Here’s another bread recipe. In this one, I used buckwheat honey, as well as clover honey, for a different flavor. Now that the cold weather is upon us, I am cooking bigger, heartier meals, and with those, I like lots of freshly baked bread and butter. If you give this one a try, let me know how you liked it.
2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 cups of unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup of buckwheat honey
1/2 cup of clover honey
1 tsp. sea salt, plus a little extra
2 tbs. instant yeast
2 tbs. room temperature butter
2 cups (approximate) lukewarm water
Corn meal
Preparation
Place the flour, honey, salt and yeast into the mixing bowl. Add the butter and turn the dough hooks on to mix the ingredients. Add most of the water and bring the dough together. You may have to add a bit more water or flour to get it right. You want a dough that is still somewhat wet, but stiff enough that you can handle it with a little flour on your hands.
Knead the dough for a couple of minutes, place it back in the mixing bowl, and let it rise in a warm place for a half hour. After it has risen, knead the dough for a minute or so and shape it into a loaf. Plop it on to a cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with corn meal, and let it rise again in a warm place for another half hour. Place a few slashes on the loaf, and then sprinkle it with some sea salt.
Place the bread into a 380º oven. Let it bake for at least a half hour, until it is golden brown. Take it out of the bread pan and place it back on the rack in the oven for another minute or so. Let the bread cool on a rack for at least five minutes before slicing.
Serving
Serve this bread with lots of butter. What else? Hmm. How about medium rare roast beef, mashed potatoes, lots of gravy, steamed Brussels sprouts, a crisp salad, and a nice Cabernet from Washington State. For dessert, a platter of sliced melons is nice.
