Friday, October 14, 2011

Many Seed Bread

Moadim lisimcha! Sukkot is upon us! I spent the first day by my sister and because it was just going to be us, I decided to forgo making challah and try a new bread recipe. Of course you can imagine how long it took to settle on the recipe.... After flipping through many cookbooks, I landed on the Many Seed Bread from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day and it seemed to be the perfect choice as I had everything on hand. The name of the bread comes from the addition of flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds. Easy to make, this dough came together in my mixer in ten minutes before settling in for its overnight chill.I opted to make two pans of pull away loaves, topping one of them with garlic powder and any dried herbs I had around. The texture was soft and chewy, a good all around sandwich loaf. The garlic-herbed topping turned out to be quite successful-- I'm going to have to try it again on my next batch of white bread. To keep the breads parve, I used soy milk, but any milk can be used. Feel free to switch up the combination of seeds. Reinhart mentions that because the seeds absorb moisture during the overnight rise, it's important that the dough be soft and a bit sticky. These rolls are off to Yeastspotting!
Many Seed Bread
slightly adapted from Artisan Breads Every Day

5 cups flour
2/3 cup rye flour
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
3 tbsp flaxseeds
2 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
3 tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 cup soy milk
Place all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Pour in the water and milk.
Using the paddle attachment, mix just until all the ingredients are moistened. Allow to rest for five minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low for three to four minutes, adding flour only as needed to keep the dough together. Make sure it remains soft and slightly sticky.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. This was my risen dough the next morning. Take the dough out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to shape it.
Shape the dough as desired. Place them in greased or parchment lined pans.
Set aside to proof. Towards the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 350.
I brushed my loaves with egg wash. I left one plain and sprinkled the other with garlic powder and dried herbs.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer registers around 190. Time will vary depending on the size of your loaves and the pan size. Cool on a wire rack for five minutes before turning them out of their pans to cool completely.

1 comment:

Winnie said...

Shavua Tov Chavi

It looks wonderful !!
I really like it and I think it's a nice change to a regular challah. It also looks like a round-shaped challah :):)
Hope to give it a try real soon