70 minutes — the same recipe made with my method takes 25 minutes or less (see photo below — it’s flat, so it takes less time, and it looks great).

I make a fruit quick bread for breakfast quite often that’s mostly fruit with just a bit of multi-grain and almond flour ands eggs holding it all together.  I top this with a big dollop of yogurt, and bake the bread so I can spend time with everyone else instead of slaving over the stove while they’re laughing and talking in the dining room.

I also bake quick savory breads that are great as side dishes, or even the main course.  I can always make one of these and avoid going to the store, because between the pantry, my garden, and what’s left in the refrigerator, there are always endless possibilities.

You can invent with what you’ve got on hand, or turn any quick bread recipe into a flat bread recipe that bakes in 25 minutes instead of 70-80 minutes.  We’ll make a savory broccoli onion flat bread or cheddar green onion cornbread, and a breakfast/brunch fruit and nut flat bread.

I love making whole wheat bread in my bread machine, but that takes a minimum of 5 hours.  I can whip out a quick bread anytime with any fresh and/or dried fruit, vegetable, nut, water or milk, and I often make them as a side dish for the main course, or a healthy lunch or breakfast.

Leftovers

If there are leftovers, you can either take them home in plastic sandwich bags, or in your own sealed glass or plastic containers (best for long-term storage of chips & crackers, they’ll go stale in a paper bag or cardboard container).

Short hike?

If we finish early we can walk off some of the calories afterwards!