nuts, sesame seed and wheat germ
Hi folks,
I've been trying this bread recipe that includes 3 cups of liquid (1/2 milk & half water) 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 3 cups each of whole wheat and bread flour, 1 cup of wheat germ, 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts and 1/4 cup of sesame seed. The recipe does not have a lot of detail...it's from an elderly aunt who was a grade-A cook and baker. I've been adding the wheat germ to the warm milk before I add it to the water/yeast mixture, and mixing everything else together at the start. I knead it for 10-15 minutes, and let it rise twice before forming the loaves and baking in glass pans. The bread was delicious, but I think I may have overbaked it...it was too soft to use for sandwiches, falling apart in the middle when I cut it with a serrated bread knife. Otherwise, the crumb was a nice texture, no big holes, and no beery smell or taste. I have another batch working today, and I'm going to try baking it at 350 instead of starting it at 425 and turning it down after 10 minutes.
Any other suggestions? Thanks.
Dunno whether this has anything to do with it, but you say you let the dough rise twice before shaping it into loaves? Because most recipes would have you let it rise just once (to double its volume) before shaping into a loaf, then letting it rise the second time in the bread pan for a short length of time (to less than double its volume) before baking in a preheated oven. Am guessing though that that is what you meant?
Anyway, does sound delicious. Am crazy about sesame, [toasted] wheat germ and nuts, bake with them all the time. Only I don't do a lot of yeast breads, mostly SDs and quick breads with baking powder. So haven't a clue about optimal baking time and temperature for your particulate recipe, but am sure there are many others here who would know.
enriched bread that is bound to be fluffy, squishy and hard to cut because it is soft. One of the reasons you can get 3 rises out of it is because of the sugar that fuels at least 1 of the rises. Most folks would kill for soft white bread but if you get a cheapo instant read thermometer and bake this bread to 196 - 200 F on the inside middle it should be fine. Normally you want to bake bread to 205-210 F but this is an enriched bread that should come in a bit lower but baking it to 205 F won't kill it either - but the crust may get too dark because of all the sugar in the dough.
Starting at 425 F for the steaming phase and then turning it down to 350 F would be a wise choice too.
Add some oat ans wheat bran some siffed out millings to your nuts, seed and germ toast them all together till lightly browned and you will have your own version of Toadies - one of the great bread flavor enhancers of all time.
Happy baking