We got a new
food processor
and I decided to take advantage and start making some bread. I'd rather
use a mixer with a dough hook, but there's a lot on the wish list right
now.
Anyway, I wanted to share. The recipes from Cook's
Illustrated are great, but I'm never one to leave well enough alone.
I've made two versions of the bread - one white and one brownish with
grains and seeds. Here's the recipe:
White
- 1 1/3 cup whole milk
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- 3 tbs Really Raw Honey (that shit's good)
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1lb 2 1/2 oz unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
Wheat
The process is the same for both.
Heat
the liquids in a small saucepan until the temp is 110 or 115 using an
instant read thermometer. I like the tase of the honey and am usually a
little heavy handed with it. With bread, since there's so few
ingredients, the taste of the individual pieces really comes through.
The raw honey has a great strong taste - try it! Once the butter's
melted and it's all still 110 degrees, whisk in the yeast to dissolve.
Most recipes call for you to "proof" the yeast, but just getting it
dissolved is good enough.
[The following assumes you're using a food processor - if you're not, I'm sure any other method will work just as well]
Add
the flour and salt to the processor - but not the seeds or grains.
Pulsing the processor, add the yeast/liquid mixture only as fast as the
flour will absorb it. The dough should form a ball and pull away from
the sides - if not, sprinkle in some flour until it does.
Remove
the dough ball and knead for about 3 minutes. The dough will be a
little sticky, but try not to add too much flour. Knead in the grains
and seeds at this point if you are adding them. Place the kneaded dough
in an oiled bowl and allow to rise for 1-2 hours in a warm spot until
it's doubled in size.
Remove the dough and puch it down into a
size that will fit into a 5x9 bread pan. Place it into a buttered bread
pan and allow to rise for another 30-45 minutes.
Put a sheet pan
or pie pan with 2-3 cups of warm water in the bottom rack of a 350
degree oven. Brush the top of the bread with olive oil and place on the
second rack. Cook until the internal temperature of the bread reaches
195 degrees using an instant read thermometer. Remove from the pan and
place on a wire rack to cool. Don't forget to pull out the water pan
before it boils dry. Wait for the bread to cool completely before
slicing.