That's kind of a mouth full isn't it? I generally try to make bread 2-3 times a week. Although our favorite are simple wheat and partial wheat breads, I also love flavored breads. This would be the perfect bread to go with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. It also pared perfectly with our pork tenderloin tonight.
This is a recipe from King Arthur's whole grain baking book. It's been one of my favorites for a really long time. If you want to learn to incorporate more whole grains in your diet, but now sacrifice taste and texture of products, this is a great resource. The link for the book is here . Check it out!
The recipe starts with a simple started, they called it a preferment. It's a good thing to do with any breads. Mix 1 cup water whole wheat, I used white whole wheat, ⅓ cup cool water and a pinch of instant yeast. Mix these, it will be really thick. Cover and let this sit overnight. It's like a quick starter.
for the dough in mixing bowl add ½ cup lukewarm water 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter ¼ cup honey ⅓ cup orange juice 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour, again I used white wheat 1 ½ teaspoons salt grated zest of one orange 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast 1 cup chopped toasted pecans 1 cup dried cranberries preferment mix
Mix for 6 to 8 minutes until dough is relatively smooth. It has the nuts and cranberries, so it won't be perfectly smooth.
Let dough rise until doubled. I should also note here, in case you forgot your yeast, it's not too late. I may or may not have done this today. About 30 minutes into the rising time I may or may not have walked by and wondered why my dough wasn't rising?!? No panic here, just mix your yeast with a little warm water. I used about 2 tablespoons of warm water with the yeast. I mixed it well, then added to the dough. Mix until it is incorporated. Then start the rising time again. gosh....
Once mine was risen, I shaped it into a boule (round loaf). You can shape yours however you choose.
Put the loaf on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let it double again
preheat your oven to 350 degrees. if you are scoring your loaf, you can do it once it is risen. I dusted with flour to make it easier to score. Here's the lame I use here .
Bake for 40-45 minutes. If you don't want it to get too dark, I like the color, tent it with tinfoil after 20 minutes. To tell if the bread it done, turn it over and thump the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's done.
Allow to cool completely before slicing. This bread is heavenly. I promise you. Letting it cool before slicing into is probably the hardest part of this whole process!!
