This bread is excellent, but you'll need to be patient with the rises. It is very slow on the first and second rise, but you will be VERY pleased with the final result.
It should be served hot - or at least warm on the last legs of cooling - with a meal. It is a very soft bread with a sweetish taste (the honey), a nice soft crust, and a mild, yet robust flavor. The texture, even the crust, should be quite soft. A nice sharp serrated bread knife is used for the best slices. It has lots of potential for making it into a rye - especially Russian rye bread - with the addition of finely ground caraway and/or kalonji seeds. Using this bread for the base for a roast beef or pastrami sandwich will put you in culinary heaven. This bread is among THE BEST you will ever taste. It's delicate- yet ambitions; hearty - yet light. It has a flavor like you've probably never had - that is unless you've eaten at the Outback Restaurant.
Recipe: Yields 4 medium-sized loaves or 8 small loaves or make a half recipe for one 6” loaf in a medium sized glass bowl.
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour (up to 2-1/2 cups if needed)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 teaspoon caramel color (*)
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter -- softened
1 1/2 cups warm water
* If caramel color is not available, substitute food coloring by adding to the warm water before adding it to the rest of the ingredients:
75 drops red food coloring
45 drops blue food coloring
30 drops yellow food coloring
1.BREAD MACHINE METHOD: Add all of the ingredients for the dough in the exact order listed into the pan of your machine. Set it on "knead" and when the machine begins to mix the dough, combine the food coloring with 1/4 cup of water and drizzle it into the mixture as it combines. After the dough is created let it rest to rise for an hour or so. Then remove it from the pan and go to step #3.
2. MIXER METHOD: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour and 2 cups of the bread flour with the cocoa, sugar, coffee, caramel color, yeast and salt. Add the butter, honey and water... With the mixer set on low speed, mix with the dough hook for 3 minutes, using a spatula to keep scraping down the sides of the mixer to dry the dry ingredients into the wet. Turn the mixer speed to medium and mix 1-2 minutes or until the dough begins to come together to form a ball, adding more flour if necessary up to the additional 1/2 cup.
NOTE! The dough will be very wet and sticky, but try not to add too much flour or else the bread will be very dry and crumbly.
Liberally flour the work surface and turn the dough out onto the flour. Loosely cover the dough and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Gently knead the dough until it barely comes together into a soft tacky ball. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove the cover and gently stretch and fold the dough. Replace the plastic wrap cover and let the dough finish rising until almost doubled, about 45-50 minutes.
3. When the dough has risen to about double in size, punch it down and divide it into 4 even portions, by dividing dough in half and then dividing those halves in half (and then once more if 8 very small loaves are desired.). Form the portions into tubular shaped loaves. (If desired, sprinkle the entire surface of the loaves with a small bit of fine grind cornmeal.
Place the loaves on a parchment-lined large baking sheet. Cover the loaves with a proof box or loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise once more for 45-50 minutes. OR – use a 6” bowl for 1-loaf, half recipe
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the dough and slash the tops lengthwise if desired. Bake for 23-24 minutes. Loaves should begin to darken slightly on top when done, and the internal temperature should reach 190-195 degrees F. on an instant read thermometer. Cool on a wire rack until still just barely warm. Serve with a sharp serrated bread knife and whipped butter on the side.
This variation is compliments of shaboom@shentel.net Check out her great web site at http://www.shaboomskitchen.com/
.jpg){kind=small}
