Rustic Cracked Wheat Bread

This rustic cracked wheat bread is very easy and tasty.  The mixture of cracked wheat, whole wheat and bread flour makes it very nutritious. The dough can be mixed and kneaded in a stand mixer or a bread machine, but it should be baked in the oven.

I got a stand mixer for Christmas so I've been having lot's of fun with it. I love to bake bread the conventional way (by hand), but the mixer sure does help especially when you're a little tired but you still want homemade bread. I found that the stand mixer is perfect for this recipe. It handles the wet dough very nicely and you can let the dough rise right in the bowl. Perfect!


Cracked Wheat Bread Recipe
Makes: 1 large loaf
The recipe is from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman.

The cracked wheat (also known as kasha or bulgur wheat) is added to make a moist, and flavor-packed rustic bread.



Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cracked wheat or bulgur wheat
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (100°F to 110°F)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast
• 1 1/2 cups stoneground whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 to 2 cups, or as required, white bread flour
• Cracked wheat, cornmeal, and bran, for dusting counter

Directions:

In a medium bowl, cover cracked wheat with boiling water and let stand 20 minutes.




Whisk the warm water and yeast together  in the mixing bowl and let stand 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add whole wheat flour, honey, salt, and soaked bulgur and mix well.





Add most of the white bread flour and then knead with dough hook on lowest speed of mixer, adding more white flour as required to make a soft dough, kneading on low speed 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove dough hook, spray dough with nonstick cooking spray, and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.





Generously dust a work surface with cracked wheat, cornmeal, and bran.
Gently deflate the dough and roll it into a large ball.




Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape it into a tight ball (or a loaf shape). Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rise 30 to 45 minutes. 



Bake until done, 35 to 45 minutes.  Cool the loaf on a wire rack.

This bread looked so good, I couldn't wait for it to cool completely to have a slice. Believe me, this bread is as good as it looks.  I asked my son if he wanted to test what I had been making and he said "sure." When he took a bite, his eyes lit up. He said "this is really good" and ate the whole piece. If you're like me and have picky teenagers in your house, you just might find that they actually like this bread.



I took the bread over to my friend's house. Needless to say "he liked it!" This is all that was left when I came home with it.





Happy Baking!
Cathy

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

I decided to do a test bread today. I made whole wheat pumpkin bread by adapting one of my favorite white flour pumpkin bread recipes - Spiced Pumpkin Nut Bread. It is a very moist loaf with a delicate spice flavor.



The process actually began in November. I had several big pumpkins for fall decorations and I couldn't bring myself to throw them away especially given the current economic times. I would've kept the pumpkins out as decorations but I decided it would look funny to have pumpkins mixed in with the snowman display on my hearth.

So after Thanksgiving, I cut the pumpkins into big chunks and roasted them on a baking sheet until the meaty part was soft and the outside just peeled off. Then I pureed the pieces in the blender and added spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger) and sweetened the pumpkin to taste. I froze most of the pumpkin mixture but kept enough for a couple of batches of bread. Now that the busy Holiday season is over, I actually had time to make the bread.

I created my whole wheat pumpkin bread recipe by adapting the Nestle Spiced Pumpkin Nut Bread recipe. The original recipe calls for a can of pumpkin and 4 cups of all-purpose flour. I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour (that I ground in my grain mill from hard red spring wheat) and 2 cups of all-purpose. I also used 2 cups of pumpkin that I had roasted and pureed. I must say that I really like the end result. My taste tester liked it as well.



Spiced Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
Makes: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used freshly milled whole wheat flour)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups pumpkin roasted, pureed and spiced (or 1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin)*
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup apple juice
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts, divided (optional)

Note: I use roasted pumpkin puree and added additional spices to the roasted pumpkin mixture before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients to give it a burst of flavor. I've tried making the bread without adding additional spices and sugar to the roasted pumpkin mixture and just using the spices called for in the recipe but the bread tasted rather flat. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't great.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Sift flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Combine pumpkin, sugar, juice, eggs, oil and vanilla extract in large bowl; stir well. Stir in flour mixture and 3/4 cup nuts just until moistened. (I left the nuts out this time since this was a test. I didn't want to waste them if the bread didn't turn out good.)





Spoon into prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle remaining nuts over top of loaves. Eventhough I omitted the nuts, it still tasted really good.





Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then remove to wire racks to cool completely.





I was very pleased with the results. Next time, I'll probably add even more spices to give it more flavor, but I liked this version.


Happy Baking!
Cathy

Soft Pretzels

I decided to make my son some pretzels for his birthday. This was my first time making pretzels and they turned out pretty good considering. Soft pretzels would be a nice addition to your New Year's Eve Party or for any special occasion or as a snack, my favorite way to eat them.

Soft Pretzel Recipe

Recipe for these pretzels is courtesy ACH Foods.

Ingredients:

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 envelope RapidRise Yeast
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Coarse salt, grated Parmesan cheese, poppy seeds or sesame seeds

 

Directions:

In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat milk, water, and oil until very warm (120°F. to 130°F); Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. I began with a wooden spoon and finished stirring with a Danish Dough Whisk.




Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cover, let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.



Divide into 14 equal pieces.  Roll each piece to 20-inch rope.  Cover; let rest 5 to 10 minutes until risen slightly.





To shape into pretzels: Curve ends of each rope to make a circle; cross ends at top. Twist ends once and lay over bottom of circle.



Place on 2 greased baking sheets. Brush with beaten eggs.




Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; brush again with eggs. Sprinkle with salt, cheese, poppy seed or sesame seed. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until done. Remove pretzels from baking sheets; let cool on wire racks.



The warm pretzels are ready to be eaten. They taste even better brushed with melted butter.

 

Nutritional Information: Per Serving:

Serving size: 1 pretzel
calories 188; total fat 4g; saturated fat 1 g; cholesterol 32 mg; sodium 270mg; total carbohydrate 32g; dietary fiber 1 g; protein 6g.



Happy Baking!
Cathy

Whole Wheat Holiday Loaves

Holiday breads are traditionally made using white flour, sugar and dairy products. These holiday loaves are made with 100% whole wheat and contain no dairy products. The loaves are dark and chewy with an exceptional flavor.

I love making traditional festive breads, but there is a point when you can get too much of a good thing. We get so much sugar and white flour during the holidays, I thought this bread would be a nice change of pace. Of course my teenage sons probably won't eat it so I'll give a loaf to my mom. She's always willing to test my bread creations. In fact, every time she comes over she asks if I have any bread in the freezer. Of course I do!

By the way, this bread keeps very well. It will retain its goodness as long as a week under good storage conditions.


Note: You can shape the dough into two hearth loaves for a pretty presentation or bake it in loaf pans. I'm always looking for a good whole wheat toast for breakfast so I plan to bake them in loaf pans so they can easily be sliced and toasted.


Whole Wheat Holiday Loaves
Makes: 2 loaves
The recipe for these festive loaves is from The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking by Laurel Robertson.




Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (120 g)
• 1 cup raisins (145 g)
• 1 cup boiling water (235 ml)
• 1/4 cup honey (60 ml)
• 1 cup orange juice (235 ml)
• 2 tablespoons oil (30 ml)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1/4 oz or 7g)
• 1/2 cup warm water (120 ml)
• 5 1/2 cups finely ground whole wheat flour (830 g)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt (14 g)
• 2 tablespoons grated orange peel (peel of 2 or 3 oranges)

Directions:

Prepare the walnuts by roasting slightly in the oven. Rinse the raisins and pour the boiling water over them in a pan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain immediately, setting aside the raisins and bringing the measure of the water back to 1 cup.




Dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water.  Separately mix honey, orange juice, oil, and raisin water. Mix the flour, salt, and orange peel in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour  and pour in the orange juice mixture.






Combine these ingredients until they are almost mixed and then add the yeast.




Mix to form a dough, and knead five to ten minutes only. Cover and set aside to rise in a warm place. When the dough has risen until your 1/2-inch fingertip remains without filling in.




Knead about 10 minutes more, while you gradually add in the raisins and walnuts.



Let the dough rise again.




Divide in two. Shape the pieces into rounds and let them rest, covered, until relaxed.




Make two pretty hearth loaves, or shape into loaves and place in two 8" x 4" pan loaves. Let them rise again in a warm place.




Things don't always turn out the way they should:

The loaves were rising very nicely until my son turned the oven on preheat to make some pizza rolls. He didn't know there was anything in the oven and I was out running an errand. He was asleep when I left so I didn't mention it to him. He noticed once he opened the oven door, and rescued them as best he could, but they had already started baking a little bit so they didn't completely rise. I decided to share this story because things don't always go as they should. Despite all this, the loaves still taste great!



Then bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 55 minutes, or until done. Small hearth loaves will take less baking time.  Cool on wire baking rack.

This bread tastes good toasted with butter.

Happy Baking!
Cathy


Additional festive bread recipes and resources:

• Holiday Breads
• Festive Breads
• Scones Recipes
• Cranberry Bread Recipes

Transitional Whole Wheat Challah

Challah (pronounced hal-la), is the Jewish Sabbath and celebration bread. The traditional version of challah is made from a rich dough of white flour and a combination of whole eggs and additional yolks.

Tradition doesn't stipulate that it has to be made with white flour. It is the eggs that define challah, not the flour. This version uses a combination of whole wheat flour and white flour to make a beautiful and tender multigrain braid.

During the holidays, it's hard to find time to dedicate to baking bread. This recipe takes a couple days to make from start to finish, but it's really not hard or time-consuming. You can time it to fit in your schedule because most of the time is used for the fermentation. I did a good bit of the preparation during commercials while I was relaxing watching TV.

Transitional Whole Wheat Challah Recipe
Makes: 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves
Preparation: 2 days
The recipe is from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.

Day 1: Soaker and biga, 20 minutes set up and mix; overnight autolyse

Day 2: 2 hours to de-chill biga; 12 to 15 minutes mixing; 2 to 3 hours fermentation, shaping, proofing; 40 to 60 minutes baking


Ingredients:

Soaker:

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, preferably fine grind
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water

Biga:

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 7 tablespoons filtered or spring water, at room temperature (about 70 degrees F)
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 4 egg yolks

Final Dough:

• Use all soaker
• Use all biga
• 7 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar or 2 tablespoons sugar or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• extra whole wheat flour for adjustments
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water plus a pinch of salt for egg wash
  poppy seeds or sesame seed for topping (optional)

Directions:

Soaker:

Mix all of the soaker ingredients together in a bowl for about 1 minute, until all of the flour is hydrated and the ingredients form a ball of dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.

Note: If it will be more than 24 hours, place the soaker in the refrigerator; it will be good for up to 3 days. Remove it 2 hours before mixing the final dough to take off the chill.



Biga:

Mix all of the biga ingredients together in a bowl to form a ball of dough.  Using wet hands, knead the dough in the bowl for 2 minutes to be sure all of the ingredients are evenly distributed and the flour is fully hydrated. The dough should feel very tacky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead it again with wet hands for 1 minute. The dough will become smoother but still be tacky.



Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.



About 2 hours before mixing the final dough, remove the biga from the refrigerator to take off the chill. It will have risen slightly but need not have risen significantly in order to use it in the final dough.



Final Dough:

1. Using a metal pastry scraper, chop the soaker and the biga into 12 smaller pieces each (sprinkle some extra flour over the pre-doughs to keep the pieces from sticking back to each other)



2. Combine the soaker and biga pieces in a bowl with the 7 tablespoons flour and the salt, yeast, honey, and vegetable oil. Stir vigorously with a mixing spoon or knead with wet hands for about 2 minutes, until all of the ingredients are evenly integrated and distributed into the dough. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky; if not, add more flour or water as needed.




Note: You can use a stand mixer for this recipe, I just prefer to do it by hand whenever possible.


3. Dust a work surface with flour, then roll the dough in the flour to coat.  Knead the dough by hand for 3 to 4 minutes, incorporating only as much extra flour as needed, until the dough feels soft and tacky, but not sticky. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest on the work surface for 5 minutes while you prepare a clean, lightly oiled bowl.





4. Resume kneading the dough for 1 minute to strengthen the gluten and make any final flour or water adjustments. The dough should have strength, yet still feel soft, supple, and very tacky. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the prepared bowl, rolling to coat with oil.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for approximately 45 to 60 minutes, until it is about 1 1/2 times its original size.





5. Gently transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface with a plastic bowl scraper (try not to rip or tear the dough). You can make 1 large braided loaf or 2 smaller loaves, or you can cut as many as 16 smaller pieces for dinner rolls.  For braided challah, use a metal pastry scraper to cut the dough into 3, 4, 5, or 6 equal pieces, depending on the type of braid you want to make; do not rip the dough -- make clean cuts.





Roll the pieces into short ropes about 3 inches long.  Cover loosely with a cloth towel or plastic wrap,





Let rest for 5 minutes, then roll each piece into a longer rope, about 10 inches long.

Braid the ropes. I made the 3-braid loaf.


How to make a 3-braid loaf:

Lay three equal strands side by side





Start overlapping one of the outside strands over the middle strand.




Take the opposite strand and lay it over the new middle strand.




Continue this pattern until you run out of dough. Pinch the end closed.




Rotate the loaf 180 degrees and repeat the pattern. The loaf is now ready to pan and proof.





6. Place the braided loaf on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat.  Brush the egg wash on the loaf, mist the top of the dough with pan spray (optional) and cover loosely with plastic wrap, or place the pan in a plastic bag. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.





7. Brush the dough with egg wash a second time, then top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Leave the dough uncovered to continue rising for 15 more minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.





8. Place the challah on the middle shelf, reduce the heat to 325°F (163°C), and bake for 20 minutes.  Rotate the loaf 180 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.




Check the bread and rotate again if it is baking unevenly. Continue baking for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the bread is a rich brown all around, sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and registers at least 195°F (91°C) in the center.


9. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 1 hour before serving.




I hope you enjoyed learning how to make this festive bread.

Happy Baking!

Cathy