Sprouted Whole Grain Bread

After I made my first batch of butter I was left with the liquid I've been assured is indeed buttermilk.  The only thing I was sure I could use it for was to make bread.  I let it sit on the counter so that it would warm to room temperature, and I set out to find a Whole Grain Bread Recipe that used buttermilk.

This week I made a visit to Anita's Organic Grain and Flour Mill in a tiny little hamlet called Greendale, 10 minutes from Chilliwack.  I picked up some stone-gound Sprouted Whole Grain Flour and some stone-ground Organic Kamut Flour (which I pronounced wrong the entire time I was in the store).  My intention is to add a bit of it to the bread that I make.  I've been making about half the bread we consume since Christmas and I hope if I can get the hang of it that I'll be making all of it.  I won't put that kind of pressure on myself just yet, but that's the goal.  My bread consists of mainly 4 or 5 natural ingredients.... and since I've been avoiding processed foods and especially anything with corn or soy in them, I am finding that making my own bread is more than worth it.  The Sprouted Grain and Kamut flours (among a host of other natural, unprocessed, heritage flours) are higher in fibre and nutrients and overall are just so much healthier for our bodies.

Thank-ful for my days cooking for a bunch of wild tree-planters.... where if I wasn't good at baking bread, I sure practiced.

Buttermilk Whole Wheat Bread from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

makes 1 9"x5" or 2 8.5"x4.5" loaves

Ingredients

 2 teaspoons instant yeast

3/4 cup warm water (105-115F)

1-1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature 

1/4 c oil

1-1/2 cups white flour, approximately

3 cups whole wheat flour, (I used stone-ground sprouted)

2 tablespoons brown sugar or molasses [I used molasses]

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt which I forgot to add :(

Step 1 - In a large mixing bowl sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir briefly to dissolve. Set aside while allowing the buttermilk to reach room temperature.

Step 2 - When at room temperature, pour the buttermilk, bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, oil, brown sugar or molasses, baking powder, and salt into the yeast mixture. Blend at low speed (LOW people... I turned mine to the '2' and had flour spurt up all over my kitchen and newly washed dishes... like I want to wash them TWICE. argh!)

 in a mixer until the flour and the dry ingredients are absorbed. With the bread hook stir in the remaining whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and, when it becomes thick, work with the fingers. Allow 4 to 5 minutes for the whole wheat flour to fully absorb the liquid before adding more flour. The dough will be slightly sticky and soft.  

Step 3 - Cover in oil and let rise in a warm place until double (1 hour at least)

Step 4 - Punch down and shape into loaves, tucking the ends in. I always use parchment paper.... there's no hassel getting the loaves out of the pan that way. Let rise another hour. For a really beautiful crust, brush on a beaten egg.

Step 5 - Preheat oven to 425F 20 minutes before baking.

Step 6 - Bake the loaf or loaves in the oven until they are golden brown and loose in the pans, about 30-35 minutes.  The loaves are baked if the sound is hard and hollow when thumped on the bottom crust.  

Step 7 - Remove loaves from the oven and place on wire racks to cool.