The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking - Laurel Robertson [27]
To make the best slashes, use a very sharp knife. Gourmet books often suggest using a razor blade, but that gives me the willies, and anyway, except in the case of rolls, where you need to maneuver in a small place, no razor blade can compare with a sharp knife (the same kind that is the best for slicing baked bread, by the way—long, thin, narrow, wavy-edged). Please, if you do use a razor blade, plan in advance where you are going to put it, or tie a string to it to make sure it doesn’t turn up in someone’s food. (Incidentally, slashing bread dulls razor blades mighty quickly.)
The next thing you need for the best possible slash is daring. Pretend you are Zorro and do it boldly, zip zip. (Next time will be better, I promise.) The bouncier your dough is, the deeper the slash should be—about one inch for the wildly lively ones, ½ inch for normal, good dough. If the dough is flaccid or overproofed, don’t try to slash it because the slashes will not open up and the result will be worse than if you’d left well enough alone.
Finally, when making the actual cut, unless you are going straight down the middle of a panned loaf (which is great for breads with a lot of bounce—when you are really sure the loaf will spring in the oven—but a disaster if the loaf is over-proofed), don’t hold the knife so that it cuts straight down into the dough. Hold it rather at an angle, so that the loaf will open not like a book, but in a sort of Z.
If you are planning to slash a loaf that is glazed, glaze first and slash after, just before putting the proofed loaf into the oven. Rolls can be snipped with scissors to make porcupines.
Molasses Bread
¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (not compressed yeast) (.7 g)
½ cup warm water (120 ml)
¼ cup light molasses—not raw honey here (60 ml)
2 ½ cups cold water (600 ml)
6 cups coarse, stone-ground flour (900 g) or a little more
1 tablespoon salt (16.5 g)
2 tablespoons cold butter (28 g)
Hearty Molasses Bread develops its rich flavor and nutritional value by taking its time. The long, slow fermentation softens the bran particles and gives the dough enzymes a chance to release a wealth of trace minerals. The keeping quality of this bread is outstanding, and the deep, bright flavor of the molasses enhances the flavor of the wheat, making an especially tasty loaf.
FOR A 12-HOUR RISE:
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water; dissolve the molasses in the 2 ½ cups cold water. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, and combine all of them to make a dough. The dough should be a little stiffer than usual. Knead about 20 minutes, adding the butter toward the end of the kneading period.
Place the dough, covered, in a cool, draft-free place for up to 10 hours at about 68°F.
In the morning, deflate the dough, which should have risen a lot—as high as it can without collapsing. Place it in a warm spot now—about 90°F. Keep it there, covered, another hour or two until you are sure the dough has thoroughly warmed through.
Deflate the dough, then divide and knead it into rounds; let it rest until softened. Shape into loaves and place in greased pans, letting it rise again at 90° to 100°F. The final proof should take about an hour. Since the bread usually comes up in the oven, don’t be dispirited if it has not risen fully beforehand—put it in the preheated oven anyway.
Bake at 350°F for at least an hour. Give this long-rising bread plenty of time to bake, particularly if the loaves aren’t very high.
TO MAKE THIS BREAD IN 24 HOURS:
Keep the dough as long as 20 hours in a cool place 55° to 60°F, deflating it at 8-hour intervals (more often when convenient). After that, proceed as above for proofing and baking.
Whole Wheat Sourdough
STARTER INGREDIENTS