gldno1- Here's the 100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe. It's designed to be made in a bread machine, but it can be made by hand. I have to give my friend, Mildred from Missouri, the credit for this great recipe. 100% Whole Wheat Bread Bread Machine (changes for by-hand at the bottom of the recipe) Sponge: 3/4 c. lukewarm buttermilk (I use homemade kefir.) 3/4 c. lukewarm water 2-1/2 c. freshly-milled white whole wheat flour (Prairie Gold from Wheat Montana is my favorite wheat variety) 1/4 t. ascorbic acid* 2 t. SAF-Instant Yeast Mix these ingredients in the bread machine pan and set the machine to QUICK DOUGH. As soon as the mixture is well mixed, stop and unplug the machine and allow to sit (with the lid closed) at least 2-1/2 hours, or up to 12 hours (or something in between). I'd suggest at least 12 hours if you are using a whole wheat flour milled from red wheat varieties, for a more mild flavor. After the sponge has set, mix these ingredients into the sponge: 2 T. melted coconut oil (or butter or veg. oil) 2 T. agave nectar (or honey) 1 egg (I also add 1/3-1/2 c. chia seed gel. **) Add to the top of the sponge mixture in the pan: 2-1/4 c. freshly-milled whole wheat flour 2 t. salt (on top the flour) Set the bread machine on regular DOUGH cycle and process. Check the dough to make sure it's formed into a nice soft ball and adjust the hydration as needed. My changes: I process the dough in the bread machine until the dough is mixed and kneaded. I don't let it rise in the machine. I place the dough in a dough rising bucket, place the lid on the top and allow the dough to ALMOST rise to double. Whole wheat dough does NOT have the extensibility that white bread dough does, so try not to let it go more than double. Using a dough rising bucket helps you to accurately judge when dough has doubled. Place the dough into a dough rising bucket. It should come up to the 1-quart line. It's doubled when it reaches the 2-quart line. You can get plastic food storage containers (with a tight-fitting lid and graduated measures on the side) at restaurant supply stores (or through King Arthur Flour - aka dough doubler). For this recipe a 2-quart container works perfectly.) After the bread machine finishes the dough cycle (or has doubled in the dough rising bucket), dump the dough onto a Silpat and with oiled/greased hands deflate the dough by pushing it in the middle with your fist then drawing all edges of the outside dough into the middle (turning the dough inside-out, so to speak). Divide the dough into portions (I scale the dough for accuracy.) Round each portion (make it into a smooth ball) so that all the gluten strands are going into the same direction. Cover and allow to rest 10-15 minutes so the gluten relaxes. Form dough (oil your hands when you handle the dough), pan, cover with plastic wrap for the final proofing - etc.... I make this bread into 3 small loaves (7-1/2x3-1/2-inch pans - 350°F for 20-25 minutes), OR one 1# Pullman Loaf and use the other 1# of dough for 6 pecan rolls OR an 8-inch pan of dinner rolls - sometimes I use a portion of the recipe for hamburger or hot dog buns. If making two regular loaves, bake in a 375°F oven for 25-minutes. A very versitile dough. ------------------------------------------------------ * ascorbic acid powder is available at most health food stores. It's a very important ingredient when you make yeast bread that includes wheat germ (which is in whole wheat flour). There is a substance in wheat germ called Glutathione. This substance breaks down the gluten and can result in a short loaf. The bran in whole wheat bread can cut the gluten strands, which results in a short squatty loaf. The sponge helps to soften the bran. The addition of 1/8 t. ascorbic acid per loaf of bread will counteract the negative effects of Glutathione. It will help prevent the gluten bonds from breaking down and will also help repair gluten bonds that have been broken. The ascorbic acid also helps sustain the leavening of bread loaves during baking. Yeast grows longer and faster when there is also ascorbic acid. Do not add it to sourdough recipes because they are naturally an acidic atmosphere. ** Chia seed gel is a mixture of chia seeds and water (1 part chia seeds to 9 parts water). This mixture thickens as the seeds absorb the water and adds hydration to the crumb of the loaf. It looks like poppy seeds in the bread after it's baked. Excellent nutritional boost and additional fiber. --------------------------------------------------------- BY HAND, place sponge ingredients in a glass or plastic bowl and mix the sponge ingredients together with a Danish dough whisk or a wooden spoon and beat the ingredients about 100 strokes. Cover, and allow to sit at room temperature at least 2-1/2 hours, but up to 12 hours. After the sponge is done: add the flour gradually to the sponge mixture using a Danish dough whisk (or wooden spoon) and carefully beat in each addition of flour before adding more. You may end up beating the dough 500-800 strokes, but do as much mixing as you have the strength to do. If you need to stop and rest, that's fine. The rest will allow the dough to hydrate. Towards the end of mixing, add the salt (DON'T FORGET!!!). The gluten will tighten up and make mixing harder after adding salt. The better job you do of mixing the dough and developing the gluten while it's in the bowl, the less time you'll need to knead it. When you knead the dough, avoid adding a lot of bench flour. If you have a problem adding too much flour during kneading, grease/oil your hands during kneading instead - especially during the last 2-3 minutes of kneading. -Grainlady

loves2cook4six - In that case, I'd look for bread recipes made with bakers' yeast that are designed specifically for low-sodium; ones that give you a nutritional break down (especially the amount of sodium per serving) rather than altering recipes. Those recipes have probably been tested for success. If you've ever developed recipes (which I've done) you'd better know a lot about the science of the ingredients so when you remove something, what must you add or alter.... There is usually a ratio of 1 teaspoon salt per tablespoon of yeast. One to two tablespoons of dry yeast are needed to rise 6-8 cups of flour. You'll also find naturally-leavened (aka sourdough breads) will make up very well without the addition of salt, or only a very small amount of salt. I have a 95-year old friend who makes salt-free sourdough bread every couple weeks. Recipes that use a sponge method also work better for making low-sodium breads. When we make bread using a straight or direct-mix method, salt plays a big part in regulating the yeast because this type of bread method is designed for speed. Naturally-leavened breads and sponge method take more time to make, however. Be sure to figure out how much sodium per bread serving you are getting, rather than a total elimination of all salt in the bread. After all, you're not eating a whole loaf. A quick and easy way to reduce sodium is to make two or three small loaves, rather than one large loaf. Small loaves can easily be cut into very thin slices (weighing 1/4-3/4 oz. per slice, so instead of getting 16-20 slices per recipe, you may get at least double, or more, than that. Salt isn't the only sodium-contributing food we consume - it's just one of the easiest to over-use. Everyone NEEDS some sodium. "It's important in maintaining the body's ability to regulate acid-base balance, transmit nerve impulses, regulate cell membrane function and muscle activity, and absorb and transport certain nutrients." People rarely consider how much sodium is in their tap water, for instance. In most instances 1/2 to 3/4 t. salt per loaf of bread is not enough to add significantly to dietary salt intake. Remove all the salt and then you'll have to watch the rise of the dough VERY carefully because it will quickly over-proof if you follow "normal" times. A high amount of sugar in a recipe will also slow down the yeast activity. In doughs with high ratios of sugar to flour, osmotic tolerance is low because the amount of available water in the dough is limited for the yeast to work. Too much sugar will draw water from the yeast and inhibit its growth. Two tablespoons of sugar per cup of flour is the maximum that you can add without major gluten damage. It also takes much longer to develop gluten in doughs with a high ratio of sugar, so expect to knead it about double the amount of time you would in order to develop the gluten. -Grainlady

OK, I've only skimmed the other responses, so forgive me if I repeat what has been said umpteem times already. As one who suffered from yeast infections in the past, and as one who used to work for OB/GYNs, I can tell you this... We all have a certain amount of "healthy" bacteria in our bodies that we need in order to maintain balance. When we take antibiotics to combat an infection - e.g., sinus infection, a cut that becomes infected, etc., the antibiotic will kill off the bad bacteria, but it will also kill off the "good" bacteria. Without the "good" bacteria, the yeast in our systems will continue to grow, unchecked. It's when we get an overgrowth of that yeast that we women end up with a yeast infection. Anyone who has had one knows that feeling where you could kill for a bottlebrush! Anyway, yes, drinking milk or yogurt with acidophillus, or taking acidophillus pills, will help prevent a yeast infection, but when you already have a raging yeast infection you need to "attack from a different direction." It used to be that the only way you could get the medication was to go to a doctor for an exam and a prescription. For many years now, the medication has been available "over the counter." The most widely used and known medication is Monistat. Years ago you could only get it as a cream, and you had to apply one applicator full each night for 7 nights. Now, however, you can get a prefilled applicator for a one-time dose. You can also get it in a large tablet (also applied intravaginally) for a one-time use. You can also get the cream for a 3-night course of therapy, if you feel that might be better. So, my advice to Lydia, especially since you say your insurance won't cover any of the stuff the doc wants to do, is to go to the store right now and buy the Monistat. You can find it in grocery stores, in the same section where they have bandaids and stuff like that. Depending on which package you buy, it might cost as much as $25, but that's a whole heck of a lot less than what you're looking at with the tests your doctor wants to do. By the way, babies get yeast infections in their mouths. It's called Thrush.

Re-post the info. I posted in June. Today Old Port is a BS-fest & doing nothing as of today, August 30. Last month I scraped off red-lava-rock, and replaced with horse manure plus high-phosphorus NPK 4-10-7 (blood meal, fish bone meal, sulfate of potash, and kelp meal) . I should had done what I did in spring: chicken manure NPK 5-3-2, plus red-lava-rock for potassium. Lesson learned, I find that minerals (in rock dust, or Azomite, or red lava rock) is great to INCREASE the yield in crops. The problem with MG-potting soil is it's not rich in minerals like clay or rock dust. Here's an excerpt from below link: http://remineralize.org/2007/11/soil-remineralization-and-the-climate/ " Remineralization also enhances and speeds up the process of composting, so if you are composting for your garden, consider putting on some rock dust. Remineralizing by adding rock dust to compost is a very practical way to apply it to soils. For Forests The results of long term experiments released in 1986 showed that in a forest where pine seedlings were remineralized, after 24 years the wood volume was four times higher than in the untreated area. Remineralization trials of a dying forest on Mt. Mitchell by Dr. Robert Bruck, Ph.D., showed that twelve weeks after application of rock dust, height of growth of red spruce was increased by 27% over non-treated controls, and height growth of Fraser fir was 19% greater than the untreated controls. (Forestry Research packet) The Men of Trees organization in Australia is doing remineralization trials with many species of trees in Australia with phenomenal results, such as five times the growth of trees seedlings of one variety of eucalyptus, over the untreated controls. (See Forestry Research packet) For Agriculture The best source of soil minerals is simple crushed gravel dust. In 1976 John Hamaker spread gravel crusher screenings on part of his ten acres in Michigan. The following year, in an area of sparse rainfalls and dry summers, with no irrigation, his corn produced 65 bushels per acre, compared to yields of under 25 from other local farms. Moreover, when independent analyses were done, Hamaker’s corn was found to contain 28% more protein, 47% more calcium, 57% more phosphorus, 60% more magnesium and 90% more potassium than the same type of corn grown with chemical fertilizers nearby. - See more at: http://remineralize.org/2007/11/soil-remineralization-and-the-climate/#sthash.3RNlqfTo.dpuf Here's the result of my top-dressing Old Port with red-lava-rock, the free-sown snapdragons go beserk. Old Port got winter-killed to 4 inch. tall early April. Pic. taken June 8: