- \n
- The History of Acorn Bread<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Best Edible Acorns<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Preparing Acorns to Eat<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to Make Acorn Flour<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n- \n
- Acorn Flour Recipes<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Acorn Bread Recipe Ingredients<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to Make Acorn Bread<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Survival With Acorns<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe History of Acorn Bread<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Edible \u2018weeds\u2019 surround us; not just in the wild but also in our own backyards. We have lost touch with many of the plants that used to sustain us. The little acorn falls into this category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is certainly not a weed, and it is not a poisonous nut like many people assume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The colonists adapted Native American acorn bread recipes during the 17th<\/sup> century. The recipe was common until the mid-19th century, especially with the working class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sam Thayer, a well-known foraging expert who specializes in acorns, explains what makes the acorn special:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no food that means more to me than the acorn, for the acorn fulfills both a promise and a fantasy: that the forest will provide for me. When I gaze across the [valley] I see more than scenery. I see thousands of acres of bounty, millions of pounds of delicious food dropped from the crowns of countless trees, waiting to be gathered by eager hands. I see more food than I could ever eat\u2014more than I can even fathom. A wilderness and an orchard in one.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acorns have been a staple\nfor civilizations around the globe for thousands of years. Their abundance and\nnutritional value make it easy to see why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Best Edible Acorns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of oak species exist around the world. About 90 of those\nare found in the United States. Each one of these types of trees drops a\ndifferent flavor, size, and shape acorn. The flavor differences are largely in\npart to the tannin content, which makes them more or less bitter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tannin is an antioxidant but is ridiculously bitter and even toxic in high quantities. Acorns have high quantities of tannin, so this presents a problem. Luckily, acorns can be leached in water to reduce their tannin levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The type of oak tree can have a wide-ranging effect on the tannin levels. The red oak acorn has a tannin content of a whopping 20.3%. A white oak species acorn, on the other hand, has only 0.4% tannin. These large content differences mean you will need to leach the red oak acorn several more times than the white oak to reduce the tannin levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides tannin levels, the size of the acorn and the bounty that\nthe oak tree produces can factor in. It is much easier to get a large acorn\nbounty off a burr oak than a white oak. The acorns are larger and more\nplentiful, meaning you can spend less time gathering the nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nPreparing Acorns to Eat<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The first step is to check your acorns to make sure they are in good condition. Wormy, cracked, shriveled, and moldy acorns need to be tossed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some foragers suggest floating the acorns. Good acorns typically drop to the bottom (they are heavier than water). Caps, wormy acorns, and acorn pieces will usually float.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, remove the shell from the acorns. Young acorns are easiest to shell just by cutting through them. Late acorns may require a nutcracker- but most shells are thin and brittle making them easy to crack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After cracking, you will need to do the meticulous task of sorting. Sorting all of the nutmeats out takes some time, but is easier if you shelled them well. Sorting is as simple as picking out all the meat and discarding the caps, shells, and other debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acorns are notoriously bitter. Tannic acid causes this bitterness, and you can leach out the acid by boiling acorns in water. The tannic acid will turn the boiling water brown, and you can continue to boil the acorns until the color is no longer removed. This is one of the most important steps because too much tannic acid not only tastes bad, but it can also make you sick. The boiling process can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the tannin content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next step to make acorns much more edible is to roast them. Using a warm oven (250 degrees), roast them in the oven for at least 60 minutes. Once they are roasted, you can use acorns as a substitute for many types of nuts in almost any recipe. They can be glazed, garnish, added to soup, and most importantly: ground up into flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nHow to Make Acorn Flour<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before you go on making full-blown acorn bread, you will need to\nmake the flour. Acorn flour is gluten-free and super versatile. It behaves very\nsimilar to wheat flour and can be substituted in baking recipes for up to half\nof the all-purpose flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will need about two pounds of acorns to make three cups of\nacorn flour. Even if you do the math beforehand, always have more acorns than\nyou think you need in case you need to throw a few bad ones out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A blender or food processor makes the first step of going from nut\nto flour easier: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Toss the prepared acorns into the blender to fill it 1\/3 the way. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Blend the acorns up until they look like flour.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Empty into a container and repeat for the rest of your acorns.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t have the luxury of having a blender or food processor, you can always use rocks to grind the acorns into flour like Native Americans once did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nAcorn Flour Recipes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You can use acorn flour for up to half of the all-purpose flour in\nalmost any recipe. That means you can make porridge, pancakes, and even\ncupcakes! You can use it to make hardtack survival bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acorn flour is a drier flour, so be prepared to add a little bit of extra moisture to the recipe as needed. It is better to compensate more than you might expect since it is so dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nAcorn Bread Recipe Ingredients<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One loaf of acorn bread takes 50 minutes to prepare and cook. This does not include the time to prepare the acorns and turn them into flour, which can take up to three hours. The ingredients you will need to bake the bread include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 1 cup acorn flour (see above section,\npreparing acorns to eat)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 1 cup all-purpose flour<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 2 tablespoons baking powder<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u00bd teaspoon salt<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 3 tablespoons sugar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 1 egg beaten<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 1 cup milk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 3 tablespoons oil<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Substitutes can be made in a pinch for some of the ingredients, but the acorn flour is very dry so try to keep the liquid-to-solid ratio the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow to Make Acorn Bread<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you have gathered all of the ingredients, you can get cooking\nin eight easy steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Turn on Oven<\/strong>: Preheat oven to 400 degrees<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Grease Pan<\/strong>: Grease a loaf pan to prevent sticking<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Combine Dry Ingredients<\/strong>: Combine acorn flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Combine Wet Ingredients<\/strong>: Combine egg, milk, and oil in a bowl<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stir Together Wet and Dry Mixtures<\/strong>: Stir the wet and dry bowls together to create a lumpy batter<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Pour into Pan<\/strong>: Pour the lumpy batter into the greased pan<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Bake<\/strong>: Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Remove and Cool<\/strong>: Remove the pan, turn off the oven, and let cool<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
This simple recipe results in an earthy yet subtle flavor and unique texture. An adapted recipe hundreds (if not thousands) of years old shouldn\u2019t be that difficult to make- so we kept it simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This instructional video from 1933 (silent and in black and white) shows the traditional Native American way of making acorn bread:<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/trueprepper.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fx4-F5N63Cdo%2F0.jpg\")
![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trueprepper.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/How-to-Make-Acorn-Bread-1.jpg?resize=800%2C1200&quality=80&ssl=1\")
- Grease Pan<\/strong>: Grease a loaf pan to prevent sticking<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Turn on Oven<\/strong>: Preheat oven to 400 degrees<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Acorn Bread Recipe Ingredients<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Best Edible Acorns<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n