Bread Adventures!

I've been on a mission to make the perfect loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, but so far have not been entirely successful (the breads that I have made so far are yummy, but not quite what I am looking for.  I would also love to be able to make a recipe that uses sprouted wheat as I think that sprouting is beneficial for various reasons.  The first trial was a 100% whole wheat bread recipe from sprouted flour that I sprouted, dehydrated, and ground myself--which is really not that difficult of a process, I will have to post more on it later.  Anyway, the first trial didn't work so well, the bread was good and moist but squat and with a very dense crumb. 

Bread attempt 1: sprouted wheat--I will return to you

For trial two, I used an overnight soaked recipe--with a little kefir thrown in for the soak (except I didn't use my sprouted flour because I wasn't sure how well it would work).  This bread definitely rose much better; in fact, I had to throw it in the oven early because it rose above the pan--and then rose some more and overflowed in the oven.  This bread was good and slightly acidic, like a nice sourdough.  But it lacked a tender crumb--it was kind of chewy.  And though I did like it, the recipe wasn't awesome and I would probably modify it somewhat if I did it again. 

Look at all the nooks and crannies

 These first two trials weren't stellar (so I decided not to post them), but for the next trial I decided to do something slightly unconventional--do a non-yeasted 100% whole grain bread with baking powder as the leavening agent.  Although this definitely did not have the same texture as yeast bread--it was delicious! (and wheat free).  It didn't rise as high as yeast bread and was denser, but it also had an incredible moist but toothsome (and by this I mean chewy in a good way) texture and with an oaty, slightly sweet flavor.  And slice-able, especially after it was cooled and sat for a while.  I'd call this a "double-duty" bread--one of those breads that you can just eat a thick slice cut fresh off the loaf--no butter needed.  But you could also slice it thinner and toast it with butter/jam or make it into a sandwich (albeit smaller than a "normal" sandwich). 


Here's the recipe; it was modified from Cooking Light's Brown Soda Bread

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/brown-soda-bread-10000001963985/

Cut fresh when hot (because I just couldn't wait...), it's a little crumbly--but it slices cleaner when let sit a while

The dry ingredients--look at all the shades!

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups spelt flour (wheat would probably work--I would like to try this with sprouted wheat flour eventually)
- 1.5 cups oat flour (make it yourself--grind rolled oats in the blender/food processor!)
- 2 tbsp oat fiber (this is a somewhat obscure ingredient; could simply use 2 more tbsp oat flour--oat fiber is an excellent source of fiber and helps absorb extra moisture in the batter)
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar/brown sugar
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups buttermilk--I used skim (I made by measuring approximately 2 cups milk then adding 2 tbsp vinegar and letting sit for 5 minutes)
- 1 egg

1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Measure 2 cups of milk and add 2 tbsp vinegar; set aside.  Oil a loaf pan (9" by 5" I think; though 8" by 4" would also work) 
2.) In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (spelt flour through salt) and mix together.
3.) Beat the milk and egg together then add to the dry ingredients, mix till combined.
4.) Pour into oiled loaf pan then bake for approximately 1 hour (I don't remember how long it took me, but I think it took less than 1 hour.)
5.) Ideally, let cool at sit a couple of hours if you want bread to slice more neatly, but if you can't wait, dig in and enjoy!