Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Fresh Baked Bread

Those of you who know me know that I bake bread nearly every week. I find that mixing and proofing and baking are contemplative tasks for me. It's time that I spend busy, but quiet. Intent. I have missed this chore in the last few weeks: my schedule hasn't allowed for much baking lately. I almost don't know how to describe the delight that I feel when I shape the dough after the first proofing. The silkiness of the bread feels so much like a plump baby's bottom. The tang of the raw dough as I pinch off a bit for a taste. It's addictive! and how to describe the smell of fresh baked bread? It wafts through my house and assaults my senses. It demands that I cut a slice of the still warm loaf, even though I really should wait until it's absolutely cool to the touch.
Today I baked the Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread from the Macrina Cookbook. One of my all-time favorite loaves for slicing and sandwiches. This recipe is extremely forgiving and the baked bread lasts about a week--that is, if you don't eat the entire loaf, hot from the oven!
Here is the recipe I used. It's basically the same as the Macrina recipe, but I substituted some whole wheat pastry flour for some of the white flour.

Macrina's Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread (adapted)
Makes 1 9x5" loaf

1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. boiling water
1/4 c. warm filtered water
2 tsp. dried yeast
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 c. coarse whole-wheat flour
2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt
Spray bottle of water

  • Set aside 1/4 c. rolled oats for decorative sprinkle. Place remaining 1 1/4 c. oats in medium bowl and cover with 1 c. boiling water. Stir with wooden spoon to moisten all oats. Let bowl sit uncovered for about 10 minute, stirring occasionally while oats absorb water.
  • Place 1/4 c. warm water in bowl of stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Mix with a whisk to dissolve yeast. Let rest about 5 minutes to proof yeast. (It should foam slightly and smell yeasty.)
  • Add soaked oats, buttermilk, canola oil, brown sugar, and all flours. Whisk in kosher salt. With hook attachment, mix on low speed to combine, then increase speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. Dough will be wet and cling to hook, but have a satiny finish.
  • Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm room (I set the bowl on top of my oven and preheat the oven to help it along.) for about an hour. Dough should almost double in size.
  • Place proofed dough on lightly floured surface. Gently flatten with your hands to release air bubbles. Shape dough into 12x6" rectangle and position so long side is facing you. Fold the two short ends onto the top, so they meet in the middle. Starting with the closest end, roll dough away from you into a log. Let loaf rest on its seam for a few minutes.
  • Transfer loaf into an oiled 9x5x4" bread pan, seam side down. Gently push dough down so it extends into all corners of pan. Cover with plastic wrap and proof a second time in warm room for about 35-45 minutes. Loaf should rise slightly above bread pan.
  • While loaf is proofing, preheat your oven to 385 degrees F.
  • Remove plastic wrap and spritz loaf with spray bottle. Scatter the remaining 1/4 c. of rolled oats along top. Place on the center rack of pre-heated oven and bake about 1 hour. The top and sides of the loaf should be a deep golden brown. Let cool in the pan about 20 minutes and then remove onto a cooling rack.
  • Theoretically, you should wait until it is completely cool to cut (it can damage the integrity of the loaf to cut it while it's still warm) but I haven't managed this yet!

2 comments:

Bookdwarf said...

Ok, you have to share the recipe with me. That looks so yummy.

Anonymous said...

Stesha, this is great! So glad I can keep tabs on your culinary adventures all the way over here in nyc. Keep cooking and blogging, my mouth was watering just reading it!

the perfect balance