Satisfying Your Knead - guide to the art of bread making - Recipe

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 1999 by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Susan Jane Cheney

4 The last step is shaping the dough according to the recipe and letting it rise for the final time. The second rising will take less time than the first, about 45 minutes, because the gluten structure has already been formed. (Note: The finger-poke method is only useful for the first rising.) Before you put the shaped and risen dough into the oven, make several slashes in the top of the loaf using a sharp knife or razor blade. These will allow the dough to expand rapidly without tearing. At this time you can also brush on a glaze, such as beaten egg, or sprinkle on seeds.

Hard as it may be, you really should wait until a loaf has cooled thoroughly to the touch before slicing it. The center of a fresh-from-the-oven loaf is still doughy because the baking process isn't complete. If hot bread is absolutely too tempting to resist, make a few rolls out of part of the dough and bake them along with the loaf. These you can eat almost immediately. By the way, the best way to store your loaves (if there are any left over, that is) is to keep them unwrapped in a large ceramic bowl at room temperature covered by a plate or tray. Freezing bread is better than refrigerating it (which robs flavor), but freeze loaves sliced rather than whole so that you can take out just what you need at any one time.

From start to finish, the best breads are the product of a happy marriage of art and science. Besides practice, the secret to good bread baking is allowing enough time for fermentation to completely transform the grain, physically and enzymatically. This process enhances the taste, texture, digestibility and shelf life of the finished bread. Understanding bread making may dispel its mystique, but it will never diminish the magic of a superlative loaf.

Honey-Wheat Bread

MAKES 1 LOAF DAIRY-FREE

1 tsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 [degrees] F to 115 [degrees] F)
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

IN SMALL BOWL, combine yeast and warm water. Stir gently and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In large bowl, combine boiling water, honey, oil and salt. Stir until honey is dissolved, then let mixture stand until lukewarm. Using a wooden spoon, stir in whole-wheat flour until blended, then yeast mixture. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Place dough in large oiled bowl, turning dough to coat. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Oil a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly, then flatten dough with both hands to remove any air pockets. Fold dough into a semicircle and using your palms, square off and flatten short ends.

Position dough so long sides are horizontal. Starting from long side farthest away, fold dough toward you two or three times, each time sealing edge where dough meets by pressing with heel of your hand. Place dough in prepared pan. Cover loosely with towel or wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.