Posted: Saturday, September 19, 2009
An Illustrated Recipe for Multigrain Buns
Mollie Katzen (of Enchanted Broccoli Forest fame) says that it's difficult to not get wistful when talking about breadmaking. The warm, yeasty smells conjure up memories of home and holidays for most of us, but there's also something very immediate and emotionally satisfying about the process of making bread by hand. The 15 minutes or so of kneading is a mindless diversion that I find strangely therapeutic. I defy you to make a yeasted bread of any kind from scratch and not feel a happy calm come over you. Mollie's cookbook is fantastic, and she does a great job describing the basic process of breadmaking along with some really excellent variations, but this particular recipe has been adapted from one I found here on GroupRecipes.com.
In addition to tasting great, these buns have the added bonus of containing oatmeal and bran, plus some wholewheat flour. They are substantial without being overly heavy. I like them toasted with peanut butter or melted cheese, but they're also perfect for sandwiches. This recipe is slightly modified from the original one—I substituted some olive oil and a little butter for the original lard or shortening, and cut back on the honey a bit—but I really like the way the ingredients seem to harmonize with eachother. Hope you do too.
Ingredients
2 envelopes of dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 egg
1 Tbl melted butter
3 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbl honey
2/3 cup instant skim milk powder
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup all-bran cereal
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
Directions
Proof the yeast according to the instructions on the package. It's a really good idea to use a thermometer to get the water temperature right. I put 1 Tbl of the honey in 1/2 cup of the water to give the yeast something to snack on while it's proofing. The yeast is ready to work if it gets foamy on top after about five minutes. The volume in the cup (liquid plus foam) should appear to roughly double.
While the yeast is proofing, beat the egg in a large bowl and add the remaining 1 cup of lukewarm water, the remaining 2 Tbl of honey, the dry milk, olive oil, and butter. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Put the oatmeal and all-bran in a food processor and chop into a coarse powder. Add the proofed yeast to the bowl along with the oatmeal/all-bran mixture. Mix well again.
Add the whole wheat flour, mix, then add the first cup of bread flour.
Add the salt, along with the second cup of bread flour. After the second cup, it will become difficult to mix with a spoon. Switch to mixing with your fingers, and add the third cup of flour when ready.
Continue to mix in the bowl until the dough reaches the "shaggy ball" stage, and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
Mollie compares bread kneading to physical therapy—you are gently but firmly convincing the dough that it wants to move into the next stage of its development, where it changes from a shaggy flour mixture into a smooth ball with almost an earlobe-like texture. For me, this usually takes about 15 minutes. I use the time to empty my mind of all stress.
And here is the smooth ball:
Put the dough in an oiled bowl and swish it around a bit so that it is coated. Cover the bowl with saran wrap, and leave it in a warm place until it has doubled in size, which usually takes 60-90 minutes. Since I already had the camera out, I made a time-lapse movie of what the rising looks like:
Once the rising has finished, take the saran wrap off and punch the dough down, rapidly expelling the gas that has built up during the rise.
Bring the dough back to the floured surface and knead for another five minutes or so.
Get a dough cutter or a large knife and cut the dough into two equal pieces. Cut the two into four, then the four into eight.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and then flatten the ball and shape into a bun. Place the finished buns on an oiled pan or cookie sheet.
Cover the pan with a damp tea tea towel and let it rise until roughly doubled in bulk again, (which usually takes about 45 minutes).
Cook the buns in a 400 degree oven until tops and bottoms are nicely browned. Remove from oven and transfer one at a time with a spatula onto a wire cooling rack.
