Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads (30 page)
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Authors: Nancy Baggett
Tags: #Cooking
KS Quotient
Super-Easy: A minimum of ingredients, all added before the first rise. No hand-shaping.
Breads featuring either raw brown rice or wild rice are rare, but as part of a personal campaign to incorporate more whole grains into my family's diet, I decided to grind up and add the last of a box of unseasoned brown and wild rice pilaf blend into a wheat bread recipe. The experiment was a huge success: The resulting loaf had such a lovely, distinctive, sweet grain flavor and appealing crunch that it won over even the tasters normally hostile to the slightest hint of whole grain.
I've since tried this recipe with just brown rice, and the loaf comes out a tad lighter and less crunchy, but tasting more or less the same, so the wild rice can be considered non-essential. The nutritional profile of wild rice, which is in fact a seed, not a grain, does dovetail nicely with that of the brown rice, though.
Note that because the brown rice is used uncooked, it must be ground into a flour for this recipe. Either a blender or (clean) coffee or spice grinder will work; a food processor blade isn't thin enough for the job. The mixture should end up mostly powdery, but for a little crunch, leave some particles the size of corn grits. (Larger bits will be too hard on the teeth.) Due to its popcorn-like aroma and flavor, brown basmati rice is especially appealing in this bread, but any variety of long-grain brown rice will do.
I like to serve this loaf warm and sliced thick with soups and stews. Once cooled and cut thinner, it's good for toast and sandwiches.
Yield: 1 medium loaf, 12 to 14 slices
1¼ cups (6.25 ounces) whole wheat flour, plus more as needed
1¼ cups (6.25 ounces) unbleached white bread flour
½ cup uncooked, unseasoned long-grain brown rice and wild rice blend (or just brown rice), ground fairly fine after measuring
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Generous 1 teaspoon table salt
¾ teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
1 tablespoon corn oil, canola oil, or other flavorless vegetable oil, plus more for coating dough top and pan
1 1/3 cups ice water, plus more if needed
First Rise
In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the whole wheat and bread flour, ground rice, sugar, salt, and yeast. In another bowl, whisk the oil into the water. Vigorously stir the mixture into the bowl with the flours, scraping down the sides and mixing until well blended and smooth. If the ingredients are too dry to mix together, gradually add in just enough more ice water to facilitate mixing; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If necessary, add in more whole wheat flour to stiffen it. Brush or spray the top with oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, refrigerate for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.
Second Rise
Vigorously stir the dough, adding more whole wheat flour if needed to stiffen it, then carefully scrape down the sides. Using a well-oiled rubber spatula, fold the dough in towards the center, working all the way around the bowl. Invert the dough into a generously oiled 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan. Brush or spray the dough top with oil. Smooth and press out the dough with well-oiled fingertips so it evenly fills the pan and is smooth on top. Using a well-oiled serrated knife, make 5 or 6 evenly spaced ¼-inch-deep crosswise slashes along the loaf top. Cover the pan with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.
Let Rise Using Any of These Methods
For a 2- to 3-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1½- to 2½-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, then set out at room temperature. Continue the rise until the dough nears the plastic, then remove it and let the dough rise until 1 inch above the pan rim.
Baking Preliminaries
15 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 400°F.
Baking
Bake on the lower rack for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top is well browned. Continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes more, covering to prevent over-browning, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few particles clinging to the bottom portion (or until the center registers 206° to 208°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for 5 to 10 minutes more to be sure the center is done. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then turn out the loaf onto the rack and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serving and StoringThe loaf slices best when cool, but the bread is good served warm or at room temperature. Cool completely before storing airtight in plastic or foil. Keeps at room temperature for 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.
KS Quotient
Fairly Easy: Easy once the gluten-free ingredients are assembled. No hand-shaping.
Gluten, a rubbery protein abundant in wheat doughs, is normally the component that both holds yeast breads together and raises them by trapping the gas produced during fermentation. Which means that turning out yeasted baked goods without gluten is always challenging and that the results rarely stand up (so to speak) to breads made the usual wheat way.
Still, for the legions of gluten allergy sufferers with a desperate, abiding craving for bread, ersatz loaves are an acceptable alternative to never eating a sandwich, or toast, or a simple buttered slice again. According to several of my gluten-free friends who have tried many of the available commercial gluten-free products, they are better than nothing, but, often, just barely. Fresh, homemade, gluten-free breads, on the other hand, occasionally taste enough like the real thing to get them highly excited.
I am pleased to say that the following all-purpose yeasted sandwich bread recipe is one that did. Upon taking her first bite, a gluten-free friend declared this the best bread she'd eaten since forsaking gluten three years ago—so good, she said, it almost made her cry! She then carefully wrapped up her gift, took it home, and froze it so she could stretch out the pleasure over the next several weeks. She also insisted that I share this recipe with her immediately.
Admittedly, this bread isn't as springy and the taste isn't as wheaty as the usual wheat-based loaf, but a combination of carefully-chosen gluten-free flours and meals creates a light tan bread with a mild, pleasant multigrain taste and enough cohesiveness that this loaf works just fine for sandwiches. It is good for toast and eating as is, too. (For heartier, darker, seeded bread, see the variation at the end of the recipe.)
Yeast might not seem to serve a purpose in gluten-free doughs, but it does: First, it contributes the same sweet, earthy flavors and aromas that have always made people love yeast bread. Plus, there are a number of gluten substitutes (found in the gluten-free baking sections of health food stores) like tapioca starch, flax seed meal, and xanthan gum that help make the dough cohesive enough to trap at least some of the gas produced during fermentation. Baking powder provides the rest of the leavening.
Yield: 1 large loaf, 13 to 14 slices
1 2/3 cups white rice flour, divided, plus more as needed
2/3 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking (not instant) gluten-free rolled oats
½ cup cornstarch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup flax seed meal or golden flax seed meal
Generous 1¼ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
1 1/3 cups ice water, plus more if needed
1/3 cup corn oil or canola oil, plus more for coating pan
3 tablespoons clover honey or other mild honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
¼ cup plain low-fat or regular yogurt, drained of excess liquid
2½ teaspoons baking powder
First Rise
In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together 1 1/3 cups of the rice flour, the oats, cornstarch, tapioca flour, flax seed meal, salt, and yeast. In another bowl or measuring cup, thoroughly whisk together the water, oil, and honey, then stir them into the bowl with the flour and oats, scraping down the bowl sides and mixing until well blended. If the mixture is too stiff to blend together, stir in enough more water to facilitate mixing and yield a barely firm dough. (It will stiffen as it stands.) Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, refrigerate for 3 to 10 hours. Then let stand at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. It's all right if the dough doesn't rise a lot.
Second Rise
Whisk the egg, then set aside 1 tablespoon to brush on the loaf top. Stir the yogurt, baking powder, and 1/3 cup of the rice flour into the remaining egg. Vigorously stir the mixture into the dough until well blended. If it is soft, stir in enough more white rice flour to yield a fairly stiff dough. Turn it out into a very well-greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Evenly brush the top with oil. Smooth the surface with an oiled rubber spatula or fingertips. Brush the reserved egg over the surface. Using a well-oiled serrated knife or kitchen shears, make a ½-inch-deep cut lengthwise down the loaf. Cover the pan with nonstick spray—coated plastic wrap.
Let Rise Using Either of These Methods
For a 2½- to 4-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1½- to 3-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water. When the dough nears the plastic wrap, remove it and continue the rise until the dough extends 1/8 inch above the pan rim.
Baking Preliminaries
15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 375°F.
Baking
Bake on the lower rack for 55 to 60 minutes, until the top is nicely browned; if necessary, cover with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to the bottom (or until the center registers 206° to 208°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for another 5 to 10 minutes to ensure that the center is done. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the loaf to the rack; cool thoroughly.
Serving and StoringThe loaf slices best when cool, but the bread is good served warm or at room temperature. Cool completely before storing airtight in plastic or foil. The bread will keep at room temperature for 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.
Proceed exactly as for Gluten-Free Light Sandwich Bread except: Substitute ¼ cup molasses for the honey. Substitute ½ cup cornmeal or ½ cup brown rice flour for the rolled oats. Stir together 1 tablespoon each millet, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds. Stir all but 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the dough before the first rise. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon over the loaf after brushing the loaf top with the egg before starting the second rise.
