Saturday, September 15, 2007

Variation on a theme: Whole wheat bread

I've mentioned before that I bake bread at least every other week, sometimes more often. I use pretty much the same recipe every time, which calls for a 7-cup mix of white and whole wheat flour and 4 teaspoons salt. In a glass bowl, I stir together 1/2 cup honey, two packages fast-acting active dry yeast, 4 tablespoons melted butter, 2 cups milk and 2/3 cup boiling water. I pour this in with the flour and salt, and knead with the bread hook of my standing mixer for 10 minutes. I shape dough into a ball, then let it rise for an hour (covered in a buttered bowl), shape into loaves, and let those rise 20-30 minutes. I brush the loaves with beaten egg white, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake in greased, floured bread pans for 35 minutes in a 350-degree convection oven.

I've been a disorganized shopper lately, so today I realized I was out of white flour and nearly out of honey. So, I made healthier bread than usual, combining three cups white whole wheat and four cups whole wheat graham flour. Also, I mixed what little honey I had with white sugar to fill a 1/2 cup measure. No health benefit there, I know. But my bread turned out great. I may abandon white flour altogether for the time being, at least for bread baking purposes.

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