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By Root 659 0

control the fermentation for the long rise; and including the milk from the beginning, rather than adding it with the dough ingredients, significantly improves the flavor of the bread. If you use this recipe as a pattern for adapting other recipes to the sponge method of mixing, you’ll want to experiment for a couple of bakings to decide just which ingredients should be included in the sponge, and which later, in the full dough.

TO MAKE THE SPONGE

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Combine the flour, powdered milk, and salt, stirring well to keep the milk powder from lumping. Add the softened yeast and the cold water and mix vigorously for about 5 minutes.

Cover and leave in a cool room until you are ready to make the bread, 12 to 18 hours. If you will be leaving it for 18 hours, use very cold water, and keep the sponge in a place that is quite cool.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

1 ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast (6 g)

½ cup warm water (120 ml)

2 tablespoons honey (30 ml)

1 cup warm water (235 ml)

2 teaspoons salt (11 g)

4 cups whole wheat flour (600 g)

more water as needed

3 tablespoons butter (42 g) (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the ½ cup warm water. Dissolve the honey separately in the 1 cup of water. Mix the sponge and sweetened water together. Your fingers do the best job, though it is messy. Next, incorporate the yeast into the mixture.

Mix the salt and flour, and make a well in the center. Pour the sponge mixture into the well, and fold in the flour. Mix all the flour into the sponge, squeezing it with your fingers to make sure it is uniform. Is there enough water in it? This will depend on the flour, the timing of the sponge, and other variables. If it seems a little stiff, wet your hands and knead in more water, as much as half a cup, whatever’s needed. All that stirring and squeezing may have been a lot of trouble, but both develop the gluten in the dough and cut down on kneading time. Knead the dough, working in the butter toward the end of the kneading time. Keep kneading until it is all absorbed and the dough is smooth and silky. Whether you add the butter or not—it does make a spectacular difference in the bread—the dough should take only about 10 minutes of efficient kneading to attain supple perfection.

Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the bowl. Cover and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently poke the center of the dough about ½ inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn’t fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round and let relax, then deflate and shape. The bread is good in standard loaves, hearth-style rounds, French batons, or big hard rolls. Proof about 45 minutes in a very warm place.

This bread benefits very much from high initial heat and a a steamy oven (see this page) though a standard bake is plenty good. Baking times will vary according to the shapes you have chosen, from 25 minutes for rolls to almost an hour for bread, at 350°F. If you steam the rolls or the bread, reduce the total baking time by about ten minutes.

Lemony Loaves

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)

½ cup warm water (120 ml)

5 ½ cups finely ground whole wheat flour (825 g)

2 teaspoons salt (11 g)

¼ cup wheat germ, toasted (28 g)

peel of one lemon, grated (about 1 tablespoon)

1 ¼ cups cottage cheese (300 ml)

¾ cup water, nearly boiling (175 ml)

2 tablespoons honey (30 ml)

2 tablespoons cool butter (28 g)

A bright, full-flavored bread that is very light and nutritious. This recipe makes excellent rolls.

Dissolve the yeast in the ½ cup warm water.

Stir the dry ingredients, including the lemon peel, together, and mix the cottage cheese, hot water and honey separately; combine all the ingredients except the butter. Knead about 20 minutes, incorporating