Whole Grain Bread

I just love a slice of nice soft chewy whole grain bread.

It makes me feel virtuous.

I have no idea why.

From whom would I seek advice on this?

My pastor? My dietitian?

Regardless, let's get baking!

You know I like to start the night before! I mix together flour, water and yeast together and let them sit on the counter overnight. No, my counter is not warm. It's a chilly 65 deg on my counter at night. The harder the yeast has to work the better the flavor.

Next morning it should look like this. Full of bubbles. Last night it looked like something you're using to work on that exciting 3-D volcano your child is creating for their 4th grade science project.

Now you can start to make the dough. We're going to need a little more water.

A little more yeast. The old yeast is tuckered out! If you want bread anytime this morning you've got to have fresh workers.

If you just leave it be and go fix some coffee the yeast will dissolve and sink down to the bottom of the bowl. Or you can stir them into the water if you're in a hurry.

Throw an egg in. It'll make your bread stay fresh longer. I don't know why. I just know it does.

Stir it together.

Add in the sponge! It's all stringy because gluten has been developing strength in there overnight.

You're going to need some salt! It makes bread taste . . . breadier . . .

Now for our first "whole grain." A little bit of oatmeal. I like old fashioned rolled oats. Whatever you have on hand will do though. I think the packets of strawberries and cream instant oatmeal might be a little . . . disturbing though. I recommend you use some oatmeal you scoop out of a canister.

Now for "whole grain" wheat flour! It's got all sorts of beautiful flecks of fiber in it.

STOP THE PRESSES!

or the bytes, I guess . . .

I forgot to take a picture of the brown sugar! You've just gotta have brown sugar in whole grain bread. Otherwise it doesn't have that beautiful brown color and slightly sweet taste to it! What was I thinking? Was I thinking? I suspect the children wanted me to change the TV to Bakugan or Bey Blade or something.

Go ahead and mix all of those ingredients together.

You've got to add enough plain old all purpose flour to make a nice kneadable dough. The all purpose flour has good gluten in it that makes your bread soft and stretchy. Whole grain wheat flour doesn't have a lot of gluten available in it. I want a "wheat" bread that is soft and stretchy so over half the flour is "all purpose."

Now I always try to hold back some flour to see how the weather conditions are affecting things. Obviously I haven't added enough yet!

So I'll add some more and give it a whirl for a minute.

This looks better! It's cleaning the sides of the bowl.

I don't know. It still looks wet!

But when I poke it with my finger . . .

It doesn't really stick to my finger.

So I'm going to let it rest for 20 minutes. This 20 minute rest is as good as a 10 minute kneading extravaganza! I've got coffee to drink! Blogs to read! Children to wake!

Oh wait, I already blamed the earlier photography mistake on the children being awake. Okay . . .

Cats to feed!

Pour a little oil in a bowl . . .

Then throw the dough in . . .

Flip it over so all sides are oiled . . .

Ew! I added too much oil to the bowl!

So now I've got to clean it up. Otherwise it'll all soak into the dough. I need to wear my glasses . . .

What's that in the bread, mama?

It's pepper!

Pepper?

It's pepper!

I'm going to throw this in the freezer and use it to light my next batch of charcoal. Go ahead and cover the bread and let it rise. You might want to turn it (pictures of turning are in this recipe) every hour or so but you also might just leave it there to percolate for 3 hours if that fits your time line better. Regardless, after it's risen to double it's size at least once you can form the loaf.

Dump it out on a floured counter top. Flatten it out a little and then start rolling.



Until you get a nice little loaf shape. Why do I always forget to take pictures of the whole loaf shaping business? It's important for internal texture! You want to roll it up like you would a King's Cake or a batch of cinnamon rolls.  Now pick it up and put it on a cookie sheet and let it rise for an hour. Cover it with plastic wrap or a thin towel so it doesn't dry out. Let it rise for a good hour. Thirty minutes in you're going to want to preheat your oven to 350 deg. F. It takes a good long time to properly heat an oven for bread baking!

Oh look it's ready!

Cut some nice little slices in the top. These are expansion joints! I actually don't know the baking term for them. But they allow the bread to get bigger without exploding so I call them expansion joints.

Now since whole grain bread is a little darker in general I like a lightly browned crust.

So I just spray it with a little water. You could use a brush for this too. My sprayers tend to migrate. I've actually kept this one for six months. I think it's because it's pink. Now put the bread in the oven for 40 minutes if it's a nice big "double" loaf like I made or 30 minutes for a single loaf. Turn it around halfway through regardless.

Voila! It's all brown and crusty and crispy and crackly looking! If you like a thick, chewy crust just put this bread on a rack and let it cool as is.

I find my kids like a softer crust though. So when it's fresh out of the oven I spray it with oil. It makes the moisture stay in and soften it.

Mmm, bread!

With butter!

Chewy and soft, with a slightly sweet nuttiness!

Whole Grain Bread-single loaf*

for the sponge

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp yeast

1 cup all purpose flour

for the dough

1/2 cup water

1 egg

1/2 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup all purpose flour

Mix together sponge ingredients and leave covered on counter overnight.

Next morning, dissolve yeast in water and add sponge and remaining ingredients reserving 1/2 of all purpose flour. Knead together, adding remaining flour as necessary, to make a soft dough that forms a ball. Let rest for 20 minutes covered. Knead again and put in oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise until double in bulk. Form loaf and allow to rise on cookie sheet, covered, for 1 hour. Cut joints into loaf and brush or spray with water. Bake at 350 deg. F for 30 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through cooking time.

*This recipe easily doubles. Just bake it about 10-15 minutes longer.