Authors: Zoe Francois,Jeff Hertzberg MD
Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients (23 page)
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, coffee, cardamom, brown sugar, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the pears with all the liquid ingredients and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. The dough can be frozen in single-loaf portions and defrosted overnight in the refrigerator.
5. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Elongate the ball into a narrow oval. Allow the dough to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack.
8.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash, then sprinkle it with raw sugar. Slash the loaf diagonally with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
9.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
10.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
Brown Rice and Prune Bread (…Try It, You’ll Like It)
We know, we know, these two ingredients don’t sound like the most obvious pairing. But you simply have to try it; they are fantastic together. The sweet prune juice caramelizes the crust and helps it to crisp, countering the tendency of whole grain doughs to produce a soft crust. You’ll need to turn down the heat a bit to prevent the crust from burning—to 425°F. Pomegranate juice and açai are much more fashionable than prune juice these days, so try the variations below if they strike your fancy.
Makes enough dough for at least five 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups lukewarm prune juice
1 cup cooked brown rice
¾ cup finely chopped prunes
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Add the liquid ingredients, brown rice, and prunes, and mix without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 10 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
5. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Elongate the ball into a narrow oval. Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 425°F
, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
POMEGRANATE JUICE
appears to have a variety of terrific health benefits. It’s chock full of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and iron, plus three kinds of antioxidants. If you find the juice too sour to drink by itself, you’ll find this bread is a great way to get the health benefits in a delicious and mellower form. Açai juice is another fruit juice that has been touted as a super-food, even more loaded with antioxidants than pomegranate. The juice comes from a Brazilian berry that’s just starting to be imported to the U.S. Most of the açai products available to us are made from a blend of fruits, with only modest contributions from açai. 100% açai juice is available through the Web or mail order, but it’s prohibitively expensive.
8.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with water. Slash the loaf diagonally with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
9.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 30 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
10.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
VARIATION: Brown Rice and Pomegranate (or Açai) Bread
Simply substitute an equal volume of pomegranate or açai juice in place of the prune juice in the recipe above. You’ll get the same caramelization but a more tart flavor. If prunes border on the cloyingly sweet, then pomegranate juice borders on the bracingly sour. A 50/50 blend of prune juice with pomegranate or açai juice also works nicely and plays the opposing sweet and tart off each other. Try varying the fruit as well—raisins or dried cranberries work beautifully instead of prunes.
Oatmeal Date Bread
You’ll make this loaf over and over, not for the high fiber and nutrition of the steel-cut oats (often sold as “Scottish” or “Irish” oats) and dates, but because it is absolutely delicious. Ignore our rule of waiting until the bread is perfectly cool—slice into this one when it is still a touch warm.
Makes enough dough for at least two 2-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups steel-cut oats (can substitute old-fashioned rolled oats)
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
3 cups lukewarm water
1/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup neutral-flavored oil
1½ cups dates, finely chopped (about 15 large dates)
1½ cups walnuts, finely chopped (optional, for walnut variation)
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for brushing on the top crust
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, oats, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the liquid ingredients and dates and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days.
5. On baking day,
lightly grease an 8 ½ × 4½-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Elongate the ball into an oval and place it into the loaf pan; your goal is to fill the pan about three-quarters full. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow the loaf to rest and rise for 1 hour 45 minutes (60 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 375°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. The baking stone is not essential for loaf-pan breads; if you omit it, the preheat can be as short as 5 minutes.
8.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash, then sprinkle it with raw sugar.
9.
Place the loaf on the stone or on a rack near the center of the oven. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until richly browned and firm.
10.
Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool slightly on a rack before slicing and eating.
VARIATION: Oatmeal Date-Walnut Bread
After shaping the ball in step 5, flatten the dough with wet hands to a thickness of ½ inch and sprinkle with the walnuts. Roll up the dough from the short end, like a jelly roll, to form a log. Using wet hands, crimp the ends shut and tuck them under to form an oval loaf. Place it into the loaf pan, as in step 6, and follow the baking instructions starting at step 7.
Apple-Barley Bread
This bread is all about fall, when apples are at their peak. Combined with the warm, comforting taste of barley flour they make a great marriage. Barley is a much underused flour for baking; it not only has great flavor but is also incredibly high in fiber. This bread is sweetened with barley malt, normally associated with the taste of beer. It jump-starts the development of yeasty flavors, giving the dough more character quickly. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and it’s true that apples contain plenty of fiber and antioxidants, but what’s more important is that they’re irresistible. Use a combination of tart, sweet, soft, and firm apples for the best flavor, like the McIntosh and Granny Smith. We’ve combined the fresh grated fruit with dried apples and cider to give a nice chew and an even more intense flavor.
Makes enough dough for at least two 2-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. Use leftover dough for muffins.
2¾ cups barley flour
3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup rye flour
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
2½ cups lukewarm apple cider
¼ cup honey
½ cup barley malt syrup
¼ cup neutral-flavored oil
2 medium apples, grated (include the skin)
4 ounces dried apples, chopped
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for painting the top crust
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Add the liquid ingredients and the apples and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days.
5. On baking day,
lightly grease an 8 ½ × 4½-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Elongate the ball into an oval and place it into the loaf pan; your goal is to fill the pan about three-quarters full. Allow the loaf to rest and rise for 1 hour 45 minutes (60 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 375°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. The baking stone is not essential for loaf-pan breads; if you omit it, the preheat can be as short as 5 minutes.
8.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash, then sprinkle it with raw sugar.
9.
Place the loaf on the stone or on a rack near the center of the oven. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until richly browned and firm.
10.
Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.