Good Evening Lovely Readers! I completed this bakealong challenge with a day to spare, but then I love bread so I cannot believe I waited this long!
Here is the link to the recipe if you want to join in the fun: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/everyday-whole-grain-bread-recipe
I began the adventure by tossing everything into my stand mixer with the dough hook and walking away – literally. I had a cookie order I needed to finish in the other room so I just let it do its thing and yes I am aware that the recipe breaks it into several steps, but it says that it was designed for kids so I ignored it.
After several minutes I returned to find a beautifully supple dough. I put the dough in a oiled bowl and covered with a shower cap. Here’s where I deviated again because this bread is supposed to take 3 hrs, but I only had 2.5 hrs. Therefore to pull off this magic trick I warmed the oven just barely and put the covered bowl inside with the oven light on to keep it warm inside. This allowed the bread to double in bulk in only an hour instead of the prescribed 1.5 hours, yay! Checkout how pretty and puffy it was when I smacked it down…
Time to divide and shape the dough – don’t forget to put the seam on the bottom.
I placed both loaves on the parchment covered cookie sheet and then covered them with oiled wrap. Then back into the light lit oven for a second rising while my second oven preheated.
Look how puffy they got!
You can slash the loaf or not up to you. I slashed one and left the other alone so we could compare.
Into the hot oven til golden brown.
Hmmm…two loaves in just under two and a half hours- what to do? I know, one will be perfect to take to potluck! They loved the hot and fresh bread. Someone even asked how much it would cost to order a loaf.
The other loaf went with some smoked pork to the in-laws – also receiving rave reviews. This bread was soft, tender, mild, and flavorful. If you test it out let us know what you thought please. Happy Baking or reading.
