As we've said before, it's hard to make a 100 percent whole grain bread that doesn't end up dense and heavy. That's why it's suggested to mix in all-purpose flour with your whole grain flour. (Emma does a 50:50 blend.) But Mark Bittman set out to make a delicious 100 percent whole grain bread, to find a recipe that brought out the best of whole grains. He got pretty close, and in the process, discovered three secrets that made it possible:
As Bittman writes in this week's NYT Dining Section, there are three secrets to great whole grain bread: "the food processor, the overnight rise and the sourdough starter." Greatness in whole grain bread takes time, he stresses. If you don't have time, you're going to end up with bread that falls far below its potential.
The first secret he discovered was to ditch the kneading. Kneading dough by hand for 15-20 minutes, as he tells it, was never actually necessary but rather "a requirement of a particular kind of bread made in a relatively hurried fashion using a relatively large amount of domesticated (that is, store-bought) yeast." That process has been replaced with the food processor, (a "key ingredient") which can "knead" the dough in as little as 45 seconds, essentially moving and developing the yeast in the same way as an overnight rise.
The overnight rise is the second essential. Fans of Jim Lahey's no-knead technique know that the overnight rise is what makes a great white loaf, and it's the same for whole grain bread. By reducing the yeast and "combining a slow rise and an oven-within-an-oven baking method" you can forgo the kneading and get a bit of that airier, chewier texture that one we associate with the best white loaves.
But perhaps the most important secret to great 100 percent whole grain bread is this: the sourdough starter. In fact, Bittman says that it's the only way to make a truly 100 percent whole grain bread. (His sourdough recipe uses all whole grain flours, unlike the baguette recipe, which has some all-purpose flour in it.) A whole grain sourdough bread takes time, but again, no kneading. The rye recipe he offers is "the find of a lifetime" for those who like "a dense, chewy, flavorful loaf."
Here are his three best whole-grain recipes:
Not-Quite-Whole-Grain Baguettes (made with 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 3 cups all-purpose flour)
Sourdough Rye (mad with 2 cups rye flour, 2 cups whole-wheat, and 1 1/2 cups cracked rye)
Whole-Wheat Focaccia (made with 3 cups whole-wheat flour)
Bittman does admit there is only so much whole grain you can add and still achieve "a light loaf with a crisp, shattering crust and an interior that pulls pleasantly." Whole grains will never respond to yeast quite the same way white flour does.
Adding something like 10 percent of whole wheat or rye or barley flour to a white dough gives you something like what the French call pain complet, but it's not complet at all; it's just white bread with a little whole wheat in it, like the stuff they sell in stores. Adding 20 or 30 percent gives you a distinctive loaf that has the benefits of both, and it has become my standard. Adding 50 percent or more pretty much robs you of the reasons you started with white flour in the first place. If that's what you want, make sourdough, or cheat.
Do you have a favorite 100 percent whole grain bread recipe? What secrets have you discovered?
Read More: The Wheat Lowdown by Mark Bittman The New York Times
Related: From Whole Wheat to Multi-Grain Peasant: 10 Homemade Bread Recipes
(Image: Emma Christensen)
Books & Media: Cooking and Baking Cookbooks at Pleasant Hill Grain Would you like to buy the very best... for less... and enjoy personal service too? At Pleasant Hill Grain we offer the finest kitchen tools, at great prices, and ... Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man Video on TED.com Advertising adds value to a product by changing our perception, rather than the product itself. Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived ... Why Grains Are Unhealthy Mark's Daily Apple Anti-Nutrients, lectins, gluten, phytates: Humans aren't designed to eat grains. Grains, even whole grains, are not healthy. Find out why grains are unhealthy. The technology behind Google's great results The technology behind Google's great results. As a Google user, you're familiar with the speed and accuracy of a Google search. Whole Grain Rye Flour Bread Recipes - Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople Top whole grain rye flour bread recipes and other great tasting recipes with a healthy slant from SparkRecipes.com. Julie's Health Club: The truth behind 'whole grain white bread' Sara Lee promises "white bread taste with whole grain nutrition." But the truth is, you can't have it both ways. Sara Lee's "Whole Grain White Bread ... How to Soak Grains for Optimal Nutrition - The Nourishing Home At first glance, soaking may seem intimidating, time-consuming and even risky after all, who would actually leave prepared food out on the counter for 24 hours ... No-Knead Bread: Not Making Itself Yet, but a Lot Quicker Cutting the start-to-finish time of Jim Laheys no-knead bread seemed worth a try: this shortcut recipe can be done in an afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment