Skip to main content

Peasant Bread Was OK

I've been too busy over the last day or so to get to a computer. But I haven't forgotten my bread. Night before last, I tried (a variety of) Peasant Bread from Everything Bread. It called for ¼ cup each of rye and whole wheat flour as well as the bread flour. I unfortunately only had the bread flour, so I just went ahead and made it straight. I liked the bread; Herself didn't—I don't think I gave it enough time to rise. It was done, or nearly so, but the crumb was very dense.

Here's the recipe:

Peasant Bread

  • 1½ cups warm water

  • 1 tablespoon honey (I used buckwheat honey—I love the taste)

  • 1¾ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)

  • ¼ cup rye flour

  • ¼ cup whole wheat flour

  • (I didn't have either, so I substituted ½ cup of bread flour)

  • ¾ teaspoon salt (we don't have kosher, so I used plain iodized)

  • 3 – 4 cups bread flour

  • ¼ cup cornmeal



In a large bowl, combine water, honey, and yeast. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.



Add rye flour and whole wheat flour; stir to combine. Add salt and enough bread flour to create a firm dough. (I just added a cup of flour, the salt, and then the rest of the flour.) Add flour only to reduce stickiness. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 8 – 10 minutes. Return to bowl, dust the top with flour, and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about two hours. (This is where I went wrong; see below.)



Line a baking sheet with parchment, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Turn risen dough onto a floured surface, divide into 2 equal portions, and shape into round loaves. Place onto prepared pan and set aside to proof for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C; Gas Mark 5).



Dust the top of the risen loaves with flour. Using a serrated knife, slash a crosshatch pattern into the surface of the risen dough, about ½ inch deep. Place a pan of cold water at the bottom of the oven to create steam. (It looks like I left this step out also, grumble grumble.) Bake until golden brown and hollow sounding, about 30 – 40 minutes. Cool completely on a rack before serving.


So, where did I go wrong in the rising? I left this until way late at night—too late for me to be able to let it rise the full time, proof, and bake. So I let it rise for an hour and a half, then oiled the top and put it in the fridge, figuring it would rise some more there and I'd deal with it the next evening. But the next evening, it hadn't really risen more at all. Next time I'll try a bit more honey. It was still cold while proofing, and it didn't rise much at all even in the oven.

I will try it again, sometime when I have time to finish the whole process. Meantime I do have one of those old bread recipes from the late 19th century I mentioned the other day, and I'll try that next time I bake.

God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Consistency Of Coarse Meal

I decided to make biscuits this afternoon, and as I was following the recipe, I saw that I needed to mix flour, salt, and baking powder, then cut in shortening (butter is better than mar but marge is what we had). The recipe said to cut the shortening in "to the consistency of coarse meal." Now what the heck is that supposed to mean? I mean, I know what (for example) corn meal looks like; but does the casual baker? How are they supposed to know? It means this. Not that you'd go far wrong with these biscuits, anyway. I mean, it's the Pillsbury cookbook. The only problem I had is that, at some time in the past, I put a note in to myself to use 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the recipe's 2. Well, I'm marking that back down. These are edible, but definitely taste of baking powder. Oh well, live and relearn, I guess. The finished product. Yum! Godspeed, and remember, All things are better with bread .
Post a Comment
Read more

More Random Thoughts

I don't usually make bread during the week (I could , but we'd rapidly run out of space to store the bread!). But last night I did, just plain white bread for sandwiches today. I have to watch myself carefully. I'm not taking the time I need to shape the bread; it doesn't look as nice and even as it should. But it's got a lovely crust, a bit sweetish, and should make a great sandwich. Herself (who has informed me that she would like to be referred to forthwith as Nancie) made a great sandwich on this for lunch. She is the Sandwich Queen :-) Buffalo chicken, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and a wee little bit of pepper. I can't wait for lunch! I was going to post something about the awful state of my bread ingredient cupboard, but this has cheered me up enough that I don't feel like griping about it :-) God speed, and remember: All sorrows are less with bread .
3 comments
Read more

We Need A Bigger Kitchen

Evidence: I was baking this afternoon while Nancie was trying to frost a cake. I wish I had a picture of the result; but here's where I wound up trying to mix and raise the bread: In case you're not sure, I'm doing this on the stove (next to the cookie sheet and loaf pans that I had to take out of the oven because we were baking the cake). What you see in the background is the microwave on the counter and the various things we have to have there in order to keep them off the counter. We manage, though. Somehow or other :-) So what I'm making right now is Tuscan White Hearth Bread from Everything Bread . This is unusual in that it has no salt. Or sugar; just water, flour, and yeast. It's the perfect kind of bread to use with spaghetti that has a lot of sauce on it. It might even be the excuse to make a little bit of extra sauce for the pasta! Tuscan White Hearth Bread 1¼ cups warm water 1¾ tsp. active dry yeast (1 package) ¼ cup whole whe...
Post a Comment
Read more