Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
One of my favorite childhood stories is that of The Little Red Hen. This is not only a good story, but has some valuable lessons in it. The story goes
“Once upon a time there was a little red hen who lived with her friends, the cow, the horse, and the cat. In the springtime the flowers were blossoming, the leaves were appearing on the trees once more, and the farmers were busy planting their fields. The little red hen was delighted to find some seeds of wheat and she hurried home to show them to her friends.
The little red hen said, “Who will help me plant the wheat?”
“Moo. Not I,” said the cow.
“Neigh. Not I,” said the horse.
“Meow. Not I,” said the kitty cat.
So the little red hen said, “Then I will plant the seeds of wheat all by myself.” And so she planted the seeds of wheat.
In the summertime, the sun glowed bright and hot, the fields and gardens were growing and growing, and everywhere was green. The wheat grew tall and golden in the sun, and the little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me cut the wheat?”
“Moo. Not I,” said the cow.
“Neigh. Not I,” said the horse.
“Meow. Not I,” said the kitty cat.
So the little red hen said, “Then I will cut the wheat all by myself.” And so she cut the stalks of wheat.
In the autumn, the days grew cooler, the leaves turned beautiful shades of red and orange, gold and brown, and the farmers were busy bringing in the harvest. The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me take the wheat to the mill?”
“Moo. Not I,” said the cow.
“Neigh. Not I,” said the horse.
“Meow. Not I,” said the kitty cat.
So the little red hen said, “Then I will take the wheat to the mill all by myself.” And so she took the wheat to the mill. The miller ground the wheat into flour, and then the little red hen brought the big bags of flour back home.
In the winter the snow fell and the days were short and very cold. The little red hen asked her friends, “Who will help me bake the bread?”
“Moo. Not I,” said the cow.
“Neigh. Not I,” said the horse.
“Meow. Not I,” said the kitty cat.
So the little red hen said, “Then I will bake the bread all by myself.” And so she took the flour, mixed it and kneaded it and put it in the oven. And while the bread was baking, it smelled wonderful! The cow and the horse and the cat came running when they smelled that fresh bread.
The little red hen took the bread out of the oven and asked her friends, “Who will help me eat the bread?”
“Moo. I will!” said the cow.
“Neigh. I will!” said the horse.
“Meow. I will!” said the kitty cat.
But the little red hen said, “Oh, no, no, no! I planted the seeds of wheat, I cut the wheat, I took the wheat to the mill and brought home the flour, and I baked the bread, all by myself. Now I will eat the bread – all by myself!” And so she did, and it was delicious!”
The following recipe some say is how the little red hen made her bread …
Little Red Hen Honey Wheat Bread
2 tbsp. white sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup water (may not be needed)
1 egg, beaten
1. In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar into the warm water. Make sure the water is tepid-warm, not hot, not cool. Stir in the yeast and let it sit until it appears creamy and bubbly, about ten minutes. (This is called “blooming the yeast,” by the way, and what it does is wake up the freeze-dried yeast so it starts to make bubbles. Skip this step and you have flatbread, which is all well and good, but not really what we’re after here.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the milk, vegetable oil, whole wheat flour, 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the salt, and the honey. Mix well.
3. Add in the remaining flour, half a cup at a time. If the mixture is crumbly and will not hold together, add the water a little at a time until it forms a ball. You don’t want sticky, but you don’t want it to crumble, either.
4. Either use an electric mixer’s dough hook for about 5 minutes OR turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic-y, about ten minutes.
5. Oil or no-stick-spray a large bowl and place the dough in, turning it over so it gets oil on all sides. Put the bowl in a warm place and cover it with a slightly-damp cloth for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in volume. (Note: the oil and the damp cloth keep the dough from drying out on the outside. The world won’t end if you skip this, but it tastes better if you don’t.)
6. Grease a loaf pan. Place the dough on a lightly-floured surface and punch it down. Form it into a loaf and set it in the pan, covering again with a damp cloth to let it rise for another 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 so it’s ready when your dough is done rising.
7. Brush the loaf with the egg (this will help it to brown – butter would also work). Bake it for 30 minutes, covering with tinfoil mid-way through if the top is getting too brown.
8. Let the loaf rest for a few minutes before cutting into it, as it may otherwise not set right.
This bread is pretty tasty as-is, but if you want to sprinkle, say, some sesame seeds on top before baking, that would be a nice addition as well. You can also use this dough to make rolls, which would be nice,
Did you know:
The Scripture, tells us in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3:10 “when we were with you, we gave you this rule: if a man will not work, he shall not eat. ‘ And then scripture goes on to say ‘we hear that some among you are idle’ …
Are you like The little Red Hen? What do you think of the cat, dog and bull? Do you like to make homemade bread? Let me know and I will give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
