Peeta's Raisin and Nut Bread - The Hunger Games

My sleep schedule has been way off lately! This is why I do like having classes during summer. When I have nothing to do, I tend to sleep late catching up on lost TV and movie time. Yesterday, I actually caught up on Love in the Wild and Smash! I love reality shows and shows that pertain to talent and broadway. *Ahem, Glee*! I guess you could say I've been on a late night baker's schedule? I sleep at around 6am and wake up way too late. But there are upsides to it! Like this bread that I made!

When anyone thinks of food from The Hunger Games, it's usually either the Katniss' favorite lamb stew from the Capitol or some kind of bread.  Bread it is! Haha! I'll try to make the lamb stew some time in the future! 

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This bread that I made today was the raisin and nut bread that Peeta burned and tossed at Katniss that eventually saved her life. This act of kindness that Peeta showed towards Katniss gave her the sense of hope and the willingness to continue living and make her life better. 

The version I made of his bread was a bit dense...i'm still thinking about what it was from, possibly the oatmeal I added. Maybe it was because I cheated on the rising time? (*most likely) Ahh, the curses of being an amateur baker; you don't know what you're doing wrong! I used half white flour and half whole wheat flour. I didn't have any raisins on hand so I used dried cranberries and dates instead. Additionally, I added a bit of orange zest for an extra zing. It's not exactly like the book describes it, but I wanted to make something that my whole family would eat! This is definitely a hearty bread! It's full of protein and fiber! It actually tasted great! The dates and cranberries added a lot of sweetness.

The next time I make this, I will try to make it a more slender loaf. I'll also try to let the dough rise a lot longer, maybe 5-8 hours. I've been too impatient lately, but I'll make sacrifices to make good bread!

Peeta's Raisin and Nut Bread

Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked oats

1 cup water

1 tsp white sugar

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup raisins, or dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Cook oatmeal until done, about 3 minutes.
2. Proof the yeast: Dissolve sugar in warmed water. Add yeast to mixture. You know your yeast is active if it forms bubbles. 
3. Mix cooked oats, vegetable oil, honey, salt, dates, raisins, and walnuts into the yeast mixture.
4. Sift together whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.
5. Combine flour and yeast mixture until well incorporated.
6. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth.
7. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover loosely. Set in a warm place and let rise for around 2 hours.
8. Punch dough down and divide into 2.
9. Form long loaves and dust with flour. Place on a dusted cookie sheet. Cover loosely and let rise for another 2 hours. 
10. Preheat oven to 400F
11. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until loaves are a nice brown color.

Peeta's Raisin and Nut Bread Slices!

District 11 Bread - The Hunger Games

District 11 Bread

Hello! So as promised, I made District 11 bread! Their main industry is agriculture and you can tell because of the descriptions of the fields of crops, orchards, and dairy cattle that are in the book. They produce all the crops that go to the capitol. District 11's bread is described as a crescent-shaped roll made from a dark ration grain that's sprinkled with seeds. Naturally, I thought of sunflower seeds since there are fields of wildflowers spread throughout the district. District 11's bread plays a huge significance in the first book, although it's not prevalent in the movie adaptation.

For the bread, I used part rye flour and part whole wheat flour to give the bread a characteristic dark shade.  I incorporated seeds on both the inside and the outside of the bread. The bread was very sticky, so I had to add a lot of extra flour when kneading. It will take a bit longer to rise because rye flour has a very low gluten content, hence me adding whole wheat flour along with it. I also used agave nectar instead of the honey. While making the bread, I kept thinking about nutrition since most of my family members are trying to eat healthier. Therefore, I tried to make it as healthy as I could. It's a huge list of ingredients, but the end results are amazing! They were a little dense, but they were still good! Would be a great dinner roll, especially since it's such a hearty loaf! I adapted this recipe from Pippis in the Kitchen Again.

District 11 Crescent Rolls:
Yields approx 17 rolls

Ingredients:
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup milk

2 1/3 cup warm water
1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp honey, or agave nectar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups rye flour
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp ground flax seed

1 egg (egg wash)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp flax seeds

Directions:

1. Cook the oatmeal in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Let cool. Mix in milk.
2. Proof the yeast: Dissolve sugar in warmed water. Add yeast to mixture. You know your yeast is active if it forms bubbles.
3. Mix in cooled oatmeal, honey, vegetable oil, and salt once the yeast is proofed.
4. In a separate dish, add whole wheat flour, rye flour, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, and ground flax seeds. Mix together until well combined.
5. Mix in flour mixture to yeast mixture 1 cup at a time until all the flour mixture is well incorporated.
6. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth. This might take a bit more flour than anticipated.
7. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover loosely. Set in a warm place and let rise until doubled, around 1 1/2 hours.
8. Punch dough down and let rise for another 30 min.
9. Preheat oven to 375F.
10. Punch dough down again and divide into even pieces. Form each piece into a triangle and roll into a crescent shape. Start from the wide end and roll towards the tip.
11. Cover loosely and let rise for another 15 min.
12. Brush egg wash onto each roll and cover with a combination of sunflower, poppy, and flax seeds.
13. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown, rotate half way through.
14. Remove and let cool for 5 min, then transfer to a cooling rack.

District 11 Bread, sprinkled with seeds!