A couple of weeks ago Meaghan Inspired me to look thru "Baking Illustrated" for a bread recipe. She was making Olive & Rosemary Bread from the cook book and it sounded wonderful. After looking at my options I happened upon this recipe, which I really like. Its super simple to make ( if you have a Kitchen Aid standing mixer with a dough paddle) and today I learned its pretty easy to improvise with. The texture is very consistent (making the bread easy to cut into sandwich slices) and has great flavor( at least the oatmeal variation). I really like the technique- it speeds up the process quite a bit. You can go from the thought of baking bread to a finished loaf in about 3 hours. If you don't own a standing mixer I would bet you could get an equally great texture by usisng a handmixer ( you'd have to add only 3/4 of the flour at the beginning and then add the remaining flour after you were done mixing- probably as a final knead on the board). Today I made Grama Busche's bread resipre with the technique and it turned out great- my alterations to make her bread are below- just don't tell her it wasn't hand kneaded.
Oatmeal Variation on American Sandwich Bread
from “Baking Illustrated” by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated
MAKES ONE 9·INCH LOAF
This recipe uses a standing electric mixer; You can hand-knead the dough, but we found it's easy to add too much flour during this stage, resulting in a somewhat tougher bread. To promote a crisp crust, we found it best to place a loaf pan filled with boiling water in the oven as the bread bakes.
Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add 3/4 cup (214 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats; cook to soften slightly, about 90 seconds.
2 3/4 cups (183/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2 teaspoons salt
I cup warm whole milk (about 110 degrees)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
I envelope (about 21/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Once the oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.
2. Mix 3 ½ cups of the flour , cooked oatmeal and the salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix the milk, water, butter, honey, and yeast in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from the hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and up to 1/4 cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.
3. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat
lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough doubles in
size, 40 to 50 minutes.
4. Gently press the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a
long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make
sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough
seam-side down in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Keep one oven rack at the lowest position and place the other at the middle position and heat the
oven to 350 degrees. Place an empty baking pan on the bottom rack. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the boiling water into the empty pan on the bottom rack and set the loaf onto the middle rack. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf reads 195 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.
MAKES ONE 9·INCH LOAF
This recipe uses a standing electric mixer; You can hand-knead the dough, but we found it's easy to add too much flour during this stage, resulting in a somewhat tougher bread. To promote a crisp crust, we found it best to place a loaf pan filled with boiling water in the oven as the bread bakes.
Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add 3/4 cup (214 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats; cook to soften slightly, about 90 seconds.
2 3/4 cups (183/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2 teaspoons salt
I cup warm whole milk (about 110 degrees)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
I envelope (about 21/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Once the oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.
2. Mix 3 ½ cups of the flour , cooked oatmeal and the salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix the milk, water, butter, honey, and yeast in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from the hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and up to 1/4 cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.
3. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat
lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough doubles in
size, 40 to 50 minutes.
4. Gently press the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a
long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make
sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough
seam-side down in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Keep one oven rack at the lowest position and place the other at the middle position and heat the
oven to 350 degrees. Place an empty baking pan on the bottom rack. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the boiling water into the empty pan on the bottom rack and set the loaf onto the middle rack. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf reads 195 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.
Grama Busche's Bread
I used scalded milk cooled to 110 degrees
added 2 eggs
added 1/2 cup water( +/-)
increased flour to 3 1/2 cups( +/-)
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