Still on my quest for making bread I was given this cookbook. No Kneading and one Bowl sounds excellent to me! At 317 pages there was bound to be a bread I could make with much ease. I set my sights on the Oatmeal Honey Bread. Despite the tedious step by step instructions it was easy. The only thing about this recipe and others in this book was that after you made the dough the recipe seemed to stop. Now I am used to full instructions dished out and continuing on. However the Oatmeal Honey Dough recipe was on page 65 and the how to prepare and bake was on page 85. There was no reference to having to turning to page 85 once you had finished preparing the dough. One has to flip through 10 to 20 pages to find the baking instructions. Why?
The only conclusion I can come up with, in this informative book, is that it is due to the book being done in three parts. Part 1: Let's Get Started, Part 2: Now You're Baking and Part 3: Master Baking. It is a pretty loose conclusion. Not all the recipes are drawn up like this. Some have flow and continuity. The recipes are not just bread, there are: Bagels, Baguettes, Brioche, Boule, Cinnamon Rolls, Fougasse, gluten-Free Breads and Rolls, Naan, and Tea Rings. All sounding very delicious. And the bold colour photography sections in each part make your eyes and stomach appear larger.
That is the Oatmeal Honey Bread I made. The method used... loaf tins. In the book the majority of the breads are to be made using a baking stone with a pan of water underneath. The loaf tins make it easier to slice and toast. I had a piece or two this morning with my dippy eggs and it was quite lovely.
Oatmeal Honey Dough
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4 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups large-flake (old fashion) rolled oats
2 tablespoons instant or bread machine yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon fine table salt
1/3 cup wildflower, clover or other pale amber liquid honey
3 cups lukewarm water (about 100ºF/38ºC)
1. MEASURE. One at a time, spoon the flour and oats into a measuring cup, level with a knife or your finger, then dump into the mixing bowl. Combine well.
2. MIX. Add the yeast and salt to the flour mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Stir honey into the water. Pour into the flour mixture and stir together until just moistened. Beat 40 strokes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until the dough forms a lumpy, sticky mass.
3. RISE. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature (72ºF/22ºC) in a draft-free place for 2 hours or until the dough has risen nearly to the top of the bowl and has a sponge-like appearance .
4. USE RIGHT AWAY OR REFRIGERATE. Use that day or place the dough, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before baking.
...Turning to page 85 to continue the recipe...
1. FORM. Place the dough on a floured surface and dust very lightly with flour. Divide it in half with a serrated knife and dough scrapper. Flour your hands. Working the dough as little as possible and adding flour as necessary, form each portion into an 8 inch (20cm) cylinder.Smooth the dough with your hands to form a soft, non-sticky skin. Pinch any seams together. Lightly flour any sticky places on the dough. The dough should feel soft and smooth all over, like a baby's skin, but not all sticky.
2. REST. Place each cylinder in a prepared loaf pan. Cover with tea towels and let rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.
3. PREPARE OVEN FOR ARTISAN BAKING. About 30 minutes before baking place a broiler pan on the lower shelf and the baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven. Preheat to 400ºF (200ºC).
4. PLACE LOAF PANS ON BAKING STONE AND ADD WATER TO BROILER PAN. Using an oven mitt , carefully pull the middle rack of the oven out several inches. Place the loaf pans at least 3 inches (7.5cm) apart on the hot stone. Push the middle rack back in place. Pull the lower rack out, pour the hot water, about 2 cups or 500ml of hot water, into the broiler pan and push the lower rack back into place. Close the oven door immediately so the steam will envelop the oven.
5. BAKE. Bake for 27 - 30 minutes or until the crust is a medium dark brown and an instant thermometer inserted in the centre of the loafs registers at least 190ºF (90ºC). Transfer to a wire rack to cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on rack.
* Note I did not have a baking stone however I placed the loaf tins in the oven on the middle rack and omitted the water in the broiler pan bit. The bread as you can see from the picture above turned out fine and was done in 30 minutes. - JW
1. MEASURE. One at a time, spoon the flour and oats into a measuring cup, level with a knife or your finger, then dump into the mixing bowl. Combine well.
2. MIX. Add the yeast and salt to the flour mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Stir honey into the water. Pour into the flour mixture and stir together until just moistened. Beat 40 strokes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until the dough forms a lumpy, sticky mass.
3. RISE. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature (72ºF/22ºC) in a draft-free place for 2 hours or until the dough has risen nearly to the top of the bowl and has a sponge-like appearance .
4. USE RIGHT AWAY OR REFRIGERATE. Use that day or place the dough, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before baking.
...Turning to page 85 to continue the recipe...
1. FORM. Place the dough on a floured surface and dust very lightly with flour. Divide it in half with a serrated knife and dough scrapper. Flour your hands. Working the dough as little as possible and adding flour as necessary, form each portion into an 8 inch (20cm) cylinder.Smooth the dough with your hands to form a soft, non-sticky skin. Pinch any seams together. Lightly flour any sticky places on the dough. The dough should feel soft and smooth all over, like a baby's skin, but not all sticky.
2. REST. Place each cylinder in a prepared loaf pan. Cover with tea towels and let rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.
3. PREPARE OVEN FOR ARTISAN BAKING. About 30 minutes before baking place a broiler pan on the lower shelf and the baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven. Preheat to 400ºF (200ºC).
4. PLACE LOAF PANS ON BAKING STONE AND ADD WATER TO BROILER PAN. Using an oven mitt , carefully pull the middle rack of the oven out several inches. Place the loaf pans at least 3 inches (7.5cm) apart on the hot stone. Push the middle rack back in place. Pull the lower rack out, pour the hot water, about 2 cups or 500ml of hot water, into the broiler pan and push the lower rack back into place. Close the oven door immediately so the steam will envelop the oven.
5. BAKE. Bake for 27 - 30 minutes or until the crust is a medium dark brown and an instant thermometer inserted in the centre of the loafs registers at least 190ºF (90ºC). Transfer to a wire rack to cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on rack.
* Note I did not have a baking stone however I placed the loaf tins in the oven on the middle rack and omitted the water in the broiler pan bit. The bread as you can see from the picture above turned out fine and was done in 30 minutes. - JW