Cooking and baking, and all manner of food preparation, depends on starting with good, high–quality ingredients. If these are combined in ways that respect the basic properties of the individual foods, nearly any recipe can be adapted to accomodate any diet, favorite foods, allergies, or other dietary restrictions. Cooking, like chemistry, gives poor results when ingredient quality is poor, or ingredients are combined in the wrong proportions.
As has already been discussed, in the section on organic foods, the best ingredients are fresh, whole foods, organically grown, in well–mineralized soil, and processed as little as possible. Pesticides and other agricultural chemicals detract from the flavor of the food as they raise your risk of many of the health problems now rampant in the developed world, including cancer and heart disease. By contrast, the rich, re–mineralized soil of a biodynamic farm produces meat and produce that is as rich in flavor as it is in nutritional value.
Watch this space for an upcoming informational section on the best way to keep and store ingredients for optimal quality. Many foods lose 40 to 60% of their flavor if stored incorrectly, as well as going bad remarkably quickly, several times faster than if stored correctly.
Choose stone–ground whole–grain flours, or buy whole grains and grind the flour fresh for each day or each dish, if you have the luxury of having the time and equipment to do so. Select unfiltered, uncooked honey, if you can get it, and cold–pressed, unrefined, unbleached oils. Keep any oil or fat–containing ingredients (this includes whole grains, whole grain flours, oils, nuts, seeds, etc.) in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, or other cold-storage, and use within a short period of time, to prevent the oils from going rancid; rancid oils are not only unpleasant, but a health hazard, as well.
When baking, remember that there are only two ingredients that are actually essential – grain, and liquid. The history of bread begins with a simple unleavened loaf, and these can be surprisingly good.
If you have the chance, someday, treat yourself to a simple loaf of freshly ground grain, mixed with water, and baked in the sun. For an extra touch of chewy sweetness that my 2–year–old daughter loves, start with whole grain (of your choice), and sprout it until the little white root is the same length as the grain, then rinse and grind it until it is roughly the same consistency as hamburger. Shape the resulting dough into loaves, then bake slowly in a solar oven, on a flat rock or ceramic baking dish in the sun, or in a slow oven at around 250 degrees Farenheit, for about 2 1/2 hours. This bread can be stiffened with a little extra flour, but the original form is one of the oldest known recipes, and may be found in the Bible, as the bread of the Essenes.
Once you've seen how simple bread can be, it's easier to accept how simple it can be to adapt your favorite recipes to meet any dietary restrictions or needs.
