Bread Recipe: Wheat, Oats & Honey

"A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou."

-- Omar Khayyam

It's officially fall in Southern California, with a slight chance of rain. But at my house, it feels like summer, because my poor oven's been working overtime. Despite efforts to eat more produce and less starch, I gave in to an irresistible impulse to make bread. I salved my conscience about my carb addiction by making loaves with whole-grain wheat and oats, using a recipe I found on the back of the Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour package. Instead of going with the popular anti-gluten camp, I've gone the other direction, indulging my inner gluten glutton. Not only does the recipe call for 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, it increases the gluten load by adding two tablespoons of concentrated wheat gluten--a gray-white powdery ingredient--to the dough.

FYI, the word gluten comes from the Latin word for glue--and it's aptly named, since it's the elastic substance in wheat (also found in rye and barley) responsible for keeping bread "glued" together and, when kneaded, gives the bread a proper rise. Some high-protein flours like whole wheat and rye have a problem developing their gluten--meaning breads made with these flours need help rising (as do I some mornings!). That's where the vital wheat gluten comes in.

Toasted with peanut butter and mango honey

For those who are avoiding gluten for health reasons, obviously this bread is not for you. For the rest of you, here's a recipe for a loaf of whole wheat bread with just a hint of oats. I found Scottish oats, also from Bob's Red Mill, at my local Whole Foods. I think rolled oats might do just as well. I reduced the salt by a third and never missed the extra sodium. The loaves were dense but not heavy--great with soup, especially excellent toasted and topped with melted cheese, peanut butter and jelly, butter--or just about anything. I thought the bread might freeze well, but we finished it before we could find out.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Bob's Red Mill.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

(Makes two loaves)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup Scottish oatmeal
2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten


Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.

2) In a sauce pan, heat the milk, honey, oil and salt until warm (about 115 degrees F).

3) Add the liquid to the dry ingredients. If you're using a mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix at slow speed for about half a minute, making sure to scrape the batter from the sides of the bowl. Beat for 3 minutes at high speed. If mixing by hand, stir until ingredients are well combined--about 5 minutes.

4) Stir in oats, wheat gluten and flour. (The recipe suggests doing this by hand, but I used the dough attachment on the mixer to combine the ingredients briefly at low speed.) Add enough of the remaining flour to create a dough that starts to pull away from the sides of bowl.

5) Turn the dough out onto a floured board, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.

6) Shape into a ball, and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).

7) Punch down the dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. Shape into two loaves. Place in two greased 8 1/2"x 4 1/2" loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. If you want, brush a little water on top of the loaves and sprinkle with a few rolled oats.

8) Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, until the loaves are well-browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks. If you can stand to wait, let the loaves cool completely before slicing. However, if you're like me, you probably won't.

Tinkering*:

1) Try using white whole wheat flour for a milder taste.

2) Reduce honey and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of molasses.

3) Knead 1/4 to 1/2 cup of raisins into the dough.

4) Use half all-purpose white flour or bread flour, and leave out the vital wheat gluten--or use just 1 tablespoon.

*I haven't tried these variations, so I can't vouch for the results, but baking and cooking are all about experimentation, so why not give it a whirl?


Calories & Points (for 16 slices per loaf):

105 calories

3 Weight Watchers points per slice

Raisins, Pecans and Rye--Oh My!

As you have probably gathered by now, I've got a bit of a rye bread obsession. I doubt there's any treatment other than to keep trying new recipes. Here's one for Raisin Pecan Rye Bread from another of my favorite baking books,  "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion."  I've been seeking a bread that approximates the crusty artisan loaves I see at local farmer markets and bakeries for $5 or $6 apiece. Having gone through the process of kneading a rather sticky dough and struggling to incorporate generous amounts of raisins, currants and nuts into the mix without accidentally losing my wedding ring in the process, I can understand why the loaves are a bit pricey.

Not to intimidate any novice bakers, but I would agree with one comment in response to the online version of the recipe: this is definitely not a beginner's bread! But, as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding (or, in this case, the bread!). The sweet, nutty combination of raisins, rye and toasted pecans is addictive. From my standpoint, toasted (or not) for breakfast (or lunch, dinner or snack) with butter or jam, slathered with cream cheese, peanut butter or, as the KAF Web notes suggest, an assertive cheese like Roquefort, it's hard to beat. Another variation of this bread, which I'm sure I'll attempt soon, is for Raisin-Rye Crisps, a cracker-like version--also quite pricey in the upper-crust groceries that sell them around here.

The bread recipe calls for a biga, a starter created in much less time than those used for traditional sourdough breads or rye breads--for example, the rye sour I wrote about previously. The biga in this recipe sits overnight, but if you allow it to ferment longer, it would add more sourness to the bread.

Biga just beginning...

Biga getting bigger

The recipe comes from the book and online recipes, which vary slightly from each other. Note that KAF recipes include both weights and measures for most ingredients. Weighing ingredients, particularly flour, isn't a bad idea, although I often don't do it. The reason it's probably wise is that everyone measures ingredients a bit differently, whereas weights are fairly uniform. I'm more strict about this for flour than for liquids but am not so much of a stickler that I wouldn't round off 1 7/8 ounces flour to 2 ounces.

Raisin Pecan Rye Bread

(Makes one large loaf, about 16 servings)

Biga

1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) cool water


Dough

1 1/4 teaspoons salt (the book version calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons, but I prefer less sodium)
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 7/8 ounces) medium or light rye flour*
1/2 cup (1 7/8 ounces) pumpernickel*
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped pecans (I toasted them first)
1 cup (5 ounces) currants or raisins (I used a combination of both)


Make the biga by stirring together the yeast, flour and water. The dough will be very stiff and dry. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or, as I did, for about eight hours during the day. Again, letting it rest longer, will up the acidity and sourness factor.

Mixing biga with rye and white flours using a dough hook

The next day--or later the same day--combine the biga with the remaining ingredients (except the fruit and nuts) in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix to form a shaggy, sticky dough. I used the mixer, first combining the ingredients using the paddle attachment for a minute or two, then using my dough hook to knead until the dough started to pull away from the sides of the metal bowl. Knead the dough until smooth, though it will still be quite sticky. Place it in a lightly greased bowl and allow it to rest for 1 hour. It will become puffy, though possibly not double its original size (mine actually did, I think).

Kneading by hand

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, gently deflate it, and knead in the nuts and fruit. I found this a bit tricky--a cup of fruit and half cup of nuts is a lot to incorporate into a dough that's so sticky. It helped to dust the dough and kneading board with a bit of flour, adding fruit and nuts a handful at  time and kneading a little after each addition. Some of the fruit ended up falling off the edges of the board, but finally, my fruit-speckled dough was ready to be turned into loaves (I doubled the recipe to make two!).

Risen rye before raisins

Shape the dough into a slightly flattened ball and place on a greased sheet pan or round 9-inch cake pan. Cover with some lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover. Let the loaf rise for about 90 minutes until puffy. I delayed the process by refrigerating the covered loaves to proof overnight, then allowing a few more minutes to sit at room temperature in the morning. I also brushed the loaves with a little water and sprinkled sesame and poppy seeds on top.

Raisin rye before baking

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread for about 50 to 55 minutes, tenting it lightly with foil during the final 15 minutes. It's important to keep your eyes on the bread at the end, as it does brown rather quickly. I also recommend turning the bread once about halfway through the cycle to make sure it browns evenly. The interior of the bread should register 190-195 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. As I don't have one of these (yes, it's on the list!), I used the old thump on the bottom of the loaf technique, plus my trained eyeballs, to figure out that the bread was done.






*Note: I used KAF White Rye for the first and KAF Medium Rye for the second, as I didn't have any pumpernickel. I would probably try a dark whole-grain rye such as Bob's Red Mill organic brand next time--or get the real thing via mail order from King Arthur Flour.

Raisin ryes fresh from the oven

Calories & Points:

According to KAF, each slice of the bread (if you cut it into 16 generous slices of 79 grams each) has about 236 calories, or, if you're going by the Weight Watchers Points Plus system, 6 points. However, as I like my bread toasted thin and crisp, I halve that amount--then eat two slices!


Tinkering:

• Check out some of the suggestions for the recipe online. I'm eager to try "pammyowl's" gluten-free suggestions with buckwheat flour, cornstarch and an egg to satisfy my gluten-phobic friends and relatives. Stay tuned.
• Try substituting olive oil or a nut oil for the butter. Instead of (or in addition to) currants or raisins, use dried cranberries or cherries.
• Use hazelnuts or walnuts or a combination of nuts in place of the pecans.
• As rye and caraway go so well together, add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds to the dough and/or sprinkle some on top.
• Another idea is to use George Greenstein's rye sour in place of the biga for more pronounced sour tang. You would probably need to reduce the amount of added water--or add more flour--as the sour is quite wet.