Williams Sonoma Wheat Bread

I saw this in a cookbook for Williams Sonoma Breads (a very thick book with lots of tips and instructions!). I didn’t check the book out of the library, instead I just wrote down this recipe. But I may go back and get the book sometime because it had tons of stuff in there! I liked that this used buttermilk and maple syrup.

Here is the recipe, cut in half for one loaf instead of two:

• 2tsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• orange zest (optional, I had mixed it with the sugar – this is not in the original recipe)
• 1/2c warm water
• 3/4c tepid buttermilk (I used kefir)
• 2Tbs maple syrup
• 2Tbs oil
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1.5c wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 1.5-2c bread flour

Add yeast and sugar to warm water and keep aside for 10 minutes till foamy.

Mix the buttermilk, maple syrup, and oil with 1c whole wheat flour. Beat it very well for a few minutes. Add in the yeast and the rest of the whole wheat flour. Mix again. Add in bread flour 1/2c at a time(I add the salt with the first 1/2c here) till a soft dough forms. Knead until it is smooth and only slightly sticky. Form into a ball.

Place in an oiled bowl and turn the dough ball to coat lightly with the oil. Cover and keep aside to rise 1-1.5 hours.

Grease a loaf pan. Flatten the dough into a rectangle and fold the long sides over in thirds. Then take the short end of the dough and roll it as tightly as you can, keeping surface pressure on the outside of the dough. Roll it under your hands to even it out and make it the length of your loaf pan. Place it inside and cover with plastic (I keep a plastic bag from some large wraps I had bought and place the loaf pan inside this). Rise for an hour or until it peaks above the sides of the pan.

In the last half hour, preheat the oven to 350.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

I have to admit I didn’t love this bread. Its fine, but not my favorite one. Others liked it but I felt there was something not quite right about the taste. It could be the yeast I used (I don’t think I will buy that yeast again because it has a very strong odor in whatever I made with it), it could be the tang of the kefir. It could be my user error because it took FORVER for the dough to rise, probably due to the cold weather. I would give this another try though, because its probably my fault and not the recipe.

Sending to BYOB.

Molasses Wheat Sandwich Bread with Rye Flakes

Don’t ask me how rye flakes ended up in my pantry. Sounds healthy enough, but I have no idea what to do with them! I read that they can be interchanged with oat so I was thinking I could put them in bread, since part of my goal this month is to bake my own breads. I took a nibble, and it didn’t taste too strong so I went ahead with it. I even ventured to make up a bread recipe loosely based on other ones I found that were not quite what I wanted. A bit of a risk since Im a novice bread baker. But to my surprise it turned out really good!  The rye flakes themselves give a pleasant grainy flavor and texture to the bread, but I have to say, they are much firmer than oat meal which more or less disappears into the bread. We liked the added bite it gives. I read about soaking whole grains to bring out their sugars and flavors. So I did that, not sure if it made a difference.

Here is what I did:

• 1c white wheat flour
• 1/3c rye flakes
• 3/4c hot water

Combine the three and keep in the fridge overnight. Take out about an hour before starting the rest of the dough so it comes to room temperature.

• 1/4c warm water
  

  Check out the crazy franken-yeast!

• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar

Combine and let bloom for 10 minutes till frothy.

Mix yeast water with the soaked flour above. I used my hand to get it well incorporated. Then add:

• 1/4c molasses (or a mix of molasses and honey for a milder sweeter taste)
• 3TBS melted butter or oil

Stir well then add in:

• 2c bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Put the salt on top of the flour and mix it in. I did this to minimize salt contact with the yeast, since salt can kill yeast (and Im paranoid about that).

Knead the flour making a soft dough, add more flour if necessary. Knead for 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and roll around to coat the outsides. Cover with a damp cloth and keep in a warm place for 1-1.5 hrs till almost doubled.

After I had already shaped my loaf, I found this wonderful video with very helpful hints.(It is more clear than my explanation)

Press the dough into a rectangle shape and fold it into thirds. Let rest 10 minutes then take the small rectangle with the narrow edge in front of you and roll it very tightly, keeping surface tension on the outside of the dough. Pinch together the end. Roll your hands over it a few times to even it out.(mine was uneven, so I wish I had seen this in time. Still tasted fine!) Then place in a greased 9×5 loaf pan, cover loosely and let rise till it crests above the rim of the pan(mine took almost 2 hours in the cold weather). (Most recipes say to cover with plastic wrap but I never buy that. This time what I did is use the plastic bag from some tortilla wraps that we had finished and it works really well. I just put the whole loaf pan inside and sealed it.) Slit down the middle with a very sharp knife (optional).

Preheat oven to 350 during last half hour of rising time.  Bake 40-45 mins until golden, pulled away from sides of pan, and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.

Taken the next day in better lighting

I’m sending this to Yeastspotting on Wild Yeast Blog!

I’ve also joined forces at the breadmaking blog to Bake my own bread in 2011 (BYOB)! What a wonderful concept.