Sunflower-Millet Bread
Sunflower-Millet Bread (from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest and Other Timeless Delicacies, by Mollie Katzen)
Makes 2 loaves
An awesome recipe from an awesome cookbook by an awesome author! Ms. Katzen handprinted and illustrated several amazing cookbooks in the late 70's and early 80's; they were beautiful works of art, full of entertaining writing, and - of course - tasty recipes! I used to use these books all the time in my hippy-ish youth. :) I was digging through them recently and decided that I needed to make this bread... If you track down the original book (and I very much recommend that you do!), you'll find the original recipe on page 99, which general bread baking instructions on pages 86-88 (including a fun, but educational" "illustrated guide" that baking novices will find very helpful). I've consolidated the bread baking instructions and recipe on one page for your convinience.
A couple of comments about ingredients... if I'm baking for myself, I use 100% whole wheat - I like bread on the "firm" side, but some people (like my husband), perfer a softer texture (he refers to my "firm" loaves as "clunk bread," refering to the noise they make as they hit the cooling rack). Also, Ms. Katzen uses a lot of butter - I know that the government says that butter is okay, now, but I still feel better using olive oil instead.
Makes 2 loaves
An awesome recipe from an awesome cookbook by an awesome author! Ms. Katzen handprinted and illustrated several amazing cookbooks in the late 70's and early 80's; they were beautiful works of art, full of entertaining writing, and - of course - tasty recipes! I used to use these books all the time in my hippy-ish youth. :) I was digging through them recently and decided that I needed to make this bread... If you track down the original book (and I very much recommend that you do!), you'll find the original recipe on page 99, which general bread baking instructions on pages 86-88 (including a fun, but educational" "illustrated guide" that baking novices will find very helpful). I've consolidated the bread baking instructions and recipe on one page for your convinience.
A couple of comments about ingredients... if I'm baking for myself, I use 100% whole wheat - I like bread on the "firm" side, but some people (like my husband), perfer a softer texture (he refers to my "firm" loaves as "clunk bread," refering to the noise they make as they hit the cooling rack). Also, Ms. Katzen uses a lot of butter - I know that the government says that butter is okay, now, but I still feel better using olive oil instead.
I. The Sponge:
- 2 pkg. (2 tbsp) dry yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- A drop of honey (Note: I used about a tsp)
- 2 cups unbleached white flour (Note: I used 100% whole wheat)
II. The Mix
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup raw millet
- 2 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup butter (Note: I substituted a couple of tbsp. of olive oil)
- 3 tbsp. honey
III. Furthermore:
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (increase, if desired)
- 1 cup unbleached white flour (Note: I used whole wheat again)
- Approximately 3 cups whole wheat flour (Note: I only ended up needing to add another 1 - 1 1/2 cups of flour)
Recommended Crust: melted butter (Note: I skipped this step)
"Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the millet, cover, and turn the heat to low. Cook 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed." (Note: This took more like 30 minutes for me... keep the heat low and keep checking!) "Uncover the millet and fluff it with a fork (this lets extra steam escape, preventing overcookedness). Add remaining ingredients, and mix well. Let it cool to room temperature..." (Note: I speeded this step along by transferring the cooked millet to a small bowl, and then placing the small bowl in a slightly larger bowl of ice) "...before adding it to the sponge."
"Knead in the sunflower seeds and additional flour. Carry on as usual with kneading, rising, punching, shaping, etc." Note: I'll paraphrase the "usual," writing out how I've been baking... Get the book, if you want to see Ms. Katzen's illustrated guide. :) Knead in the flour, A LITTLE AT A TIME... bread baking is a bit of inexact science, and the amounts of flour necessary to come up with a good loaf changes depending on the flour brand, the weather, the humidity and temperature or your house, and probably some other things I don't know about. Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. Place the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl, and turn it so it's completely covered. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place to rise again, about another hour. Take the dough out, punch it down, divide it in half, and place it in two greased bread pans. Allow it to rise AGAIN, another 30 minutes to hour (most of the time involved in baking bread is just waiting for it to rise). Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with melted butter, if you wish (I didn't), and place them in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until they're brown, and they sound hollow when you tap on them. Remove them from the pans immediately, and cool on racks - it's supposed to be a good idea to let bread cool completely before slicing it, but I'm rarely patient enough when the aroma of baked bread is permeating the kitchen! :)
"Knead in the sunflower seeds and additional flour. Carry on as usual with kneading, rising, punching, shaping, etc." Note: I'll paraphrase the "usual," writing out how I've been baking... Get the book, if you want to see Ms. Katzen's illustrated guide. :) Knead in the flour, A LITTLE AT A TIME... bread baking is a bit of inexact science, and the amounts of flour necessary to come up with a good loaf changes depending on the flour brand, the weather, the humidity and temperature or your house, and probably some other things I don't know about. Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. Place the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl, and turn it so it's completely covered. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place to rise again, about another hour. Take the dough out, punch it down, divide it in half, and place it in two greased bread pans. Allow it to rise AGAIN, another 30 minutes to hour (most of the time involved in baking bread is just waiting for it to rise). Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with melted butter, if you wish (I didn't), and place them in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until they're brown, and they sound hollow when you tap on them. Remove them from the pans immediately, and cool on racks - it's supposed to be a good idea to let bread cool completely before slicing it, but I'm rarely patient enough when the aroma of baked bread is permeating the kitchen! :)