ACORNS AND EAT ‘EM by Suellen Ocean

“Acorns were a crop ideally suited to the Bay
Area, and indeed to most of California. Unlike wheat,
corn, barley, or rice, acorns required no tilling of the
soil, no digging of irrigation ditches, nor any other
form of farming. Thus, while the preparation of acorn
flour might have been a lengthy and tedious process,
the total labor involved was probably much less than
for a cereal crop. Yet the level of nutrients in acorns
was extremely high - comparable in fact with wheat
and barley. What’s more, acorns were extremely
plentiful. Frank Latta, an amateur ethnographer who
spent a large part of his life studying the Yokuts,
estimated that an Indian family consumed from 1,000
to 2,000 pounds of acorns a year. Granted that an
Indian family tended to have more members than our
own, nevertheless this is still a large quantity of
acorns.”
Margolin, page 44
ACORN YEAST BREAD
In a large bowl mix:
1-2/3 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. dry baking yeast
2 Tbs. whole wheat flour
1 cup acorns
Stir to melt honey, then cover and set in a warm place
about 10 minutes until foamy. After yeast gets foamy
and starts to grow add 4 cups whole wheat flour 1/3
cup vegetable oil 1 cup leached & drained uncooked
acorns*.
Mix well with a wooden spoon. Fill two standard
bread pans and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.