Baking Bread

One of the big things I was worried about leading up to February was a good source of bread.  We go through a couple of loaves a week and our breadmaker is broken

Alison and Simon Holst

 (makes  squat, pale, doughy loaves).  I wanted to find an easy recipe that was good for sandwiches and toast.  As always, I turned to Alison Holst, trusted icon and role model for the Ryan Family for over 30 years.  Alison, if you're reading this I hope you don't mind me sharing the recipe - I figure that since our family owns virtually every book you've ever published, you won't mind too much just this once. 

I’ve been making two loaves on Sunday night, and this gets us through the week.  This book also has versions of this recipe for white bread, wholemeal bread and heavy grain bread.

Mixed Grain Bread

(Alison and Simon Holst, The New Zealand Bread Book – thanks Mum for the Christmas present!)

Makes 1 large loaf (8 cup pan)

A good knife is essential - thanks Felicity and Damo!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (85g) mixed kibbled grains (mix of kibbled wheat, kibbled rye and red and/or purple wheat – I found these at the local organics shop)

3 tsp Surebake yeast (the stuff with bread improver in it)

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp lecithin granules (optional)

1 cup (140g) wholemeal flour

2 1/2 (350g) cups high grade flour

Prepare the kibble mix by placing in a small pot with 2-3 cups cold water.  Bring to the boil, then simmer for 1-2 minutes.  Drain well in a sieve.

In a large bowl mix the prepared kibbled grains with 1 1/4 cup warm water.  Add all the remaining ingredients except the high-grade flour.  Mix thoroughly, cover and leave for 15 minutes in a warm place.

Stir in the high-grade flour, adding a little extra water or flour if necessary, to make a dough just firm enough to knead.  Knead with the dough hook of an electric mixer or by hand on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, adding extra flour if necessary, until the dough forms a soft ball that springs back when gently pressed (I always seem to need about half a cup of extra flour to get it to the right consistency).

Turn dough in 2-3 teaspoons of oil in the cleaned dry bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm draught-free place for 30 minutes.

Lightly knead the oiled dough in the bowl for 1 minute.  Pat the dough into a square shape a little longer than the baking pan, then roll into a cylinder.  Put into the sprayed or buttered bread pan, pressing it into the corners and levelling the top.

Leave to rise in a warm, draught-free place for about 1 hour or until double its original size.  If desired, brush with milk or egg glaze and sprinkle with extra kibbled grains, then bake at 200C for about 30 minutes until the sides and bottom are browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

Breadmaker version:
You can also make this recipe in the breadmaker - put all ingredients into a 750g capacity bread machine in the order specified by the manufacturer.  Set to the Normal/White bread cycle, Medium crust and Start.  This is a good timer bread.