Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Loaves of glory



I'm excited to have successfully made bread today. The active part of the bread-making was about 15 minutes--perfect for my work-at-home day.

My sister gave me this recipe when I last saw her. I like it because it is packed with whole grains, but has an un-doorstop-like consistency. She makes it regularly and I would like to as well. There is NOTHING like the smell and taste of warm, fresh bread, don't you agree?

Here is the loaf sliced:


and here it is as my lunch, with black olive spread, avocado, and sprouts:


Finally, here is the recipe. It contains 2 eggs and I am not sure how to substitute for them (flaxseed?). The first time, I wanted to make the recipe as written.

7-grain whole wheat bread
1 cup 7 grain hot cereal (I used Bob's red mill)
1- 1/2 cups boiling water
2 packages or 4 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (when you pour it on your wrist, it should feel neither hot nor cold)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup honey, plus an extra spoonful
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour

Pour boiling water over 7 grain cereal in a large mixing bowl and add the salt. Wait 30 minutes while the cereal cools to lukewarm. In the meantime, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add the extra spoonful of honey. Stir and then wait for the yeast to foam a little. When the cereal is lukewarm, add yeast and all remaining ingredients except for the white flour. Beat vigorously by hand or with a mixer for 2 minutes. Work in the remaining flour. Separate the dough into 2 equal parts. Knead each part thoroughly and place in a greased loaf pan (i.e. you will have 2 loaves).

Cover the loaves with a clean towel, place in a warm place, and let rise until about double in size (this takes about an hour). Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

now that's a hot slice!
hs

madeinalaska said...

hey there,, I often sub. (fresh) ground flax seeds for eggs.. the ration is 1 Tbl. flax mixed w/ 3 Tbl. water = 1 egg. You need to mix it well until it gets kind of frothy. It works really well for muffins and bread.

I agree nothing like smell and test of warm fresh bread!

Katyola said...

Looks tasty — do you cut it with a regular knife, or do you have a special utensil? It looks so evenly sliced (something I can never manage to do).

Monika K said...

This bread looks fabulous! I've got relatives coming to visit soon and wanted to bake some goodies - this looks like just the thing. Also, I would love your pumpkin muffin recipe. I've got pumpkin sitting in the fridge right now, waiting to be used. (-:

Anonymous said...

comment to madeinalaska:

wow! my flax egg replacer is totally different! i use 2 tblsp ground flax seed to 3 tblsp lukewarm water, mix and let it sit for 5 mins to thicken before adding to recipe! i think i'll try your method and see if the results are any different...