Tuesday, March 9, 2010

An Experiment, Part II. With a BONUS surprise!

Last we met, I was taunting you with promises of a no-knead sandwich bread that would be both nutritious and delicious, with the added benefits of lowering your cholesterol and passing nationally-approved healthcare reform.

Ergo, shall we continue? Could this mixer-less bread possibly work?

Let's check in.

Thanks to the truckload of yeast I dumped in there, the bread dough has risen about forty-seven times.

Here's the risen dough.

To punch it down, just swirl your butter knife around in the bowl to get the air out of the dough.

Anyway, after now forty-eight punch-downs, I think it's time to bake it. It's risen again -

So punch 'er down once more.

Flour the board heavily and dump out the dough.

Flip it over a couple times to cover it with flour and roughly flatten it.

Get your pans ready with a light coat of cooking spray.

Cut into two pieces, and prepare yourself for the BONUS SURPRISE!

My first-ever blog video! Here, for your viewing entertainment and culinary education: "How to Form Yeast Dough for a Bread Loaf." Yes. Long name.



Form both halves into loaves and place into the prepared pans. Spray the tops with cooking spray.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15-45 minutes, depending on how much of a hurry you're in. I was doing dishes, and since our dishwasher is still on the fritz, the loaves sat for the longer side of that timeframe.

Here, after about 45 minutes, it's time to bake. See how they haven't risen much? It's alright! You'll be amazed at what a hot oven can do. So preheat to 375 degrees F...

... and when the oven is ready, pop 'em in.

Bake for 40 minutes.

See? SEE? Bread! It worked! Worked, I tell you, WORKED!

The only problem with this experiment is that - AHEM, "WONDER WIFE" - six cups of flour is not enough for two full-size loaves.

A little dinky there, "Wonder Wife."

But OH! were these good. With some butter brushed on top of the crust, they tasted GREAT. The flavor was more tangy than the original Granny Bread recipe, and the bread was a little chewier because of the increased bread flour and the decreased grains. They are definitely different recipes, but the ease of this one makes it equally wonderful.

In conclusion? I was very happy with the results of the experiment, except for the loaf size.

So here, my lovely readers, is a MODIFIED, bona fide, "mixer's died," no-knead Granny Bread recipe.

Hugs to you all, and happy, happy Tuesday.

Mixer-less Granny Bread
  • 6 cups white bread flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4-1/2 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, honey, or molasses
  • 2 tablespoons of salt
  • 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup each of oats, wheat germ or bran, ground or whole flaxseed, sunflower seeds, bulgur, millet, or other grains you have on hand (or heck, leave them all out)
  • 2 tablespoons instant yeast
Whisk above ingredients together well.

Add 4 cups hot tap water and stir with a strong arm and sturdy wooden spoon until combined.

Cover and let rise once or up to seventy times seven times. Keep punching down until you're ready to bake it.

Turn out onto a floured board and cut in two pieces. Form loaves and place in two 9x5 loaf pans coated with cooking spray.

Spray tops of bread with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 15-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. When done, brush tops with butter if you desire.

Stick out your tongue at bread recipes that call for a KitchenAid. You've done it without one, baby.

Good job.

2 comments:

  1. I'm definitely going to try this recipe! How much flour should I add in total. Love the video BTW!!! :D Great job. Talk to you later. ~Alisani Brazil

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  2. Alisani! The key for this recipe is HALF as much water as flour. For the recipe above, which calls for eight total cups of flour (disregard the grains - I don't count them as flour), you'd need 4 cups of hot water. Let me know if you have any problems with it!

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