Multigrain Yeast Bread; by Williams-Sonoma

So, my mother received as a gift from one of her students at WSU this "Essentials of Healthful Cooking" brought to us by Williams-Sonoma.



As the URL of this blog implies, she was unable to find much use for it beyond kitchen decor. However, one day after collecting dust for a few months, I looked her over and thought..."I like cooking. I like health. I like Williams-Sonoma. This is a pretty picture." I found among her pages some great finds, but one especially I'd like to share with you TODAY.

MULTIGRAIN YEAST BREAD!!!



Yeast breads used to be intimidating to me. What if the dough didn't rise properly? Worrying about killing the yeast was just too much pressure. (I could never be a doctor.) "So Dana! HOW did you get over your fear?" some might ask. Well--like most things in life--doing it! So perhaps some of you are yeast-bread-making machines (or own yeast-bread-making machines) and this sort of thing is old hat for you. That's fine, you'll enjoy this unique and tasty recipe at any rate.

But for those of you who see this task as daunting! Fear not! As a moderately-popular and historically inaccurate Disney character once said, "If I can learn to do it, you can learn to do it!"


First off!

in a small sauce pan combine

*1 1/2 cups of nonfat milk

*1/4 cup full-flavored molasses



heat on stove until the liquid reaches about 105F-115F (or...about as hot as your average adult likes to take his or her bath. If you only take cold showers, then get a thermometer.)

Remove from the heat and sprinkle

1 envelope (or 2 1/4 tsp.) of active dry yeast

Let it sit for ten minutes while it gets foamy!




Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together with a wooden spoon--

*2 cups of all-purpose flour

*1 cup of whole-wheat flour

*1/2 cup of rolled oats

*1 1/2 tps. of salt



separate an

*egg--yolk in one dish, white in another.

I find this works best by cracking the egg and letting the white escape first. Its surprisingly tricky to remove the yolk from the white once they're chillin' together in a bowl.

Whisk the EGG YOLK with the yeast mixture, and then slowly pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Beat with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms.



add small amounts of all-purpose flour until the dough comes together in a smooth(ish) ball.

Remove the ball from the bowl, and place it a clean, lightly floured work surface. And WORK IT! Knead it until its smooth and elasticky. About ten minutes, adding all-purpose flour as kneaded (waka waka!)







Place that beautiful ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl.



Turn to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic saran wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about one hour.



This would be a good time to do your homework or clean your room.

lightly oil a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Punch the dough down and let it rest for ten minutes. Place the dough, once more, on that "lightly floured work surface." Sprinkle with

*1/3 a cup of oats. (the actual recipe calls for sunflower seed, but I find that oats work excellently. Also--that's one less ingredient you need to purchase.)

Fold the dough over and knead until the oats (or seeds) are evenly distributed. Flatten the dough into a 12-by-7-inch rectangle.



Beginning with a short side, loosely roll up the dough rectangle and pinch the seam to seal.




Transfer, seam side down, to the prepared pan. Cover the pan with saran wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.




Preheat the oven to 350F

In the bowl with the

*egg white

beat with a little bit of milk. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and using a pastry brush (or...your clean fingers) top the dough with the egg/milk mixture. Sprinkle the top with oats. (I used steal-cut...but any kind are fine!)



Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.





The top should be golden. Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then place it on a wrack (or a plate) to let it cool completely. The loaf can be cut into 16 slices.




This is a delicious loaf with a crusty crust and soft delicious inside. Makes great sandwiches. Also--your kitchen will smell incredible. ENJOY!!!









----------THE RECIPE REVIEW----------

Pros: The bread is tasty AND healthy. The molasses gives it great flavor and just enough sweetness. This is one of my favorite breads to make.

Cons: Like any yeast bread, these things take time. If you're in a rush, this ain't the recipe for you. You have to be in such a mood as to "find joy in the journey." Give yourself at least 3, 3 1/2 hours to make it. You'll have some down time to do other things while waiting for the dough to rise/cook.