Tasty yet light, this whole-grain pan bread stars in both a plain version and a cinnamon-raisin adaptation. Built on a base of millet sourdough leaven, then tweaked with steps that improve dough strength and correct for millet's occasional bitterness, this could easily become your standard family bread, particularly since you can switch from one version to the next.
Yield: One 1 pound 10 ounce loaf bread
Time to make: Starter: 3 days at 5 minutes per day. Pre-dough: 5 minutes to mix, 8 - 12 hours to ferment. Bread: 20 minutes mix, 2 - 4 hours bulk ferment, 1 1/2 hour rise, 1 hour 15 minute oven dwell.
Equipment needed: Measuring spoons and cups or kitchen scale. Stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl and sturdy spoon. Silicone spatula. 4 inch wide X 3 inch deep X 8 inch long bread pan. Piece of plastic wrap. Small bowl. Small plastic container with lid. Small piece of bakers parchment.
Pre-dough ingredients
Note:
To make the millet sourdough starter, use instructions HERE but substitute millet flour for brown rice flour.
Ingredients
Notes:
Unbolted buckwheat meal is made by processing buckwheat groats in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. It takes about 30 seconds of grinding, interrupted every 10 seconds or so with a good shake to the grinder. Processing buckwheat in this way yields a fresher, deeper flavor.
Procedure:
1) Make the pre-dough. Place all the ingredients in a small plastic container with a lid. Mix thoroughly and place the lid loosely. Allow to stand at room temperature (70 F) 8 to 12 hours, or until mixture swells, and/or becomes bubbly, and/or smells tart and beer-like. Refrigerate, or use immediately.
2) Make dough for bulk ferment. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the potato starch, the tapioca starch, the millet flour, the brown rice flour, the rolled oats, the oat flour, the buckwheat meal, the xanthan gum and the salt. Stir on low speed until all thoroughly blended. Add the cup of water and the pre-dough and mix thoroughly, about 2 minutes. Cover and allow to rest, 2 hours at 75 F or 4 hours at 68 F. If making cinnamon-raisin bread, place raisins and water into a small bowl and set aside. Note: If you decide not to make cinnamon-raisin bread, soaked raisins can be added to cereal or yoghurt.
3) Prepare a 4" X 3" X 8" bread pan by greasing and dusting with oat flour. Prepare a plastic sheet (if making cinnamon-raisin bread) by spritzing lightly with bakers oil. Dust pan with oat flour and set aside. Place an oven rack in a center position. Heat oven to 425 F.
4) Add the instant yeast, additional ounce of water, (note: if making cinnamon-raisin bread, use some fo the raisin soaking water) and honey, to the dough. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 2 minutes. If making cinnamon-raisin bread, add the soaked raisins with their remaining water and stir on low until evenly distributed. If making cinnamon-raisin bread, place ground cinnamon and sugar into a small bowl and stir until well-mixed. Set aside.
5) Turn dough out onto spritzed plastic. Use a wet spatula to spread dough into a layer about 1 1/2 inches thick. Sprinkle with about 1/3 the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Fold dough over the mixture, flatten again, sprinkle again. Repeat one more time, then roll or otherwise transfer dough into prepared pan.
6) Allow bread to rise 90 minutes. Cover dough lightly with a small piece of bakers parchment. Bake, on center rack, for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 400 F and bake another 65 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow bread to cool enough to safely handle pan, then turn loaf out of the pan and allow to cool thoroughly, 2 hours or more.