Hi-Country
Seven Grain Bread Recipe
This
makes great bread.
This recipe uses
our seven grain
cereal mix. You can certainly use other cracked grain mixes or cracked
wheat. Because different grain mixes and different grain sizes absorb
water differently, be prepared to adjust the water to flour ratio in
the recipe. (With our flours and cereal, in our kitchen, this is exactly
the right water to flour ratio.)
Ingredients
3/4 cup seven
grain cereal or other cereal or cracked wheat
1 1/2 cups hot water
6 tablespoons butter
3 cups good quality bread flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat
gluten
1 teaspoon dough
conditioner
(or use 6 cups plus 2 tablespoons Hi-Country
Flour Blend in place of the flours, gluten, and dough conditioner)
1/4 cup granulated
sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup baker’s
high heat dry milk
1 7
gram packet of instant yeast
1 cup warm water
at 105 to 110 degrees
Directions
1. Mix the cereal
with the 1 1/2 cups hot water. Set aside for two hours to absorb the
water and soften.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave and set it aside to cool. With shortening
or butter, grease a large bowl for the dough and 2 large loaf pans (9
x 5-inch). If you are going to make hearth loaves, grease a baking sheet
and sprinkle it with cornmeal.
3. Measure the flours into a large bowl by whisking the flour so that
it’s not packed and then spooning it into the measuring cup followed
by leveling the top with a straightedge. Add the gluten and conditioner
and stir to combine. Stir in the sugar, salt, and dry milk.
4. Put about 1/3 of the flour mixture in the bowl of your stand type
mixer equipped with a dough hook. Add the yeast. Add the 1 cup water
at the indicated temperature. With the dough hook, run the machine for
thirty seconds to mix the water with the flour to create a slurry. Add
cereal and water mixture and the rest of the flour mixture. (The cereal
and water mixture should be 105 to 110 degrees. If it has cooled beyond
that, reheat it in the microwave.) Add the melted butter.
5. Mix at medium speed for about four minutes or until the gluten has
formed and the dough is elastic. The dough should be soft but not too
sticky. To reach the right consistency, you may need to dribble a little
extra water (maybe one tablespoon) or flour as the dough is kneading.
Place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover it to keep the dough
from drying while it rises. Let it rise until it doubles.
6. Gently deflate the dough and form two loaves either as free-standing
loaves on a baking sheet or sandwich loaves for your bread pans. Cover
the loaves and let them rise again until the dough is soft and puffy,
about doubled in size.
7. If you are going to make hearth bread with its, chewy, crisp crust,
see the direction for baking listed for “EZ
Sourdough Bread.” If not, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the bread for about 35 minutes. The time will vary depending on
your loaves, the pans, and your oven. The bread should make a hollow
sound when thumped on the bottom. The internal temperature of the loaves
should be 190 degrees.
Remove the loaves form the pans and let them cool on a wire rack. Cool
completely, or nearly so, before slicing.
