Monday, August 17, 2009

JAR BREADS, CAKES, and BROWNIES

This is a recipe for Jar Cakes, Breads, Brownies
(This is MY kind of food storage)
These will actually keep for over a year just on a shelf. The trick is they can NOT be made with eggs. Instead, you use a recipe for an egg replacement with gelatin. You can bake pretty much anything you would normally bake. Some things come out of the jars easily and some things need to be spooned out (like the brownies)..at least, my brownies had to be spooned out.

The following information can be found in a booklet by Wendy DeWitt titled "Everything Under the Sun." She also has a food storage DVD that you can open and watch in the following website: http://www.theideadoor.com/ (you have to hunt a little bit for it.) It is an AWESOME DVD. I would encourage anyone with an interest in food preservation to watch it. I think it is about an hour or maybe an hour and a half.

The egg replacement recipe is this:
"Eggs from unflavored gelatin" (Knox) You can buy in bulk @ bulkfoods.com
The gelatin has an indefinite shelf life.

One egg=: Combine 1 tesapoon of unflavored gelatin with 3 Tablespoons of cold water and stir until dissolved. Then add 2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of hot water and stir. When using your own recipes, decresae the liquid called for in your recipe by about 1/4 cup to compensate for the added water from the "egg."

JAR CAKES & BREADS. Breads, cakes, muffins, cornbread, brownies, cookies, cinnamon rolls sealed in jars. This is a great idea for food storage and the solar oven, but you must be
VERY SURE TO BOIL ALL YOUR JARS AND LIDS to make sure they are free from bacteria. (I boil the jars for 15 minutes, the lids only a few.) They can also be washed & then sanitized in your solar oven. Jar foods are cooked in canning jars WITHOUT THE LIDS in your solar oven or regular oven. (I place my jars on a cookie sheet to bake.) The food will slip out of the jars easily if you use the straight-sided jelly jars or wide mouth jars, but any kind of mason jar will work. Using a pastry brush, grease the insides with shortening (No Pam or Baker's Secret). Fill it 1/2 to 2/3 full with your batter or dough & bake as usual. (Let your breads raise in the jars and then bake.) Some foods rise more than others, so practice with these amounts so you don't waste space in your jars. If it bakes too high, cut the top off your bread or cake before sealing the jar. Just be sure your jar edge is clean & your lids are hot! Immediately after the food is cooked, place your heated lid on the hot jar & tighten the ring. (Use hot pads!) Within a few minutes, the lid with "plink" & the food will be sealed. This food can sit on your shelf witn no refrigeration or freezing for several months. (The more moist the recipe the better.) With this method, you can cook jar foods on bright sunny days in a solar oven and have fully cooked foods waiting on your shelves for that occasional rainy day.

BROWNIES (The liquid has already been adjusted in this recipe)
(Makes about 4 pint jars.)
1 C butter flavored shortening
2 C sugar
2 C white flour
1 tsp Vanilla
4 "Eggs" (Use egg replacement recipe for these.)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Optional: 1/2 - 1 C. chopped nuts
Make your "eggs". Mix shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg mixture and mix. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, & vanilla and mix. Bake @ 350 for about 45 minutes (or until done.)

I found this recipe on http://www.mormonchic.com/ and it works great in the jars and slides out easily and keeps together while slicing.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 can of warm pop (cannot be diet) can use 7-UP, COKE, etc.
1 Tablespoon SAF yeast
Stir together. Divide into 3 wide mouth pint jars. Let rise. Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes (until done.)