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Bonus Resolution Recipe Brought To You By Stress Baking
This week's bonus stress baking recipe: Multigrain Country Loaf.
3/4 cup multigrain blend, plus more for sprinkling (I used half Lammas Fayre barley-wheat, and half pumpernickel)
2 1/4 cups strong bread flour (I used 1/2 cup wheat, 3/4 cup strong which was all we had left, and the rest regular white flour)
1 1/4 tsp salt (I used about 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
Combine the flours, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir in the water by hand or using the stand mixer paddle to form a shaggy, sticky mass of dough with no dry clumps of unmixed flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60-90 minutes. At the 10-, 20-, and 30-minute marks, perform a series of four folds on the dough (stretch the dough and fold over itself) at 90-degree intervals. After the third time folding, let the dough rise for the remainder of the time until it's doubled in size.
Use the multigrain blend to generously flour a brotform basket. Gently deflate the dough on a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. (The dough, not the work surface.) Cover the dough, let it rest for 10-15 minutes, then form it into a tight ball. Place the dough seam-side up in the floured brotform, cover with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap, and let it rise for 45-60 minutes, until it's noticeably puffy.
Toward the end of the rising time, position a rack in the oven with a baking stone, place an oven-safe pan in the bottom, and preheat the oven to 425. Very gently, roll the dough from the brotform onto parchment. It should slip out without deflating. (Lies!) Slash the loaf several times with a lame. Transfer to the stone and pour 1 cup of water or equivalent ice cubes into the pan, using mitts to protect yourself from the steam. Immediately close the oven door and bake for 18-22 minutes.
Remove the loaf from the stone and set it back on the rack directly, moving the stone. Leave the oven cracked a couple inches and let the bread cool completely in the oven. If you want a soft loaf, remove from the oven and cool at room temperature on a rack.
What worked: I made a double batch; no point in heating the oven for one loaf of bread. The mixture of Lammas Fayre barley/wheat and pumpernickel tasted good. With that amount of yeast, the loaves had a light texture even if they didn't rise that high or have a wide-open crumb. It made good toast.
What didn't: The loaves deflated despite my careful handling. 18-22 minutes was nowhere near enough to get a dark crust; they are quite soft. I'd probably go with my usual 40 minute baking time and I might switch to a loaf pan to avoid the deflation issue.
Will I make it again? It's a nice change from $4 toast. The wife quite liked it.
3/4 cup multigrain blend, plus more for sprinkling (I used half Lammas Fayre barley-wheat, and half pumpernickel)
2 1/4 cups strong bread flour (I used 1/2 cup wheat, 3/4 cup strong which was all we had left, and the rest regular white flour)
1 1/4 tsp salt (I used about 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
Combine the flours, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir in the water by hand or using the stand mixer paddle to form a shaggy, sticky mass of dough with no dry clumps of unmixed flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60-90 minutes. At the 10-, 20-, and 30-minute marks, perform a series of four folds on the dough (stretch the dough and fold over itself) at 90-degree intervals. After the third time folding, let the dough rise for the remainder of the time until it's doubled in size.
Use the multigrain blend to generously flour a brotform basket. Gently deflate the dough on a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. (The dough, not the work surface.) Cover the dough, let it rest for 10-15 minutes, then form it into a tight ball. Place the dough seam-side up in the floured brotform, cover with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap, and let it rise for 45-60 minutes, until it's noticeably puffy.
Toward the end of the rising time, position a rack in the oven with a baking stone, place an oven-safe pan in the bottom, and preheat the oven to 425. Very gently, roll the dough from the brotform onto parchment. It should slip out without deflating. (Lies!) Slash the loaf several times with a lame. Transfer to the stone and pour 1 cup of water or equivalent ice cubes into the pan, using mitts to protect yourself from the steam. Immediately close the oven door and bake for 18-22 minutes.
Remove the loaf from the stone and set it back on the rack directly, moving the stone. Leave the oven cracked a couple inches and let the bread cool completely in the oven. If you want a soft loaf, remove from the oven and cool at room temperature on a rack.
What worked: I made a double batch; no point in heating the oven for one loaf of bread. The mixture of Lammas Fayre barley/wheat and pumpernickel tasted good. With that amount of yeast, the loaves had a light texture even if they didn't rise that high or have a wide-open crumb. It made good toast.
What didn't: The loaves deflated despite my careful handling. 18-22 minutes was nowhere near enough to get a dark crust; they are quite soft. I'd probably go with my usual 40 minute baking time and I might switch to a loaf pan to avoid the deflation issue.
Will I make it again? It's a nice change from $4 toast. The wife quite liked it.