Light Wheat Sandwich Bread
Alrighty, so some of my friends think I am super-cool because I bake my own bread. And while I am indeed, super cool, (wink, wink) seriously, it isn’t me who deserves the credit. It’s the recipe. When people eat my bread and look at me like, “wow, I am impressed” I almost feel embarrassed, like I don’t deserve the credit because it is so easy. I feel like a cheater, a liar. So I fall all over myself explaining that it is this particular book that deserves the credit, not me. The book is “Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. This book is worth owning for sure, and I plan to get their about-to-be released book on healthy breads.
I’ve always loved baking bread. When I worked in D.C. I have been known to ditch fancy networking events with all kinds of free wine and food to go home and bake my own bread. I remember working at an ABC affiliate writing for a morning show as an intern, seeing a woman in a commercial baking her own bread. As much as I loved writing for the morning show (had to be there at 4:15 am – - UGH!) I looked at the commercial longingly and wish I were doing that instead. I guess I’m a homebody.
Let me tell you how this book works. There are “master” recipes, and you can use it to make all kinds of different things. One recipe might allow you to make pita bread out of the same dough you make your sandwich bread or olive bread. Then there are pastry doughs and chocolate bread, which I haven’t tried yet. However, I have been experimenting more and more with different recipes from the book. I will post their light-wheat sandwich recipe. I looked on their site, and Zoe noted a technique to make her sandwich bread with a softer crust better suited for children, so I will implement that into the instructions. The picture posted is a sandwich bread I made with a crunchy crust, which is created by a steam bath in the oven.
So, a couple of things. First, you don’t have to knead the bread dough. Secondly, I know on my Facebook page I said a monkey could make this bread, but really what I should have said is that a monkey with a stand-mixer and a dough hook can make this bread. It is still easy, but can be a little messy without a stand mixer. My cousin does it without a stand mixer and says it works fine. She just wets her hands with water to help with the stickiness, since it is a very wet dough. Also, although not necessary, it is much easier to let the dough chill before using it. Also, don’t cut the bread until it has been completely cooled. Cool, you know, like me.
Light Whole Wheat Bread
“Artisan Breads In Five Minutes a Day,” Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 TBSP granulated yeast (1/2 packets)
1 1/2 TBSP salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Mix the yeast and salt with the water in a 5 quart bowl.
Mix in remaining dry ingredients, without kneading. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a stand mixer, use a wooden spoon. You may also need to use wet hands to incorporate a little more flour.
Cover (not airtight) and let rest at room temperature about 2 hours.
You can use the dough right away, but it is easier to handle when cold, so refrigerate covered but not airtight.
Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and I dust it with cornmeal, although it doesn’t say to do this in the book. Take the dough and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around ot the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Put the dough in a loaf pan. Zoe suggests weighing the dough and that it should weigh about 2 pounds. Allow to rest and rise about 1 hour 40 minutes, or 60 minute if using unrefrigerated dough.
Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 and bake for about 60 minutes. When done baking, flip it out of the pan and cool on rack.
