Three Blind Mice Bread

Michael and I have put ourselves on the most strict and best monitored budget/spending plan we've ever had.
I guess at 54 and 45 we've finally decided to grow up.
Anyway, last week I had $70 cash of my weekly spending allotment left and stopped at the grocery store for fresh fruit, fizzy water, dog bones/treats, pop, and bread. Zachary was home for the weekend and served as my human calculator as we weighed out the apples, bananas, oranges, tallied up the cost of the rawhide vs. Busy Bones, and made tough decisions such as skipping breakfast cereal in favor of chocolate chips. We finally got to the bread aisle and it was a sobering experience.
One loaf of whole grain bread was nearly $4 and a loaf of not-so-great French bread, intended for garlic bread for dinner, was $3.29.
When the kids were little I always bought my whole grain breads at the day-old bread store and saved a bundle by making good use of my freezer. But our tastes have changed, I'd like to think improved, and I don't like to stock up on store breads much.
The sticker shock - and sticking to my $70 cash on hand - forced me to recognize the importance of baking our bread myself.
I've always baked bread, usually in spurts, but also heavily relied on the grocery store when I just wasn't in the mood or felt too harried. But let me tell you, it really hurt to spend so much money on bread that doesn't begin to measure up to homemade.
The careful budgeting and sticking to only a certain amount of cash each week has definitely made me consider any and all purchases much more carefully. If I overspend this week, I have that much less to spend the next.
Anyway, I bought the bread as I had none at home, but the very next day I dove back into bread baking with renewed vigor.


Three Blind Mice Bread is a recipe adapted from Jean Hewitt's The New York Times New Natural Foods Cookbook. It's actually called Three Grain bread, but I used to call it Three Grain Rice bread. Somehow, this morphed into the Three Blind Mice Bread my family loves.

2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2-5 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 tsp dry active yeast
1/4 cup butter
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup honey
2 cups cooked brown rice, room temperature
1 egg, beaten

In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of whole wheat flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and yeast. Add butter.
Gradually add warm water and honey, mix thoroughly, approx. 2 minutes, with paddle attachment of stand mixer. Add 1/2 cup more flour and beat 2 minutes more.
Stir in rice and enough extra flour to make a stiff dough. Switch to dough hook and kneed for 6-8 minutes, until smooth and satiny.
Put in an oiled bowl and turn to oil the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down and turn onto floured counter top. Cut dough in half, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Form each half into a 9-inch round. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1 1/4 hours.
Preheat oven to 375.
Use handle of wooden spoon to make deep indentations in the rounds. Brush loaves with beaten egg.
Bake for 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.


For some reason, I always have baked this bread in loaf pans. This time I decided to form the rounds the recipe calls for.

I can only imagine what this bread would have been called had I used this method when the kids were little!

Next time I think I need to place each loaf on a separate baking sheet ...