This recipe, the first one I’ve tried from King Arthur Flour’s Whole Grain Baking book and my first attempt at making bread with white whole wheat flour, was quite delicious – a tad sweet with a wonderful light texture, in spite of the fact that I neglected the dough a bit causing it to over-rise slightly during the second rise and, as a result, collapse in the center during baking (if you look closely you can see the collapsed, wrinkly center in the photos – fortunately, it didn’t develop too much of the sour flavor often associated with over-risen dough!).
By Tracey
Micro Brewery Honey Wheat Bread
from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces) amber ale or mild-flavored beer
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) orange juice
- 3 tablespoons (2 1/4 ounces) honey
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- 1 3/4 cups (7 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup (1 3/4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead them—by hand, mixer or bread machine—until you have a soft, smooth dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it is puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
Lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place it in the prepared pan. Cover it gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise until it has crowned about 1 1/2 inches over the rim of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Near the end of the bread’s rising time, preheat the oven to 350 F.
Uncover and bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, tenting it with foil after 15 minutes. The bread is done when it is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190 F. Remove it from the oven, and after a minute or so turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread for 30 minutes before slicing.
