Thursday, March 26, 2009

Recipe: Kitchen Sink Bread

As per request, here [finally] is the recipe for the bread whose making I shared pictures from previously.

It's called Kitchen Sink Bread, as in "everything but the kitchen sink" because you can put lots of different kinds of flours in it, but I usually call it Hippie Bread [note: no psychoactive drug content].

It's a nice thick bread, soft but hearty. I like it buttered with honey, or served with soup. When it's not quite as fresh, it's still a delicious breakfast or snack toasted.

n.b. You don't need all the different kinds of flours to make this, although I suggest trying a mix if you can. If all you have is white or whole wheat or whatever, it'll still come out fine. The important thing is the total amount of flour (about 6 cups).

To make 2 loaves, you will need:

approx. 4 C white flour
1/3 C wheat germ
1/3 C milk powder
1 T salt
1/4 C honey
1/2 C cracked wheat
1/3 C bran
2 packages active dry yeast
3 T butter
2 1/4 C water, as hot as you can get it out of the tap
2 C of any combination of any flours*

(*My mom's favorite mix is 1/4 C soy flour, 1/2 C whole wheat, 1/2 C rye or graham, and 3/4 C oats. I'd recommend millet, too. The only caveat: to keep the bread from tasting bitter, don't use more than 1/4 C of soy flour.)

Stir together 2 C white flour and the cracked wheat, wheat germ, bran, milk powder, yeast, and salt.

Add the margarine, honey, and hot tap water. Beat to combined. Add 1 C flour and beat to combine some more.

Gradually blend in the different flours, then add enough white flour to make a soft dough.

Knead for 5-10 minutes on a floured surface, then cover loosely with plastic and let it rest on the surface for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a log to make a loaf, sealing the ends by pinching them under it.

Put them into oiled pans, oil the tops of the loaves, and cover them with plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can keep them in the fridge for up to 24 hours; additional time will neither improve nor worsen the end product.

When you take them out of the fridge, unwrap them and let them stand for 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 400°F.

Just before putting them in, check for air bubbles on the loaves. If you see any, prick them with a toothpick.

Let them bake for 35-40 minutes, then remove them from the pans immediately to cool on cooling racks.

As always, I'd love to hear how it goes if you try this recipe, and if you blog about it as well, let me know and I'll link you in this post.

7 comments:

  1. I will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Shey - Yay! I'd love to hear about it when you do. :)

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  3. Are we going to soon find you on Top Chef? Come on. Fess up. I will vote for you as my fan favorite if you do.

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  4. Hi Cuileann! Yes, I will tell you when I do get a chance to make it. I'm excited.

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  5. oh yum! it will be a while before i can make it but it sounds good!

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  6. Beth - Haha! I haven't considered that path to world domination yet, but I appreciate your support!

    Shey - Great!

    PinkAppleCore - I didn't know you liked to bake! Awesome.

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