How To Make Organic Brown Bread
Brown bread, with its slight molasses flavor and wonderfully soft texture, is a staple in the Boston area. It is perfect served with soup or even toasted with butter and jam. If you have ever wished you can make bakery-quality brown bread at home, this recipe is for you. It shows you how to make an organic version that't not only delightful to eat, but also healthy.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup organic white flour
- 1/2 cup organic cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons organic rye flour
- 1 active, dry yeast
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Warm the buttermilk in a saucepan until it reaches a temperature of 115 degrees F. Add the yeast to the pan, along with the molasses. Stir until the yeast dissolves, and then let the mixture sit for five minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the flours except for the white flour. Also stir in the salt. Pour the molasses and yeast mixture into the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Then, slowly add the white flour to the bowl and mix until a soft dough forms. This dough will be softer and looser than most yeast dough recipes you may have made in the past.
Flour a flat surface, and pour the dough onto that surface. Flour your hands well, and then gently knead the dough for 10 strokes. Apply more flour, as needed, to avoid allowing it to stick.
Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest in a warm space for about 2 hours. The dough will start to look frothy and bubbly. If your house is very cold, you may have to let the dough rest a little longer.
Prepare a loaf pan by coating it first in a thin layer of shortening, and then a light layer of flour. Pour the dough into the pan. Let it rest for another 20 minutes, during which it should rise a bit more.
While the dough is resting this second time, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Place the loaf inside, and bake for 50 - 60 minutes. When done, the bread should be dark brown and firm to the touch.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then remove it from the pan to let it cool completely. Slice, and serve with creamy butter. Enjoy! For more information, contact a business such as Klosterman Baking Company.
After struggling for months to create pastries that tasted just as wonderful as they looked, I began thinking of ways to hone my skills. It occurred to me that I really needed to focus my efforts on baking like the pros, so I started focusing on getting things done. I worked with a friend of mine to find a business that offered baking classes, and within a few weeks, we were enrolled in a class that I felt great about. They went through and helped me to streamline my processes, and within days, my baking improved. Read more about baking on this website.