Australian Damper Bread Who doesn't love the smell of fresh bread at the local grocery store bakery as it is taken out of the oven? How would you like to learn bread making for yourself?
For the last several months, I have been practicing my bread making skills by trying out a variety of bread recipes in hopes of being able to get away from ever having to purchase bread at a store. So far, I've made European peasant bread, anadama bread, a whole-grain bread recipe from Mother Earth News that takes a couple of days to make, Australian damper bread, and so on. It wasn't until recently that I came across a whole wheat bread recipe that is super-ridiculous easy to make and only takes roughly 3 hours or so to make (most of which is rise time).
For the last several months, I have been practicing my bread making skills by trying out a variety of bread recipes in hopes of being able to get away from ever having to purchase bread at a store. So far, I've made European peasant bread, anadama bread, a whole-grain bread recipe from Mother Earth News that takes a couple of days to make, Australian damper bread, and so on. It wasn't until recently that I came across a whole wheat bread recipe that is super-ridiculous easy to make and only takes roughly 3 hours or so to make (most of which is rise time).
I had found the recipe, "Entire Wheat Bread," in my dog-eared paperback copy of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. This recipe is actually a "no-knead" one; however, I do some "kneading" when I make this (and all bread recipes, for that matter), as I prefer to mix the ingredients with my hands. The downside to the Fannie Farmer recipe is that no rise time is given, other than instructing to rise until "double in bulk" for the first rise and until "not quite double in bulk" for the second rise, so I usually figure about an hour for the first rise and about 30-45 minutes for the second (NOTE: don't worry too much if the dough grows to double in size or completely fills the bread pan during the second rise--as I had done once--the bread will still come out just right! :-) ).
After using this recipe a couple of times, I started feeling adventurous about using other flours, so I decided to try the recipe with about a 50/50 mix of whole-wheat and rye flour with some oatmeal thrown in. To my most pleasant surprise, it worked! I plan on trying some other flours as well, but for now, here is the recipe I came up with:
Easy-Peasy Whole-Wheat Rye Oatmeal Bread
Ingredients:
Mix the molasses and salt with the hot milk in a large bowl and set aside to cool down to lukewarm. Mix the yeast with the water, let sit for 5 mins, then add to the warm milk mixture.
In a separate bowl, mix the two flours and oatmeal together. Add the flours to the liquid mixture and either stir with a wooden spoon or mix with your hands until well mixed. Allow the dough to sit in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth and placed in a warm spot (I usually place the bowl on top of the stove) until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Mix again for a a moment with the spoon or hand-mix, turn the dough out into a greased bread pan, then cover with the same towel and let sit in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
Preheat the oven at 350° F. When the bread has finished the second rise, take a serrated knife and make a 1/2-inch slice right down the middle of the bread, longways. Then lightly brush the top with milk, sprinkle some wheat germ on top and place in the oven on the top rack with a small ovenproof container of water on the lower rack right under the bread. Bake for about 45-60 minutes (depending on your oven). When done (the bread should have a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom with your hand), turn out on a cooling rack and allow to sit for about 15 minutes. Can be served warm or cold.
So that is the recipe, my friends. Give bread making a try and let me know how you like it. Feel free to share your favorite bread recipes here as well in the comments section below.
I'm also researching gluten-free bread recipes that are easy to make, and will feature the results in a future post.
If you enjoyed what you've read and feel others could benefit from this information, please do share the link to this post on your favorite social media site. While you're here, you can sign up for the Dirt Momma newsletter to receive updates on what's been going on in Dirt Momma's homestead, and learn a few tips and tricks along the way! Thanks so much! :-)
Until next time... Happy baking!
After using this recipe a couple of times, I started feeling adventurous about using other flours, so I decided to try the recipe with about a 50/50 mix of whole-wheat and rye flour with some oatmeal thrown in. To my most pleasant surprise, it worked! I plan on trying some other flours as well, but for now, here is the recipe I came up with:
Easy-Peasy Whole-Wheat Rye Oatmeal Bread
Ingredients:
- 2 cups hot milk
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 package dry yeast (I use SAF Perfect Rise Yeast)
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/3 cups of whole-wheat flour
- 2 1/3 cups of rye flour
- 1 cup of dry oatmeal
Mix the molasses and salt with the hot milk in a large bowl and set aside to cool down to lukewarm. Mix the yeast with the water, let sit for 5 mins, then add to the warm milk mixture.
In a separate bowl, mix the two flours and oatmeal together. Add the flours to the liquid mixture and either stir with a wooden spoon or mix with your hands until well mixed. Allow the dough to sit in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth and placed in a warm spot (I usually place the bowl on top of the stove) until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Mix again for a a moment with the spoon or hand-mix, turn the dough out into a greased bread pan, then cover with the same towel and let sit in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
Preheat the oven at 350° F. When the bread has finished the second rise, take a serrated knife and make a 1/2-inch slice right down the middle of the bread, longways. Then lightly brush the top with milk, sprinkle some wheat germ on top and place in the oven on the top rack with a small ovenproof container of water on the lower rack right under the bread. Bake for about 45-60 minutes (depending on your oven). When done (the bread should have a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom with your hand), turn out on a cooling rack and allow to sit for about 15 minutes. Can be served warm or cold.
So that is the recipe, my friends. Give bread making a try and let me know how you like it. Feel free to share your favorite bread recipes here as well in the comments section below.
I'm also researching gluten-free bread recipes that are easy to make, and will feature the results in a future post.
If you enjoyed what you've read and feel others could benefit from this information, please do share the link to this post on your favorite social media site. While you're here, you can sign up for the Dirt Momma newsletter to receive updates on what's been going on in Dirt Momma's homestead, and learn a few tips and tricks along the way! Thanks so much! :-)
Until next time... Happy baking!
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