The Fresh Loaf

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Healthy Bread In Five Minutes A Day basic recipe... need a little advice

RachelJ's picture
RachelJ

Healthy Bread In Five Minutes A Day basic recipe... need a little advice

I've just begun with trying out the free form loaves, using the basic recipe from the book Healthy Breac Five Minutes A Day. I don't own the book, and found the recipe on a friends blog who makes it everyday. I made some yesterday, after I had refridgerated the dough for about 3 1/2 hours. It was my first time make a free form, and the first time scoring the tops too. I'm not sure exactly how to get a photo on here... but I have one of it. I didn't get one of the 'crumb' like I see everyone does, but still... I did get one. :)


What I'd like to know is if I can add things to the dough before baking, like to make it not so plain. Has anyone ever done that before with this recipe? I mean, I guess they have, as its just the basic. But how would one do that with a no knead bread like this? You would have to need like raisins and nuts and such into it wouldn't you?

thanks a bunch whomever can help me. :) much appreciated. shalom!

 -Ra'chel

sphealey's picture
sphealey

=== What I'd like to know is if I can add things to the dough before baking, like to make it not so plain. Has anyone ever done that before with this recipe? I mean, I guess they have, as its just the basic. But how would one do that with a no knead bread like this? ===

Well, you can mix the extra stuff in at the beginning.  Or most no-knead recipes have a strech-and-fold step about 3 hours before baking; you can do 2-3 folds and fold in the extras then.  Raisins are typically soaked in an equal weight of water so they don't suck moisture out of the dough.  Nuts/seeds can be soaked or not soaked depending on the amount - for 5-10% of the flour weight I usually don't.  Olives you probably don't want sitting in the dough for 24 hours so those would be added at the fold step.

Start with 5% extras by weight and increase gradually till you have as much as you like or you hit the maximum the dough can support.

sPh

soleilnyc's picture
soleilnyc

The book recommends gently patting out the dough into a rectangle, being careful not to compress the air bubbles that have formed. Sprinkle your fillings across the rectangle and roll it up. Tuck the ends in and shape either in an oval or round.

Edit: You can simply mix in the nuts and things, but you will need to leave it out for a long time for bubbles to reform, as opposed to the 60-90 minutes out of the fridge for the straight dough.

Janknitz's picture
Janknitz

I have successfully added things like olives, raisins, nuts, and herbs at the  dough mixing stage.   This seems to be the best way to make sure that these add-ins are evenly distributed in the dough. 

If it's something wet like Olives or soaked raisins (see above), I toss them with a little flour first (a tablespoon or so in a little zipped baggie)  as this seems to help them mix in properly. 

The books contain a lot more variations than just the master dough, so if you really want variety you should look for their book at the library or your local booksellers.

RachelJ's picture
RachelJ

Thanks for the help. :) I'll try a couple of the suggestions. That is one book I'd love to have. All the people who have it give rave reviews about it... sadly... I don't have it. ;( Oh well. :) Maybe the library does!

thanks again! shalom!

   -Ra'chel

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

I Hi,

I generally add dry cornmeal or rolled oates(about 1/3rd cup per loaf) but you will have to watch and adjust your water volume. I am also just about to try halving my water and replacing with buttermilk to see what results I get.......I see B/milk is used in scones and pancake mixes so I say why not in  bread?

Good luck..............Peter

RachelJ's picture
RachelJ

I've seen a couple of recipes where buttermilk is used in bread, mostly quick breads, but I have seen some older bread recipes which use buttermilk. You can always learn something new about something, right? :)

Shalom!

   -Ra'chel

soleilnyc's picture
soleilnyc

I too am experimenting with what exactly I can roll into the dough at the shaping stage. I don't want to add things in the mixing stage because that makes my dough less flexible, meaning I'd be stuck with Cheddar Bacon bread for two weeks (hmm..though now that I think of it...Cheddar Bacon might not be so bad to have for two weeks..)

I've been making double batches and storing it in the fridge for about 15 days and make a variety of things: loaves, crackers, pizza crusts and even muffins.  If you can successfully incorporate chunks at a later point in time, I highly recommend it if only for convenience's sake!

RachelJ's picture
RachelJ

I'd like to know how to make them with this dough. and the muffins! Would you mind sharing about that? :)

 

shalom!

   -Ra'chel

soleilnyc's picture
soleilnyc

So sorry for the long overdue response! I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but I'll share anyway. Crackers are great for using the really old dough in the bottom of your fermenting tub-the dough that is all liquidy and hard to work with- but perfectly great with stable dough as well. If the dough is really liquid, I just spread it out onto a silpat, brush some olive oil over the top and sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame, fleur de sel, or whatever I feel like that day. I also sometimes mix in some cheese before rolling it out. Bake at 400 until the crackers are dry and golden,

As for muffins, there are the english muffins which I just shape into rounds and pan fry. If it is, again, to use up the liquid dough, I put ring molds on a cast iron pan sprinkled with cornmeal, then pour the dough in there. For regular muffins, there are recipes in the book! I hope you've found a copy: I don't understand why, but I went to my local used book store and saw 3, count em, 3 copies of Heathy Bread in Five for like $6! Really? People are giving up this book? It's awesome!