Bread basics

Bread has been a part of human history for at least 30,000 years, dating back to prehistoric Upper Paleolithic Europe.  The earliest versions of bread were unleavened, meaning that they were flat, cracker-type breads made without yeast.  Wheat and barley were two of the first domesticated grains and were grown in the region of biblical lands known as the Fertile Crescent more than 10,000 years ago.  The first evidence of the use of yeast for bread baking and for brewing ale came from Egypt in 4000 BC.  In fact, according to the book Food In History by Reay Tannahill, it seems that the discovery of ale was stimulated by the process of bread baking.  So if you like beer, you have bread to thank.

When I was a kid, my mom baked bread in a bread machine from freshly ground wheat that she ground in her wheat grinder.  The incredible smell that overtook the house when bread was baking is hard to forget, and I still think there are few things better than a warm piece of buttered bread fresh from the oven.  I have been wanting to bake my own bread for a while now, but have been a little intimidated by the process.  I had the false impression that it was a complicated process that needed to be done perfectly in order to be any good.  A co-worker recently told me that she and her kids baked bread together all the time and insisted that if her kids could do it, I could do it.  I wondered how I would know if I was kneading it too much or too little, and she said that her kids often "kneaded it to death" and it still came out just fine.

She shared her favorite french bread recipe with me, which came from a book by James Beard called Beard On Bread. Another friend recently took a bread baking class with French Chef Robert Barral, who is the former executive chef at the famous New England Culinary Institute and now runs the very popular Cafe Provence in Brandon, VT.  She was generous enough to share a recipe they made in class for Oatmeal Wheat bread.  Armed with two fantastic recipes and some encouragement, I decided to tackle my fear of bread baking.  I put on some music got to work.


Chef Barral's Oatmeal Wheat Bread

2 C whole milk
1 C old-fashioned rolled oats (plus more for topping)

1/2 C warm water (105-115 F)
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 C honey
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
plus a little extra for buttering bowl and loaf pans
3 C stone-ground whole wheat flour
2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 lg egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Heat milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until hot, but not boiling.  Remove the pan from heat and stir in oats.  Let stand, uncovered, stirring occasionally until cooled to warm.

Stir together water, yeast, and 1 tsp honey in a small bowl.  Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  This is called proofing the yeast and is a way to make sure that the yeast is still live and active.  If the  mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over.  If the yeast is no longer active, your bread won't rise.  If the yeast mixture foams properly, proceed by mixing it with the melted butter, remaining honey, and the cooled oatmeal.

Stir together whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl.  I am using some fantastic local flours that I want to tell you about quickly.  The whole wheat flour I am using comes from Gleason Grains in Bridport, VT.  Ben Gleason has been growing organic wheat on his family-run farm in Vermont for 30 years!  Ben delivers the flour in 50 lb bags to our co-op every week, fresh from the mill, and many insist it is the freshest flour available.   The organic all purpose white flour I am using comes from Nitty Gritty Grain in Charlotte, VT, which is another fantastic, local, organic family farm.

After combining the flours and salt, add it to the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.  Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead with floured hands, adding just enough of the remaining AP flour to keep the dough from sticking.  Continue kneading until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball, then transfer to a large buttered bowl.  Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.  Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 and 1/2 hours.

Lightly butter two loaf pans.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times to remove the air.  Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a loaf.  Place a loaf in each buttered pan, tucking ends gently to fit.  Cover loaf pans loosely with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
Put oven rack in middle position an heat to 375 F.  Lightly brush the tops of each loaf with some of the egg wash and then sprinkle with oats.  Bake until golden, 35-40 minutes.  Remove bread from the pans and transfer to a rack until they cool.
 

James Beard's French Bread

1 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2 C warm water (100-115 F)
1 Tbsp salt
5-6 C flour (all-purpose and whole wheat) 
3 Tbsp cornmeal
1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp water 

Combine yeast, sugar, and water in a large bowl and proof it for 5 minutes until it gets foamy.  Mix salt with your flour blend.  I used a combo of 3 1/2 cups Nitty Gritty all purpose white with  2 cups Gleason's whole wheat stone ground bread flour.  Add it to the yeast mixture one cup at a time until the dough is stiff.  Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.  Place it in a large buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, place it in a warm space free of drafts and let it rise until it doubles in bulk (1 1/2- 2 hours).  Punch down the dough then shape it into two loaves.  Place to loaves on a baking sheet sprinkled with corneal and slash each loaf diagonally with a knife.  Brush the loaf tops with the egg wash and place in a cold oven.  Bake at 400 F for 35 minutes. 

I think that the flavor and texture of both of these breads turned out great for my first attempt, and I hear from much more experienced bread bakers that loaf texture will just get better and better with practice.  Also keep in mind that bread freezes beautifully so if you are only baking for two, like I am, just place the extra loaves in freezer-safe packaging and freeze until you need them.  Another thing I love about bread is that even when it gets a little stale, you can use it to make your own croutons or bread crumbs with minimal effort.  Just toast it, cube it (for croutons) or use a food processor to turn it into crumbs, toss it in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and spices, and keep in an airtight jar.  You can serve the croutons on salads or soups and you can use the bread crumbs to make a delicious crust on things like casseroles, meats, or slices of squash or eggplant.