This summer James and I ventured into vegetable gardening for the first time with great results! We have also really been enjoying our local farmer's market. It is open every Friday evening and offers a large array of locally grown produce. It is hosted at Trader's Point Creamery and makes for a fun date night. Coincidentally, I also read a few very influential books: In Defense of Food by Micheal Pollan and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. This started to shape my thoughts about food and food preparation.
In our house we are making a push to eat foods that are less processed and if possible grown locally. This is proving to be quite the challenge for one self professed candy fiend, but we will keep trying.
After a little research and some experimenting in the kitchen I have melded a few bread recipes to make one that we love! I'd like to share it with you. Note: Since the recipe calls for soaking the grains, it is started the night before baking.
Soaked Multi-Grain Bread
* adapted from Martha Stewart’s Classic White Bread with Multigrain variation as well as Tara’s (Itty Bitty Bookworms) adaptation of Jo Lynne’s (Musings of a Housewife) Sandwich Bread Recipe
MAKES 2 LOAVES
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
2 ½ -3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons melted butter + extra to grease pans
3 ¼ cups of water, divided
2 cups water
¾ cup water
½ cup water (110 F)
7 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon salt
2 - ¼ ounce envelopes of active dry yeast (or 1 tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons yeast)
2/3 cup of honey plus 2 teaspoons of honey
1/3 cup bulgar wheat
½ cup rolled oats (plus extra for top of loaves)
¼ cup flax seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds (plus extra for top of loaves)
eggs white for wash on top of loaves
Before you go to bed:
Place 3 cups of whole wheat flour in mixer bowl. Add salt. Attach dough hook and begin to mix.
Combine the 4 tablespoons of melted butter and 2 cups of water.
Add warm water and butter mixture to the mixing bowl. Continue to mix. Add rye flour. Add 4 tablespoons of buttermilk. Mix for about another minute. Cover and allow to soak overnight.
In separate bowl mix bulgar wheat with rolled oats and ¾ cup warm water. Add 3 tablespoons of buttermilk. Cover and allow to soak overnight.
I also go ahead and in a tiny bowl measure out my sunflower seeds and flax seeds. They will be ready to throw into the mix in the morning.
Go to bed.
In the morning:
Measure out ½ cup of warm water around 110 F and place in a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on to the top of the warm water. Add about two teaspoons of honey. Whisk the honey in with the water and yeast until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes.
In the meantime, move the soaked flour mixture back to the mixer stand. Using dough hook, start mixing flour mixture again. To this, add 2/3 cup honey. (More or less depending on your sweet tooth.)
Now that the yeast mixture is foamy, add this to the soaked flour and honey mixture. Then add soaked bulgar and rolled oats. Next add flax seeds and sunflower seeds. Once all ingredients are incorporated, it is time to add the unbleached flour. Slowly add anywhere from 2 ½ to 3 ½ cups depending on the texture and consistency of your dough. The amount of dough became more than my mixer could deal with so I had to turn my dough out and knead in the very last of the unbleached flour, just enough to give it the right texture.
Then place the dough in a buttered bowl and cover with a tea towel on top of the bowl. Set dough in a warm spot so it can rise. Allow dough to double. (About an hour)
Then punch dough down. Divide into two pieces and form loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Set in a warm place allow to rise until doubled again. Once dough is doubled in pans, take out of oven. Set temp to 450 F. Make an egg wash with egg whites and water and brush the wash over the tops of the loaves. Sprinkle sunflower seeds and rolled oats on top. You may need to use the wash to get topping to stick properly. Reduce over heat to 400 F before putting loaves in. Bake at 400 F for 30- 40 minutes. Tops will get brown and crusty, but bread inside will be delicious. Serve with pastured butter. Yum!
Hope you enjoy!
