Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Honey Wheat Sandwich Loaves

Honey Wheat Sandwich Loaves (Makes 2 loaves)
(Culinary Art Institute Home Baking Cookbook with some Lyndsey Changes)

I wanted something that I could make sandwiches with and have on hand all the time. I added an extra cup of Whole Wheat flour and cut down the cooking time and temp since I was getting burnt loaves.

3 Cups bread flour
2 cup whole wheat Flour
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
2 cups whole or low-fat milk (Microwave 2 minutes until warm enough to activate yeast)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp Salt
Cooking spray for greasing
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 2 tbsp cold milk for brushing)

Combine the flours and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the milk, oil, honey, and salt and mix on low speed until dough forms a shaggy but evenly moistened dough, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough feels satiny and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Fold the dough over on itself, pressing gently to release the gas. Turn it out onto a floured work surface and cut into 2 equal pieces. Round each pieces into a smooth ball, pulling the outer layer taut and pinching together the excess dough at the base of the ball. Place the dough seam sides down on a lightly floured work surface. Cover the dough and let rest until relaxes, about 20 minutes.Coat two 9-inch loaf pans lightly with cooking spray. Stretch each dough ball into 8 x 12-inch rectangle. Fold each short end of the rectangle 1 inch toward the center of the dough to keep the sides straight and the corners square. Fold a long edge into the center and use the heel of your hand to seal the edge of the dough. Fold the dough in half lengthwise and use your fingertips to seal the 2 edges together; keep the seams straight. The dough should be about 10 inches long. Roll the dough into a cylinder 12 inches long. Push the ends of the cylinder toward the center until it is 10 inches long and place seam side down into the loaf pan. Brush with egg wash.

Let the dough rise in a warm place, uncovered, until the pans are three-quarters full and the dough springs back slowly to the touch, 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F

Bake until the loaves have a rich golden brown crust and the sides of the bread retain their structure when pressed, 30-45 minutes. Check at 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the pans immediately and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing and serving. (I know it is tempting but wait until it cools to slice it, you will ruin it!)

1 comment:

  1. I am totally impressed with these. They look perfect. I will be trying.

    ReplyDelete