Whole Wheat and Flaxseed Bread
This whole wheat and flaxseed bread is one of our favorites we have made from the new Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (review). It truly is a whole grain bread, no all-purpose flour in the formula, just flaxseed and whole wheat flour. The flaxseed adds many important nutrients as well as flavor to this dense loaf. The vital wheat gluten is added to help the loaf maintain structure while rising and baking, otherwise the loaf could collapse under the weight of the ingredients.
We made the bread exactly as instructed the first time, then played around with it. The loaf with roasted garlic had some fabulous flavor and we’ll definitely make that variation again.
The method is easy, just stir together all the ingredients in a bucket, cover and let it rise, then refrigerate the dough until you are ready to bake. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days and makes up to four loaves, an easy way to keep dough on hand and get healthy quality bread on your family’s table.
WHOLE WHEAT AND FLAXSEED BREAD
Adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoë François. (review)
Makes 4 (16-ounce) loaves.
Equipment
dough bucket with lid (I use food service buckets.)
pizza peel or flat cookie sheet, dusted with flour
parchment paper (optional)
baking stone
small cast iron pan or roasting pan
serrated bread knife or lame
Ingredients
1/2 cup (52 g) ground flaxseed
7 cups (896 g) whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (36 g) vital wheat gluten
3-3/4 cups (900 ml) lukewarm water
Preparation
1. MIX: Whisk together the flaxseed, flour, yeast, salt, and gluten in the bucket. Add the water and stir with a heavy wooden spoon. The dough is heavy (really, not kidding) and you might need to use your hands to incorporate the last bit of dry flour. (You can also do this in a heavy duty stand mixer with the paddle attachment.)
2. Cover the bucket (not airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses, about 2 hours. Refrigerate for up to 10 days. (The dough works best when it’s had time to chill.)
3. SHAPE: Dust the surface of the chilled dough with flour. Cut off a 1-pound piece of dough (about the size of a large grapefruit). Dust it with more flour and quickly shape into a round ball or batard.
- Ball: Stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating one-quarter turn as you go.
- Batard: Shape into a ball then start elongating and stretching the dough until it has a diameter of about 3 inches. Roll the dough into a shape that tapers at the ends.
4. REST: Place the shaped dough on a pizza peel or unrimmed cookie sheet dusted with flour or covered with parchment. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 90 minutes (40 minutes if using fresh unrefrigerated dough).
5. BAKE: Thirty minutes before baking time, place baking stone on middle rack and preheat the oven to 450° F/230° C. Place the cast iron skillet or empty broiler pan on rack below. Just before baking, slash the dough in three diagonal 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts using the bread knife or lame. Slide dough directly onto the hot stone, or you can also slide the parchment onto the stone. Pour 1 cup tap water or ice cubes into the skillet or broiler pan and quickly close the door. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. (Trust me, waiting is the hardest part.)
Variation
Roast a head of garlic and mix the roasted cloves in with the dough. Refrigerate and bake as directed above.
More Bread With Whole Grains
More Healthy Bread in Five From Around the Blogs
Kalyn’s Kitchen – White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil
Big Black Dog – Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest
Lor’s Lipsmacking Goodness – Ten Grain Bread
Carrots ‘n’ Cake – Chocolate Espresso Whole Wheat Bread
BBA Challenge: Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Bread
I hummed happily as I made this bread, enjoying how easy the process was. Then I accidentally left the dough for too long during the final rise and my first effort ended in abject failure when not just one, but both loaves fell in the oven. I was crushed, but at least my children ate those bricks as if nothing were wrong. I had a feeling this bread could become a family favorite and the second attempt proved me right on that point: the boys begged for slices with our homemade apple butter. Because I think of this as a homey bread I decided to skip making the swirl design, I just wanted a bread I could mix, rise, shape, and put into the pan without much fuss. I modified the recipe a bit, using 1-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour in place of some of the bread flour, and we liked the flavor and hearty texture. Read more
BBA Challenge: Ciabatta
I’m slowly catching up with the rest of the BBA Challenge crew, though summer keeps trying to derail my plans. Baking in the summer is always a challenge for me, whether it’s the heat making the kitchen unbearably hot or the distractions of three boys, each with his own agenda. The boys were my distraction during the ciabatta, when means I forgot to snap a photo of the poolish, and the final rise was about double what it should have been. My loaves didn’t stretch quite so well before going into the oven and were much higher than expected even though I dimpled the loaves. One even had a big gaping hole right under the crust.
Other than my challenge with over-rising, the ciabatta is not difficult to make and doesn’t require any special skills for shaping. If you can pick up a piece of dough and stretch it, you can make this bread. Read more
BBA Challenge: Challah
When done properly, Challahs are one of my favorite breads. The shape is beautiful, especially the celebration breads with multiple layers or multiple braids or when adorned with raisins or seeds.
I enjoyed making this loaf, though I had a few distractions along the way that caused the dough to over rise twice. Then I seemed to overwork the dough because the rolls were never quite smooth and my challah looks stretched, like it’s splitting open in the middle. One of those things I have to work on.
Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge! For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.
BBA Challenge: Casatiello
The next brioche in the BBA Challenge was an Italian variation, a casatiello, which is usually made with some type of cured meat and cheese. Reinhart suggests a good melting cheese such as Swiss, Gouda, Cheddar or any of their variations. For meats he suggests salami, pepperoni, bacon, pancetta, chorizo, or sausage. I chose some applewood smoked ham and provolone, two flavors I like together.
The bread starts with a quick sponge, followed by mixing and two risings. Casatiello is traditionally baked in paper bags or panettone molds, though I used a tall round 8-inch cake pan, which worked well. The bread was popular with my family, so much so that Monkey Boy took a huge hunk out of it while it sat cooling on the wire rack. We liked the slightly salty flavor of the ham and the Provolone melted just right. Even after a day the flavor was still present. Read more
BBA Challenge: Brioche Muffins
It’s been a month since I last posted a BBA Challenge bread, a deliberate decision on my part. Our air conditioning was out for 29 days and since the kitchen is the hottest room in our house even with functioning air conditioning, I just couldn’t bring myself to turn on the oven and add to the heat. In the winter I bake all the time and it helps keep the house warm, but we didn’t need that in the heat of summer without any air conditioning for relief.
The next bread for me to tackle in the challenge was the brioche, a decadent bread with plenty of eggs and butter and a rich flavor. Of the three options—Rich Man’s, Middle-Class, or Poor Man’s brioche—I chose the Middle-Class version, which has less butter than the ultra buttery Rich Man’s version. Read more
