Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Fruit and nut rye bread

After dinner, put in your Kitchenaid:

1 c rye starter
1 1/4 c warm water
1 T barley malt syrup
3 c white bread flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c wheat bran
2 t cherry brandy
1 T salt

Mix together with the dough hook on low or medium-low for 6-8 minutes, then mix in:

zest of one large orange
2 c pecan halves, broken up a bit
3/4 c currants
1 c raisins
1 c craisins

Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes. Put in a greased bowl, cover with a cloth, and put in the oven with a pan of boiling water and the pilot light on overnight.

The next morning, lift the dough onto a floured surface. Cut in half, then cut one half into 16 little pieces for rolls and leave the other half intact for a boule (or whatever combination of loaf sizes you desire). Press the big dough piece into a rectangle, fold in thirds like a letter, press out, then fold in thirds like a letter the other way, to get a cubic loaf. Roll around a bit to round out the corners, then place in a floured metal cake pan. Roll each little dough piece into a little ball, and place on floured parchment paper on a cookie sheet or two. Put pans in the oven, cover with a cloth, and let rise for 6-8 hours.

When you come back from a short day at work, remove loaves from the oven and preheat to 450F. If the bread looks dangerously dry, brush with a bit of oil. When the oven is nice and hot, put in the loaves, lower heat to 400F, and bake for 40 min until top is brown and bottom is not burnt. Mine came out drier than I'd prefer, so adding some oil or butter to the dough would be a good choice in the future.

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