Our all-time favorite cookbook is "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison. We received it as a gift from my fabulous sister-in-law and have gifted 2 copies to others in the past 6 months. That is how good it is.
With the weather so chilly and skies so dreary grey, I've been inspired to give another go at bread. I've tried various recipes over the years and have never found a simple recipe that gives great texture and flavor. Not that I've been very consistent. Usually, I try a recipe, encounter some frustration and give up for a few months.
But earlier this week I opened VCfE and decided to try her Cooked Grain Molasses Bread. I totally messed up the quantities of the ingredients as I was halving it (who needs two loaves of bread at once?). It took forever to become dry enough to clear the sides of the bowls and so I just kept kneading it (in the kitchen-aide) until I finally thought "this is ridiculous."
After rising and punching and proofing, we had too much dough for one loaf pan so I put the extra in a mini pan for Sahara.
It turned out to be perfect!
I even made it again two days later to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and this time I did a better job with the ingredients and kneading (although I did confuse the proofing and baking times so it was 10 minutes underbaked).
Here's the recipe for you to try:
Molasses Bread with Cooked Grains
2 1/4 cups warm water 2 1/2 tsps salt
2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups cook cracked wheat, rice, oatmeal, etc.
1/2 tsp sugar 2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses 3 - 4 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbs corn or sunflower seed oil
( note: I used canola oil, oatmeal, and whole wheat pastry flour - more flour was needed than the given amount)
Stir the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with the sugar. Set aside till foamy, about 10 mins.
Butter the loaf pans and oil a big bowl for rising.
In a mixing bowl ( or your kitchen aide) combine the 2 cups water, molasses, oil, salt and cooked cereal. Add the yeast, then beat in the white flour, followed by a cup at a time of the whole wheat flour until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn out and knead until smooth but still a little tacky, adding flour as needed.
Turn the dough into the oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours. Turn it out, punch down and shape into loaves, then place in the buttered pans. Cover, and set aside until doubled in bulk again, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 during the last 15 minutes. Bake for 50 minutes.
