I would like to share this recipe with everyone. It is a recipe that I make about every 2 weeks.  It is one of my favorites from a recipe book called BAKING BREAD: Old and New Traditions by Beth Hensperger.  The cookbook was given to me about 10 years ago from my highschool girlfriends.  I tried a lot of the recipes but they are were very challenging and it wasn't until recently that I really started to understand how they worked (due in large part to this website!).  So please try this and if you can find the cookbook, many of you advanced bakers would LOVE the challenge of the recipes.

Seven-Grain Honey Bread

Yield: 2 9X5 loaves

1 1/2 cups of boiling water

1 cup seven-grain cereal

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

Pinch sugar

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1/4 cup warm buttermilk (105 to 115 degrees)

1/3 cup local honey (I usually substitute molasses for honey as I like this bread darker and less sweet)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

4 1/2 to 5 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

1.  In a small bowl, pour boiling water over the seven-grain cereal.  Let stand for 1 hour to soften and come to room temperature.

2.  In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and pinch of sugar over the warm water.  Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

3.  In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine the buttermilk, honey, oil, butter, eggs, salt, and 1 cup of the flour.  Beat hard until smooth, and 1 minute.  Add the cereal and yeast mixture.  Add the remaining unbleached flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft, sticky dough is formed that just clears the sides of the bowl, switching to a wooden spoon when necessary.  This dough may also be mixed in a heavy-duty mixer, if desired.

4.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a soft and springy dough is formed, about 3 minutes, adding 1 tablespoon of flour at a time as necessary to prevent sticking.  The dough will have a nubby and slightly tacky feel.  Place a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

5.  Turn the dough out onto the work surface.  Divide into 2 equal portions and form into 9X5 loaves.  Place the loaves in greased loaf pans.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Twenty minutes before baking, preheat over to 375.

6.  Bake in the center of the preheated oven until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped, about 35-50 minutes.  Remove from pans to cool on the racks before serving.

Hope you all enjoy and please comment if you try it!

http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Bread-Old-New-Traditions/dp/0811800784

I was just mixing up some dough to make some whole wheat sandwich bread, and decided to use molasses in place of honey, which I'm a bit short on at the moment. I've substituted in molasses successfully on a number of occassions, with one exception, and that problem seems to be repeating itself now. The dough (375 grams of flour, 75% Whole wheat, 70% total hydration, includes 30g molasses) has turned into a soft stone, and feels like I'm kneading 30% hydration dough, and it won't allow itself to be pushed back together if I try to seal up the seams. The gluten doesn't seem to be developing either, it just tears whenever pressure is applied and the dough easily tears apart. I tried adding more liquid, but all that happened was the dough discharged an equal amount of brown goop when I tried to knead it in. Anyone know what's going wrong here?

The dough is resting a bit now, I'm going to try kneading it a bit more, then go through the standard ferment - form - proof - bake process and see what happens. I had this happen once before and I got a brick out of the oven... will post with continued results.

This being the second time I've baked bread, I decided to try my childhood favorite.

Anadama Bread (from www.anadamabread.com)

Ingredients

½ c. coarse cornmeal
2 T. butter
2 c. boiling water
1 tsp. salt
½ c. unsulphured blackstrap molasses
1 pkg. dried yeast
5 c. unbleached flour

Making it

1. Stir the cornmeal slowly in water the boiling water and let steam over a double boiler for a minimum of one hour. You can make it up and let it sit overnight.

2. Add the butter, molasses, and salt.

3. Cool a bit. When lukewarm, add the yeast dissolved in warm water.

4. Add enough flour to make a stiff bread dough.

5. Knead for 10 minutes

6. Turn into a greased bowl covered with a damp cloth and let sit for 1 - 1½ hours until double in bulk.

7. Shape 2 loaves and place in 2 greased medium bread pans; let rise until double in bulk.

8. Bake in hot 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Note: I baked it @400 for 30 minutes and then 350 for another 20.  

I have a container of Molasses that I bought about 4 years ago.  I keep it at room temperature in a closed container.  There is nothing detectably wrong with it, and I use it baking occaisionally, but I am wondering long it will still be good?

Colin