The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking - Laurel Robertson [81]
Let the shaped loaves rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until a gentle indentation of the finger fills in very slowly.
Place in a preheated 350°F oven; bake about an hour.
Kasha Bread
1 cup raisins (145 g)
1 ½ cups water (350 ml)
2 tablespoons oil (30 ml)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)
½ cup warm water (120 ml)
¾ cup buckwheat groats (122 g)
2 ½ teaspoons salt (14 g)
5 ½ cups whole wheat bread flour (830 g)
Even those who usually don’t favor the outspoken Russian grain often do like this bread—and buckwheat fans are crazy about it. The hearth loaf is like a big taupe soccer ball, very pretty. Good hot from the oven with Better-Butter* or soft white cheese; great with saucy tofu, or peanut butter; especially fine as an accompaniment to a hearty winter soup.
Bring the raisins and the water to a boil in a saucepan, and simmer until the fruit is soft. Remove from heat and blend raisins and water in blender or food processor, or force through a sieve, making a thin, smooth paste. Add cold water or ice to the blended raisins to make 2 ½ cups of liquid. Cool to lukewarm, and add the oil.
Stir the yeast into the ½ cup warm water. Rinse the buckwheat groats well in warm water, drain, and put in a broad skillet. Heat, stirring constantly, until the grain is dry, turns reddish brown, and smells good. (For some variations on this.) Mix the roasted groats, the salt, and the flour together. Make a well in the center and add all the liquid ingredients, blending them into a bumpy dough. Adjust the water and then knead extra well—25 minutes for light bread! Because of the kasha, the gluten will have a lot of work to do. The dough starts out warm, and the yeast responds enthusiastically to the fruit sugar, so the bread rises quickly. 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 a little less than 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.
Divide in two, handling the dough very gently from here on. Round the loaves, letting them rest until they are really relaxed, being careful to cover them to prevent their surfaces from drying out. For hearth loaves, round the dough again—the double rounding does make the loaves rise higher—and place on greased baking sheet to rise, again in a warm place. Instead of rounding the second time, you can shape the dough into loaves for standard 8″x4″ pans.
Let rise once more, about 30 to 45 minutes, until the touch of your moistened finger makes a dent that fills in slowly. Pan loaves should rise up nicely if you have done your kneading, arching over the top of the pan when they are ready to bake.
Whether you have made hearth or pan loaves, they will benefit from being slashed before you put them in the oven. We show patterns we like below. The pan loaves may rip on the surface during the proof, and if they do, just make the best of whatever rips there may be when you do your slashing.
Put the proofed breads in a 400°F oven, and after ten minutes turn the heat down to 350°F, baking the bread about 50 minutes in all. It may take a little longer, but the loaf is done when it sounds hollow if thumped on the bottom.
Crunchy Millet Bread
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)
½ cup warm water (120 ml)
2 tablespoons honey (30 ml)
1 cup cottage cheese (235 ml)
1 ¼ cup hot water (300 ml)
½ cup millet (100 g)
5 cups whole wheat flour (750 g)
2 ½ teaspoons salt (14 g)
2 tablespoons