Ezekiel Bread - A Loaf of Biblical Proportions

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My curiosity led me to this bread. It gets its name from a passage in the Book of Ezekiel (4:9). To the best of my knowledge, it's the only place in either the Old or New Testament where a recipe, at least a recipe of sorts, is given. The exhortation is meant for the Israelites who will be in exile for 390 days. The recipe is for a bread intended to help them survive famine and the rigors of life in the diaspora. While it is not particularly tasty, the combination of grains used to make the bread, combine to make a complete protein that satisfies all the body's nutritional requirements. It was the original survival bread and it came from a prophet who recommended cooking it over a dung fire. Every word of this is true. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

"But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days."

I suspect only a few of you will be tempted to make the bread, but it has a history I thought all of you might fine interesting. I don't recommend this bread for beginning bakers. The dough is tricky to work with and the bread is not to everyone's liking. My beloved's comment on sampling it was, "Nutritious." That is the kiss of death around here. I know from experience he won't take another bite. Here's the recipe.

Ezekiel's Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Food.com

Ingredients:

4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 tablespoon honey

8 cups wheat flour, finely ground

4 cups barley flour, finely ground

1/2 cup millet flour, finely ground

1/4 cup rye flour, finely ground

2 cup cooked lentils, mashed

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon salt

4-6 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1) In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water to which honey has been added. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2) Combine wheat, barley, millet and rye flour in a separate bowl. Set aside.

3) Place lentils, oil and 1/2 cup water in a blender. Puree mixture. Place puree into a large mixing bowl along with remaining 1 cup water. Stir in yeast mixture and salt. Beat in 2 cups of flour mixture. When smooth stir in remaining flour mixture.

4) Place on a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl. Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Knead again and shape into 4 loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and let rise again until double, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Yield: 4 loaves.