We welcomed the 2017 Winter Solstice with this delicious loaf, the first bread made with the new Ankasrum mixer. The recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who in turn adapted the bread dough from Peter Reinhart and the filling from King Arthur Flour.
The recipe makes two 2-pound bread loaves. For the extra 160g of whole grains, I used leftover steel-cut oatmeal. The moisture in the cooked oatmeal required more flour than the original recipe called for.
Bread
5 1/2 to 6 cups white or regular whole-wheat flour (5 cups if you use other whole grains, see note below)
Approximately 1 1/4 cups (160 grams) cooked steel-cut oats (or other whole grains, see note below)
2 teaspoons table salt
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled to lukewarm
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
Filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
2 teaspoons whole-wheat flour
To help filling stick to bread: 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Make bread dough
In the bottom of large mixing bowl, combine water, milk and honey, then whisk in yeast until dissolved. Add egg and butter and whisk until combined.
Add cooked oatmeal, salt, and flour to the yeast-egg mixture. If mixing with a machine, combine with paddle attachment at the lowest speed for 1 minute. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for 1 minute. The dough will be wet and coarse; do not fret. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
If using a mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix the dough on medium-low for 2 more minutes. By hand, do the same with your spoon. The dough will seem firm and more smooth, ideally supple and sticky, but if it’s still very wet, add a bit more flour, a spoonful at a time. If it seems excessively stiff, add a little more water, a spoonful at a time.
Continue to mix for 4 minutes.
Scrape dough out onto lightly floured counter. Knead a few times, then form the dough into a ball and let it rest, covered by the empty bowl upended over it, for 10 minutes. Repeat this process — kneading a few times, then resting for 10 minutes — two more times.
Proof dough
Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl with room for dough to at least double. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature for 60 to 70 minutes, until doubled in bulk. Dough can also be fermented overnight or up to 4 days in the fridge. If proofing in the fridge, remove the dough before the fridge about 3 hours before you plan to bake it.
Prepare filling
Combine the sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and flour in a food processor or blender, processing until the fruit is chopped.
Fill bread and form loaves
Turn out onto a floured counter and divide it into two equal pieces. Roll each into a long, thin rectangle, about 16-x-8 inches. Brush the dough with the beaten egg and water mixture. Sprinkle half the filling evenly over the egg. Beginning with a short edge, roll the dough into a log. Gently press the side seam and ends closed, and place the log in a lightly greased loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Proof bread again
Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour at room temperature, or until it has crowned about about 1-inch over the rim of the pan, about 45 to 60 minutes. About halfway through, heat oven to 350°F.
Bake bread
For about 40 minutes, rotating the loaf once for even color. When done, it will sound a bit hollow when tapped and the internal temperature will read 190°F.
Note about grains
Peter Reinhart suggests any of the following for the whole-grain portion: rye flour, rye meal, rye flakes, cornmeal, cooked grits or polenta, rolled oats or oat flour, amaranth, uncooked ground quinoa, cooked whole quinoa, quinoa flakes, whole or ground flaxseeds (he recommends limiting this to under 30 grams of the mix), or cooked brown rice, bulgur or barley. If you do not use cooked oatmeal, you will need less flour.