whole wheat bread, take 2

by Stacy

whole wheat molasses bread

This is the bread that broke my poor mixer. Sniff sniff.

Good thing it’s yummy.

It’s actually the same recipe as the Honey Whole Wheat Bread from last week, but… I ran out of honey. I didn’t have 1/4 cup of maple syrup (or gold coins, which are close in value if not in sugar content), but I did have molasses. I was a bit suspicious since molasses has a fairly strong flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised. While the dough reminded me excessively of gingersnaps, the bread itself was moist and hearty. I did adapt a few other things because I am a tinkerer, so I will report the recipe with the changes I made (and suggestions for what I should have done).

Instead of honey, I used molasses. Instead of water and powdered milk, I used plain yogurt (a batch of yogurt didn’t set, so the soupy stuff works great for baking). I also added a few tablespoons of wheat germ for extra wheaty oomph. The yogurt measurement was harder to adapt than milk, so I added some bread flour to temper it. In the end, I think the added moisture needed another few minutes in the oven; I think my loaf turned out slightly under baked. Lesson learned!

Apologies for the lack of photos, but I’ve been taking some blurry crap shots lately. I’m sparing you for your own good.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (3 ounces) molasses
2 tablespoon wheat germ
3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup bread flour (approximately)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all ingredients except bread flour and mix with a paddle attachment. Add bread flour until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Switch to a dough hook and knead for five minutes until dough becomes soft and supple, or turn the dough out and knead by hand for 6-8 minutes. Shape dough into a ball, transfer to a lightly-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until puffy but not doubled, about 60 minutes.

After an hour or so, flatten dough into a rectangle and roll it into an 8-inch-long log, sealing the seam on the bottom. Place the log in a lightly-greased 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about an hour or until the dough has crowned about an inch over the lip of the pan.

Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes, tenting the bread with tinfoil after 25 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Bread should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom, or the middle should read 190F on a thermometer. Remove from pan and allow loaf to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing or storing.

Submitted to YeastSpotting.

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Susan/Wild Yeast July 23, 2009 at 8:02 am

Your poor mixer! But the bread looks great, and I don’t think I would mind at all a dough that reminded me of gingersnaps.

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stacy July 24, 2009 at 12:05 am

My husband has promised to help me fix it, but now he has a cold (and we all know when men are sick…. ugh).

My worry was that the molasses flavor would be too strong for an everyday sandwich bread, but it’s really mellow! We had grilled cheese with it last night and it was fine.

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Sunshinemom July 24, 2009 at 9:48 am

Came over from Susan’s yeastspotting to have a look at that delicious bread!

Reply

Mimi July 24, 2009 at 2:07 pm

You know it’s gotta be good whole wheat bread when it destroys your mixer, lol!!

I loved your comment about needing gold coins for the purchase of maple syrup. I thought I was the only person who noticed how much the price has increased on that stuff!

This bread sounds so good. Molasses should go well with a dense loaf like this one.

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