Bread Machine (55 page)
S
pecialty flours, also known as non-wheat flours, include all flours not ground from wheat. While many of S these flours are not as well known as wheat, they are all exceptional for making bread in the bread machine. In your search for good whole grain breads, don’t shy away from recipes that feature some of these unfamiliar grains. Their imaginative addition to wheat loaves creates breads with a fascinating variety of new flavors, aromas, and textures, for example, cornmeal millet, white barley bread, or oatmeal whole wheat. Cooked grains, such as millet, wild rice, buckwheat groats, bulgur wheat, black rice, polenta, and hominy, meld beautifully into a loaf of bread. The texture of bread made with specialty grains and flours varies from smooth and fine-textured to coarse and crumbly. There is no common definition because each flour is so different and comes not only in whole grain form, but also as fine flour, coarse meal, rolled flakes, and cracked grains. Non-wheat flours have varying amounts of protein, fiber, and nutrition. Some are easy to eat, others are an acquired taste.
If you tried to create a yeasted loaf from all, or a large percentage of, specialty flour, you would produce a dense, flat loaf because of the lack of gluten in these grains. (Gluten is present only in wheat and rye flours.) Specialty flours must be used in small proportions along with plenty of high-gluten bread flour and vital wheat gluten in order to give the loaf an internal structure. I have created recipes here that are easy to make and will be to the liking of even the fussiest bread eater. Specialty flours are added in only a small proportion, comprising from just a few tablespoons to a quarter of the total flour in the loaf. Still, each flour and grain addition will result in a different feel—a whole wheat and cornmeal loaf will have a grainy texture in comparison to a loaf with the bumpy texture of rolled oats, cracked wheat, and wild rice added to some barley flour.
The main trick to working with doughs made with specialty flours is to remember that they soak up a lot of moisture during rising, as compared to white flour breads, which soak up the moisture right away during the mixing and kneading. When you check your dough ball, leave these doughs, as you do whole wheat doughs, a bit moister than usual to avoid a finished loaf that is too dry. When you touch the grain-rich dough gently with your finger, it will pull up as you pull your finger away, yet still look like a nice ball of dough. You want the dough to retain its tacky feel, so resist the urge to sprinkle it with more than 1 or 2 teaspoons of flour during the Knead 2 segment of the cycle.
These doughs emit a wonderfully grain-sweet, yeasty aroma during the rising that I find as intoxicating as the aroma during baking. Do not be put off by slow risers. Specialty flour doughs are notorious for remaining under half their finished size during the rising times, due to their reduced gluten, and then filling the pan three-quarters to almost full during baking. If a loaf comes out too dense, add
1
/
2
teaspoon more yeast and an extra 1 to 2 teaspoons gluten the next time you make it.
Set the crust control, if your machine has it, on medium or dark for these breads. I especially like an extra-dark crust, as opposed to a medium, terra cotta-colored crust on white breads. Some flours, like barley, never darken unless there are plenty of other ingredients added.
Don’t let specialty flour breads rest inside the machine on Keep Warm. It is important to remove them from the machine immediately once the beep sounds and to let them cool on a rack, or they will dry out. If your loaf is especially dense and looks like it is not quite done, don’t hesitate to program the machine for more time on the Bake Only cycle, or to turn it out of the pan and bake it a bit longer in your home oven.
Where can you find these specialty flours? Almost every supermarket offers rye flour, oatmeal, and cornmeal. Whole foods super-markets, gourmet grocery stores, and natural foods stores offer the largest selections of whole grain and non-wheat flours. Or you can always order them from mail-order resources (see
Whole Grains and Specialty Flours
).
A
yeasted corn bread is something of a surprise; it is not only toothsome, but has an appealing sweet, moist, slightly gritty texture. Please use a stone-ground cornmeal for this bread if you can. I order every brand I can find, especially the ones ground at small family-owned stone mills. They are remarkable in flavor (I even give gifts of them at Christmas). This will become one of your favorite breads.
1
1
/
2
-POUND LOAF
1
1
/
8
cups water
1
1
/
2
tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons honey
2
2
/
3
cups bread flour
1
/
3
cup yellow cornmeal
1
/
3
cup dry buttermilk powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
1 teaspoon salt
1
3
/
4
teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
1
/
4
teaspoons bread machine yeast
2-POUND LOAF
1
1
/
2
cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
1
/
4
cup honey
3
1
/
2
cups bread flour
1
/
2
cup yellow cornmeal
1
/
2
cup dry buttermilk powder
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on dark and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. (This recipe may be made using the Delay Timer.)
When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.
W
hile writing a book on the breads of the American Southwest, I discovered the unique addition of canned hominy to breads, and was hooked. Hominy adds moisture and texture to an otherwise crunchy loaf, and a delicate cornlike flavor that is most complementary to the cornmeal. Be sure to refrigerate this loaf for storage; it has a lot of moisture and will begin to mold when day-old if stored at room temperature.
1
1
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2
-POUND LOAF
1
/
2
cup milk
1
/
2
cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1
/
2
cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1
1
/
2
tablespoons gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
1
/
2
teaspoons bread machine yeast
1 cup canned hominy, rinsed
2-POUND LOAF
2
/
3
cup milk
2
/
3
cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups bread flour
2
/
3
cup yellow cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons gluten
2 teaspoons salt
