There's no mincing words: it scared the shit out of me. The BFF works at a bread company, and I know what good bread is supposed to taste like. The last time I'd made bread, I was a helper to my step-mother and I was ten. And I didn't do much other than add some flour and punch the risen dough once or twice. When I thought of making bread, I thought: hand-kneading, giant mess, an entire day spent on something I can buy at the store.
For the past month I've been watching what I eat, counting calories and trying to work off some of this quit-smoking-stopped-exercising-started-baking-like-mad-weight, and that includes reading a lot of labels on foods. And while I don't know that I'm quite on the "high-fructose-corn-syrup-is-the-food-apocalypse" bandwagon, I have noticed that it's in quite a lot of bread. Not only that, but there's also a lot of other crap in bread that doesn't really belong there- things to preserve shelf life and maintain flavor, added vitamins and fiber because most people don't eat enough on their own, and a vast difference in calories, sugars, and salt between the different brands.
I looked at a few recipes online but went back to my Best Recipe cookbook from Cook's Illustrated to read a little about making bread and it's different components. While learning about the different kinds of flours and bread types I realized-- DOH! I have a standing mixer with a dough hook at my disposal!
So I decided, screw it. I'm broke and can't do much outside of the house, and a ten dollar investment in a couple of different flours and some yeast will at least keep me entertained for a couple of hours, and I might even come out with some really good, homemade-i-know-everything-that-went-into-it bread.
So I give you:
Whole Wheat Bread with Wheat Germ and Rye Flour
This is a bread you *can* make by hand, but I haven't tried. The recipe makes two loaves, and the editors of Cook's Illustrated pretty strongly discourage making this with a low-horsepower mixer. Even my pro standing mixer got a little hot while kneading this with the dough hook on low, so I'd take their word for it.
Tools: Measuring cups & spoons, standing mixer, instant read thermometer, two loaf pans, spatula, surface for kneading, large bowl, plastic wrap or kitchen towel
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups of warm water (110 degrees)
1 1/2 tablespoons of active dry yeast (that's 1 tbsp + 1.5 tsp)
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup rye flour (I used dark rye flour)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cup all purose flour, plus extra for work surface
Grab your standing mixer's bowl. Use the instant read thermometer to make sure your water is as close to 110 as possible to get the best activation from the yeast. I used tap water and just waited for it to get to temperature. Add the hot water, yeast, salt, honey and butter into the bowl of the standing mixer and stir together with a spatula.
You'll start to smell the yeast pretty quickly. If that doesn't get you salivating, I don't know what will!
Add the rye flour, wheat germ and one cup each of the white and wheat flours and stir until mixed.
Snap your mixing bowl back onto the mixer. Attach the dough hook. Mix in the remaining flour slowly on low speed until it's smoth and elastic. The first time I did this it took the full eight minutes, but the second time it only took seven. They aren't kidding when they say that temperature, barometric pressure and humidity play a big part in how the dough comes together!
While that's working, I clean my workspace and "lightly" flour it. The first time I did this, I floured a lot lighter-- but this sticky, sticky dough really needs a good surface that it won't stick to, so if you're worried about the denisty of your bread and adding too much flour during the first quick knead, use a tiny bit less of the AP flour. I can't tell a difference in the bread between the first and the second time, so honestly I wouldn't sweat it-- the ease of moving the dough outweighs any negligble change in texture or density.
Transfer the dough to your floured surface and knead just long enough to confirm it's soft, smooth and ready for the rise. This should really take longer than 45 seconds if your standing mixer has done it's job. (Yay, dough hook!)
Place the dough in a lightly greased container or bowl about twice the volume of the dough. You really don't want it to be able to get too crazy with the rise, so don't use a bowl that dwarfs the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. (I'm going kitchen towel next time but I used plastic this time.)
Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free environment (I put mine in the microwave or oven if I haven't been baking something else) and let rise for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
Get your surface floured again, if it's not still prepared, and grease your loaf pans lightly.
Punch that baby down gently and divide into two equal pieces. Press each peice down until about an inch thick and shape into a rectangle that isn't longer than your loaf pan. (Seriously, follow that advice because otherwise it's a pain in the ass to squish it together.) With the long side facing you, firmly roll the dough into a cylinder. You can make this pretty tight, because you want the dough to stick to itself. Pinch together the seam, flip it, and put it seam side down into your loaf pan. Press it down and flatten it until all the edges tough the sides of the loaf pan.
Turn your oven to 375 so that it's preheated.
Cover the loaf pans with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for twenty minutes or so. You want it to be nearly double or double in size. Pop those bad boys in the oven.
Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, or until the instant read thermometer shoved in the middle reads 205 degrees.
Transfer immediately from loaf pans to wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Slice and enjoy!
I am excited to get this bread recipe down pat and try a few others. I'm totally over the intimidation and am even more stoked on lunchtime sandwiches. I love the slight sweet undertone the honey provides this bread, and the heartiness added by the wheat germ. The rye flour really helps give it a solid base flavor. Nate and I devoured a whole loaf the first day it was made, and I made tarragon chicken salad with some leftover roasted chicken and put it on this bread- delicious!
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