I'm going to go ahead and throw out an apology for the lack of posting. I'm on a critical care rotation and Jake is doing cardiology. They're both very demanding. I leave the house around 6:30am and I usually don't get home til about 10pm. Jake's schedule is very similar. There isn't much cooking going on these days. Look for a return to life at the end of this month when I get a break.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Multi-grain wheat bread loaf [JG/CL]


Made more bread today. This is my play on a Jake original. Pretty damn good bread recipe. We use lots of whole wheat flour and grains. For the grains I used pecans, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seed, milled flax seed, and sunflower seeds. I think that's it. If you want to add rolled oats or bran I would suggest soaking them overnight before adding them to your bread. I ground everything up in a food processor this time.
I always play around with times and amounts when baking (or making ice cream) so I'll just give you the basic recipe.
For the loaf you need:
360 g WW flour
1 packet of yeast (7g?)
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 cups liquid @ 105-115 degF (I use ~1/4-1/2 cup coffee. Jake likes to use tea.)

Mix all together and allow to sit, covered, for 30 minutes.
Add:
100 g WW flour
150 g all-purpose (AP) flour
7 g salt
Stir well to mix. Dough should form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Adjust flour/water as needed to get correct consistency. This is a much heavier, less sticky, more easily handled dough than the focaccia or ciabatta breads. You can allow this to proof for 30 minutes. I like to knead for just a few minutes and add some of my grains.
Lightly oil the bowl and return the dough to it. Cover with plastic wrap/damp towel and proof for at least 30 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a floured work area and knead for several minutes while adding grains to the dough. Form into a ball and return to bowl. Cover and allow to proof for 40 minutes.
Shape your dough into an even loaf that will fit all the way to the edges of your pan. Conversely, you can leave it in a ball and cook directly on a baking stone or pan. If doing so, the cook time/temp is different. You can also add some more grains in the shaping step. Lightly oil your pan and transfer the dough to it. Allow ~20 minutes for the dough to proof.
Heat oven to 350F and prepare a steam pan. Place the bread in the oven and pour a cup of hot water into the steam pan. Thirty seconds later spray the walls of the oven with water. Repeat in 30 sec. Cook for 45-50 minutes. Bread should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Allow to cool on a rack for 1 hr before slicing as bread will still cook after being removed from the oven.
I'll have to ask Jake what time/temp he cooks on when he doesn't use a loaf pan.

Jake's Note:
Cooking without the bread pan can be fun. This is actually how I started... making that rustic loaf for all to share at the table. When I do the 'rustic' loaf I prefer to have a crust. So crank up the oven to 450 and go for about 45 minutes. It is really hard to give a perfect time for bread... you will have to play a bit, but don't worry. It is worth it.

No comments:

Post a Comment