This Week's Bread

This weekend I chose to bake Honey and Bran Bread and German Pumpernickel Bread, both from William Sonoma's Baking cookbook.  Both recipes called for wheat bran, but I substituted oat bran since I was unable to find what was called for (see previous post).  Here are the recipes with photos.

Honey and Bran Bread

ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons quick-rise yeast

2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

3 cups whole-wheat flour

2 - 2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 cups wheat bran 

1/4 cup honey

1 Tablespoon corn oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water and let stand until bubbles start to rise, about 5 minutes.  In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the whole-wheat flour, 1 cup of the bread flour, and the bran.  Stir in the remaining 3 cups lukewarm water, honey, oil, salt, and yeast mixture.  Gradually stir in enough of the remaining bread flour to make a soft dough that holds its shape.

Knead by hand or with a dough hook, adding bread flour as kneaded.  Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about ten minutes; knead by hook until the dough pulls cleanly from the bowl sides, 6 - 7 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, greased bowl, turning the dough to coat all sides.  
Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 - 60 minutes.

Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans.  Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press flat.  Cut in half.   Using a rolling pin, roll out each half into a 12 by 7 inch rectangle.  
Starting at a long side, roll up tightly and pinch the seams to seal.  Place in the prepared pans, seam sides down.

 Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 - 60 minutes.   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush the loaves with the egg-yolk mixture.  Bake until well browned and a thin wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 30 - 35 minutes.  Transfer the loaves to a wire rack to cool.

The honey and bran bread has a very subtle nutty flavor that I just love!  I think the oat bran tastes just fine, but I still want to try wheat bran and see what difference that makes.  The dough was very dense and heavy, which surprised me, and the finished loaves are quite dense.  I'm interested in seeing how it lends itself to making sandwiches, but for now it's just great with a little fresh butter smeared on a slice.

German Pumpernickel Bread

ingredients:

3 cups rye flour

1 cup wheat bran

2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons quick-rise yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 Tablespoons dark or light molasses

3 Tablespoons corn oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt, warmed to 110 degrees F

cornmeal for sprinkling

In a bowl, whisk together the rye flour, bran, and 2 cups of the bread flour.  In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the yeast, 1/2 cup of the flour mixture, and the lukewarm water; let stand until bubbles start to rise, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the molasses, oil, salt, and yogurt.  Gradually stir in 4 cups of the remaining flour mixture to make a stiff but workable dough.  The dough will be sticky.

Knead by hand or with a dough hook, adding the remaining flour mixture and more bread flour as needed.  Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes; knead by dough hook until the dough is not sticky and pulls cleanly from the bowl sides, about 10 minutes.  The dough will be slightly heavy.  Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, greased bowl, turning to coat on all sides.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 60 - 75 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press flat.  Cut in half, knead briefly, and form each half into a ball, stretching the sides down and under.  


Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and place the loaves on it.  Cover with a clean kitchen town and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 - 60 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover and bake until browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms, about 1 hour.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

This is the first time I've ever attempted pumpernickel, and I really enjoyed it!  The dough is just gorgeous and handles very well after enough flour has been added (up until that point it's very sticky).  The photos don't really do the finished loaves justice.  They're beautiful in a very rustic way.  I tried a slice last night with a little butter, and it had the same dense, moist texture as the honey and bran bread.  I wonder if that's because of the oat bran (?).  Does anyone know?

I have a feeling that as it sits the flavors will deepen and it will have a more traditional pumpernickel flavor.  I certainly hope so because I just love a good, deep pumpernickel flavor!