Bread, Glorious Bread - Half White Half Wheat - My all time favorite


Today I made a variation of a recipe that I really like.  It comes from Baking Bread by Beth Hensperger.  I make this recipe in my Bosch mixer.  Recently I realized my bread scale was no longer accurate so it has taken a trip to the great garbage heap in the sky.   My guess is these are about 1 1/2 pound loaves.  (6 9"x5"loaves)  Much of the book is about artisan breads.  This is the most useful one for me. 

Are you a beginner? There are so many great recipes out there for the great baker in all of us.  If you want to bake bread, you can do it!  I know that you can!  Bread baking is a basic art that anyone can learn.  Great bread has been made through the ages by mere people!  All you need is a bit of basic education about bread making.  Enjoy!

Variation - Original
3 cups warm water
3 cups warm milk
6 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp Blue Chip dough enhancer (optional)
3/4 cup water 105-115 degrees
about 18 cups flour (1/2 white 1/2 wheat)  Please do not feel like you must use it all.

Proof yeast in 3/4 cup warm water with tsp of sugar.  Add the warm milk and water to the Bosch bowl followed by the oil, salt and sugar.  Add the flour until a soft dough is formed.  (Dry bread is yucky.)

See this post for a picture of the correct texture that I aim for. 
Wait!  There are only 5 loaves in this picture!  One was already half gone.  Yum!

(Today I was busy so I let the bread develop in the sponge stage, then after the flour was mixed in the phone range.  I had to run out the door.  I forgot the bread and later received a distress call from my daughter on the cell phone.  The dough had jumped   out of the bowl.  She scooped it up and pulsed the dough to knock it down a bit.  Then I knocked the bread down again when I got home.  This batch had a lot of opportunity to develop.)

Many people decide they cannot make good bread after adding too much flour to the bread.  This is an important SECRET to good bread the other is patient development of the dough.  Damp or greased fingers are great for handling softer dough.  

Mix for 7-8 minutes in the Bosch.  Let rise until the mixer lid lifts off.  Pulse to punch down.  Dump onto the counter and divide into 6 loaves.  Shape and place in greased standard loaf pans.  See the post referred to above for details about greasing.

(More shaping, check out the short clip The Back Home Bakery.  See the bottom left corner.  Watch how Mark uses his pinkies to tuck the ends of the loaf in as he gently drags the dough on the bench.)

Let rise until 1 inch above the top of the pan.  Bake at 375 until brown.  (Core temp 190 and medium brown.)

A kindred spirit for sure! Beth's Blog.
A great bread article that has not gone out of fashion. Bon Appetit March 1985
Another great article about Beth's bread. Bon Appetit October 1989

Rose another great Baker - Rose Levy Beranbaum's blog.

Comments

  1. Looks so yummy. I will have to try to make some tomorrow! You have me craving homemade bread now. I love your blog!

    Angela Burrows

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for stopping by Angela! I hope you are doing well. :o)

    ReplyDelete

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