Dense, Whole Grain Bread

[shel]

Is there such a thing as a dense, hearty, whole grain bread made without the need for all the kneading, rising time? Something like a whole wheat into which one can add nuts or other ingredients, maybe let it sit a bit, and then bake? I sort of remember some breads like that from the "old" days - maybe some recipes from Moosewood or Mollie Katzen? Looking for something to go with a good veggie soup or broth on cold winter days.

shel

[stir it up]

shel, the cooking school Ballymaloe in Ireland has put a couple great ones out there that might just be what you're after.

You could try googling, and if you don't find anything I'll e-mail you.

There's a one rise no knead 100% whole wheat easy-peasy yeast bread (they use treacle but you can use molasses) that is super easy and nice. One 20 minute rise in the pan then bake. It is a very wet bread, and also keeps quite well.

I also learned an almost all WW quick bread from there that I put walnuts into and it comes out great too. Sometimes I put prunes soaked with a little armagnac in addition to the walnuts, but usually just lots of walnuts.

So yeah there's such a thing!

[shel]

Originally Posted by stir it up

shel, the cooking school Ballymaloe in Ireland has put a couple great ones out there that might just be what you're after.

Great. Thanks for the pointer. I found this recipe:

ballymaloe brown bread

This no-knead, one-rise bread was introduced by Doris Grant in her book Your Daily Bread. This recipe is an improved version devised by Myrtle Allen, founder of the now legendary Ballymaloe House hotel and cooking school in County Cork, Ireland.
Ingredients
3 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/4 cups (400ml) water
1 tsp molasses
3 1/2 cups (500g) whole-wheat flour
2 tsp salt
Preparation

Grease an 8in x 2 1/2in (20cm x 10cm x 6cm) loaf pan and warm it in a preheated oven 250°F/120°C, for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the yeast into 2/3 cup (150ml) of the water in a bowl. Leave for 5 minutes; stir to dissolve. Add the molasses. Leave for 10 minutes, until frothy. Add the remaining water and stir.
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast. Stir in the flour to form a thick batter.
Use your hands to mix the batter gently in the bowl for 1 minute, until it begins to leave the sides of the bowl clean and forms a soft, sticky dough.
Place the dough in the prepared pan and cover with a dish towel. Proof until the dough is 1/2in (1 cm) above the top of the pan, about 25-30 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven at 42°F/220°C for 30 minutes, then lower the oven to 400°F/200°C and bake for 15 minutes.
Turn the loaf out of the pan and onto a baking sheet. Return the bread, bottom side up, to the oven. Bake for a further 10 minutes, until golden and hollow sounding when tapped underneath. Let cool on a wire rack.
Proofing: 25-30 minutes.
Oven temperature: 425°F/220°C.
Baking: 55 minutes
Yeast alternative: 1oz (30g) cake yeast

The reviews of this recipe were all over the place, from positive to negative. It's worth a shot, though ....

shel

[stir it up]

IMO real deal has more molasses/treacle and is significantly more hydrated. I think that's slightly too much yeast too. and the one I have would have closer to 2 cups water for that amount of flour, so maybe that's the source of mixed reviews. Also hey, this isn't a two day all natural starter bread with soaker.

a while ago when I googled, there was a document where one of the instructors at the school was giving a seminar and the recipe was there, in quantities for a few loafs or just one loaf I think. put treacle into however you're searching, to try to find something more original to the school, not "improvised" home version, then swap treacle for molasses when you make it. Some versions have wheat germ added too, I swap that for oat bran because that's what I have around.

I would really have to rifle through paperwork to find original, but you could search as above with treacle and see also what you find.

Or, I'm sure you can get something decent if use that recipe, increase molasses to 3 tablespoons, start with a cup of water in only 1 tbsp yeast, add 1/4 cup wheat germ to your flour, then add enough of remaining water up to 2 cups to make a soft sticky dough.

Don't put a towel on it as that recipe says, this is a very sticky dough, there will be no getting the towel off, rise in a very humid place, say your turned off oven with a small pot of boiling water in there.

[shel]

Hi,

Searching as you sugested, some other, perhaps more authentic, recipes came up. I read them quickly before saving them. I'll compare them later and see what the differences may be.

One comment that popped up frequently was that a lot of the flour here in the US may not be suited to this bread, and a number of people sugested using King Arthur flour. That bnears some looking into.

Thanks for your help - this looks like it may be somewhat of an adventure, but if I can get the technique and recipe down, it may be a bread I'm looking for.

shel

[stir it up]

shel, I've played with this one too, and you could start by the recipe below too with the modifications I suggested and you might be off to the races. I'm on this side of the pond too, I've done it with store bought organic WW flour, from stone ground WW from a local mill, and from hard wheat berries I've ground myself in the Vitamix.

[siduri]

try the no knead bread and substitute whole wheat flour for white

quantities - about:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups water or dark or light unfiltered beer

Mix dry ingredients together, then add water, stirring. The dough should be sticky but hold it's shape - add more water if necessary (whole wheat flour can absorb more than white)

the beer gives a very nice flavor, but water is also great.

Cover with plastic wrap. Leave it to sit in a cool or room temp pace for 24 hours. It will get all bubbly.

24 hours later flour a board or cookie sheet very generously and turn out the dough. Sprinkle some flour on top very lghtly. Without pressing or squashing out the bubbles fold the two sides to the center, and then the top and bottom towards the center. Turn over. Cover with a cloth.
Let sit for about half hour to an hour.
Turn on oven to 450 and put a cast iron pot with oven proof lid in oven to heat for about an hour. (I'm pretty flexible about the times, it works well anyway)
Take pot out of oven and slide the dough into it. I like to slash the top just for aesthetic reasons, not necessary though - cover immediately and put back in oven.
If you don;t want the bottom to get too cooked (it can burn if you need to put your pot on a low shelf to fit it) rest the pot on a cookie sheet.
About 20 min later, remove cover.
Bake till a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven, remove from pan onto rack. Let it cool. If you want to try it warm, let it cool ten minutes, then with a very sharp serrated knife, gently saw through it back and forth (don;t press) or it will be squashed.

[stir it up]

shel, forgot to mention I think the pan size in that recipe is wonky too. (or maybe it works for the doorstop they might be making)

For a 3-1/2 cup Ballymaloe bread as amended from below, you would need to use 2L (2 litres) loaf pan, which is a 9"x5" loaf pan. This is a little bigger than what I would call my standard loaf pans, which hold a litre and a half.

I line with parchment, because with it rising in the pan, sticking could be an issue.

[shel]

Thanks siduri and stir it up. I appreciate your help and suggestions.

shel