I wanted the loaves I could buy. I wanted that stretchy, chewy crumb inside and that hard, crunchy crust outside. I wanted a great loaf for sandwiches, and I wanted a loaf that was so good that I could just sit down with a slice of it and enjoy it all on its own merits, savoring the different textures and the contrast between that light, airy inside and the hearty crunch outside. Instead, I got a lot of densely-crumbed loaves with weak, disappointing crusts. If they were close to what I wanted when I first pulled them out of the oven, they had softened by the next day. I was disappointed in my efforts and myself. A year of dedicated work, and no progress to show for it.
I called my dad one day and admitted defeat. He tried to console me with the fact that I still liked the bread I made; it was still good stuff. "Yeah, but it's not what I wanted to make."
In Oregon, I mentioned the experiment once to a baker in, of all places, Safeway, and she told me that I'd probably never get what I wanted at home, because my oven just wasn't made for the temperatures required for those results. I still toy with the idea of letting the loaf proof (a secondary rise after shaping) until it's really big then baking as hot as my oven can go, but I haven't tried it yet. These days, someone else is buying the groceries, and I ration my consumption of them by eating much more conservative lunches. The bread I bake now is for the Chief Taster's breakfast, and she likes it seedy, because she's one of those weirdos who thinks bread should taste like granola, and only be eaten as toast, and she won't eat a sandwich unless it's grilled, and full of cheese.
But I get bored making the same bread all the time, and I still want to find that crusty loaf, so I keep trying new recipes. This one looked like it might satisfy both of us. I'll give you the version from the book, and add some notes to show where I diverged. As usual.
South African Seed Bread
unsalted butter, melted. Maybe a tablespoon?
3 t dry yeast
1 2/3 C warm water
4 t honey
3 C whole wheat flour
1 C bread flour (unbleached all-purpose will be fine)
3 T each sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and chopped mixed nuts (Sometimes I decide that I want to bake, and also that I don't want to go to the grocery, so I have to make do with what I have on hand. Believe it or not, I had plenty of flax, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin, and caraway seeds, but only 1 T sesame seeds. All I had for nuts were pecans and some sliced almonds. My version of this bread had 3 T each poppy, flax, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds, 1 T sesame seeds, and 1 T caraway seeds. Don't use more than 1 T caraway unless you really like that flavor, because the flavor is STRONG. I didn't use any nuts. I'd recommend using unsalted sunflower seeds for bread. Keep the salted ones for snacking.)
1.5 t salt
1 T milk (see note below)
- Melt the butter and brush it around the inside of an 8x4" loaf pan.
- Sprinkle the yeast into 1.25 C water and add the honey. Stir it, then ignore it for 5 minutes. I just eyeballed the honey as I drizzled it in. Us untrained non-professionals can get away with delinquency like that.
- While you're ignoring the yeast, mix the flours, seeds, (nuts?) and salt in a large bowl, and make a well in the center of it.
- Are you done ignoring your yeast now? Does it feel neglected? Whisper soothing words of encouragement, give it a stir, and dump it into that well. Start stirring in flour from the sides of the well. For those of you who have your own copy of the book and are following along at home, you've probably read ahead (CHEATERS!!) and noticed that the book tells you to add the remaining water, as necessary, to form a cohesive dough that "just begins to leave the sides of the bowl clean," and that you won't have to knead it. Maybe that'll work for you, but I'm calling bullshit. I added all of my remaining water, but the mixing stick just wasn't doing the job, so I rolled up a sleeve, took off my watch, and stuck my hand in there. SHIT GOT SERIOUS. I had to work the dough a bit, squeezing and stretching (one might even call it "kneading") and turning it over to collect all the seeds and bits of dry flour that fell to the bottom of the bowl. I got it all worked in, but it took a few minutes, and it looked a lot like that k-word we weren't supposed to do. Whatever. I like kneading, dammit.
- When the dough has gobbled up all of the seeds and dry flour bits through "stirring," you can put it in your buttery pan. The book says to spoon it in, but I think the book ended up with a much wetter dough than I did. Your results may vary. No big deal. Point is, I picked up a single doughball and squished it into the pan, patting it flat across the top as though I were following the book's instructions, then I covered it with a clean dishtowel and left it on a sunny counter to rise for an hour.
- At the end of the hour, have an oven preheated to 400F. I don't know how long your oven takes to do that, so work it out on your own. When the dough has risen above the top of the pan (it doesn't need to be much, but remember that oven heat kills yeast, so it won't get much bigger once you start baking), stick it in the oven. After 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remember int eh ingredients list, when I mentioned milk, then said "see note?" This is the note. When you get the loaf out of the oven, remove it from the pan and set it on a wire rack to cool. The book says to brush the top and sides with the milk, but that will give you a softer crust, and we know how I feel about crust. I didn't use the milk. You can do whatever you want. It's really not my business what you do with that loaf. Personally, I sliced off a heel and ate it while typing these instructions but that's just me.
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