Loftier Pursuits

After making a rather dense but delicious loaf of sourdough broiche bread a while back I was in the mood for a lighter whole wheat bread made with yeast. I am also reviving my sourdough starter as it was a bit neglected for a few days. It is springing back to new life as it bubbles in a jar on the counter. Meanwhile....

My Mom has given me several of her bread books and old cookbooks which I am thrilled with. One of these books was the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown. This book gave me new inspiration for my baking!

Although this might not be the most ideal day for baking because it is in the 90's outside, it is a great day for raising bread dough, so I went for it. I wanted to make one loaf plus a batch of rolls to save for a family dinner this weekend. This worked well and I got two projects done at once!

The result of my baking today was the lovely loaf above. It is one of the prettiest loaves I've ever made. It has a nice crust on the outside that is not too tough and it is nice, soft and light inside! Just what I was after! The rolls (pictured below) are also beautiful and delicious! I can't wait to serve them!


I really enjoyed learning some new techniques and hand work in making bread with this recipe. I changed the recipe a bit from the original but it is close.

Light and Fluffy Whole Wheat Bread: Adapted from the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Tassajara Bread Book

Makes: 2 small loaves in 4x8 pans or 1 small loaf and about 11-12 rolls or about 24 rolls

I. Sponge:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups unbleached white flour (I used a whole wheat white flour)
2 cups whole wheat flour

II: Bread:

4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup softened butter
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour


Directions:

1. Put milk and water together in a glass measure. Microwave for about 1 minute to warm the liquid up. Pour this mixture into a large bowl and dissolve the yeast in it. Stir in the brown sugar.

2. Then, stir in the unbleached white flour and the whole wheat flour. This will make a very thick batter. Stir the mixture with a spoon about 100 strokes.

3. Let the sponge rise about 45 minutes. Then, fold in the salt and butter. Do this very gently and carefully. Fold in the additional 3 cups of flour.

4. Knead on a lightly floured board, use more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the board. Knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth.

5. Let the dough rise about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk then punch it down.

6. Let the dough rise again for another hour. Shape the dough into loaves or rolls and place in pans or on a greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal (if you are doing rolls). Let the loaves or rolls rise for another 25 minutes while you are heating up the oven to 350F.

7. Slash the loaves or rolls with a sharp knife and then brush them with an egg wash made from 1 egg and 1-2 tablespoons of water mixed thoroughly.

8. Bake the loaves in a 350F oven for 1 hour, or until golden brown. If you are baking rolls at the same time bake them for only about 20 minutes, then take them out and let the loaf continue baking.

9. Remove from pans and let cool.

Enjoy!!