My intention was to make this bread recipe. I had everything more or less ready to go and then I realized something crucial- I’d used whole wheat flour instead of white whole wheat flour. A fairly serious problem for white whole wheat bread. So, I did the logical thing- I improvised.
Here is the resulting recipe:
- 6 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp yeast
You should be able to cut the recipe in half across the board for a smaller loaf.
Dissolve the sugar in 1 cup of the water, then add 1 cup of the flour and all the yeast and mix thoroughly. Put the remaining flour in the mixer bowl and then chunk up and combine the butter with the flour until the butter chunks are more like butter bits. Then add the salt into the mixing bowl and finally the remainder of the water. Run the mixer until everything is a kind of a lumpy looking mass, then let everything rest for about 15 minutes.
After the rest period, add the flour-yeast mixture into the bowl with everything else and then slowly work the mixer up to a medium speed. Once the dough takes on a satiny look you’re done- 5 to 10 minutes depending on how fast the mixer is working.
Now the crucial part- take your loaf pan, spray it with your favorite non-stick spray and put the dough into the loaf pan. Gently spread the dough across the bottom of the pan. Oh- if you don’t have a large loaf pan(4x4x15), then you’ll be needing 2 pans(If you cut the recipe in half, you’re all set). Allow the dough to rise for a couple of hours. Once the dough is tickling the top of the pan, start warming up the oven to 400 and get the middle rack ready. When the oven is heated slide the loaf into the oven for about 30 minutes. When you take it out, let it cool and set for at least 15 minutes. 30 is better,
About now, some of you might be thinking “Something is missing here…” and you’d be right. I have not done a proofing step. Why? If you’ve ever made whole wheat bread before, then undoubtedly you’ve done the initial rise followed by a fold and a proof stage only to have the loaf turn into a brick when you bake it. Bad bread- bleck. The obvious solution is not to bother with a proof step. Thus- just set the dough in the loaf pan and let it rip.
Incidentally, you may be wondering why I’m calling it “Bruce Lee Whole Wheat Bread.” Because it kicks butt? Because he was possibly the most physically fit individual ever and whole wheat bread is healthy? Nope. It’s because of all the water in the recipe- basically 1 cup of water per 2 cups of flour. Try that sometime with anything other than wheat and you’d still be kneading a soupy mess right now. Well, after I realized my mistake with the wheat flour, I immediately added extra water. Wheat flour is thirsty stuff. As I was waiting for it to get absorbed, I happened to recall a Bruce Lee clip where he discusses his fighting philosophy/ style. Basically he states something like “Now water can flow or it can crash… Be water my friend.”
Eat the bread my friend.