Quaker Oats Honey Bread Revisited

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Quaker Oats Honey Bread Revisited

Hello loyal follower(s)

Tonight, we are having dinner guests, therefore it was time for fresh bread.   I decided to return to the Dutch oven approach to making bread. The results of my test last week indicated that it yielded a SLIGHTLY better result than just baking on a stone.

However, my method of making two loaves at a time has a problem.  Letting the dough ferment for 18 hours and then dividing it into two loaves appears to make it difficult to get good looking individual loaves.  I have to experiment more with this problem.  Maybe if the cut edge of the individual loaf was keep on the bottom of the loaf it might work.  A Blog for the near future.

The chosen bread for tonight was Quaker Oats Honey bread was made from a rewrite of the recipes from the blog of April 15, 2012 (on Stone) and blog May 19, 2011 ( in Dutch oven). In the May recipe I used uncooked oatmeal, but I liked the results of using cooked oatmeal Better.  I was busy cleaning the kitchen floor and did not hear the buzzer during the baking of the bread.  Therefore the baking time in the new recipe was guess work.

You will notice the weird shapes to the loaves.  This was caused by trying yo incorporate the cut edge of the dough back into the piece of dough.

The crumb was excellent.  the holes were not as large as when the bread is made from just bread flour,  but they were OK.

I am at the left, then Tony and Ruth Sarrica.
Our first get together since January 2012. We all have had great medical experiences since  July 2011, and we are all just recovering.  Only Cyndy (my wife) has maintained good health for the past year.


We had a great time.

Recipe follows:

À bientôt,

Mr Nut

Quaker Oats Honey Bread

May 27, 2012

European style: (Crisp-crust; large air spaces

Inspired by Jim Lahey’s My Bread and 

Using a Cuisinart stand mixer, with speeds from 1 to 12

Yield two seven inch loaves

     This recipe provides the ultimate freedom of choice with timing and techniques. It is possible to start this bread anytime of the day and modify the fermentation time to meet your schedule.

    Oat meal doesn’t contain the proteins needed for making gluten. Vital Wheat Gluten was added to help compensate for the lack of gluten producing proteins.

    The following (optional) natural healthful ingredients are added to improve bread volume or taste.

           Salt: Sea Salt, which contains additional minerals for better gluten development.

           Dough Enhancer: See April 5, 2011 blog for ingredients and an explanation of    

           their function. 

     Long fermentation at room temperature eliminates kneading and allows for the yeast to work its magic.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups water

1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz; 150g) Quaker oats (quick one minute).  

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/4 cup Canola oil.                                                                 

1/4 cup Clover honey.                                                         

5 1/2 cups (28 oz; 770 g) bread flour.                               

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast.

1 cup ( 5 oz 140g) Vital Wheat Gluten.                       

1/4 cup Dough Enhancer.                                                

About 1 cup  water.

1. Oatmeal:

In a large pan with a cover bring 2 1/4 cups of water to a boil; add 1 teaspoon sea salt.  Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of Quaker oats to the water.  Then reduce heat (1/3 towards low medium) and cook until it begins to thicken: (about one minute), cover it and set it aside until 

cools a little  ( about 20-30℉).

2. Wet Mix:

As the Oatmeal cools, mix into the oatmeal, by hand  the red ingredients  ( 1/4 cup oil first,

then 1/4 cup honey, using the same 1/4 cup measure,) .

3. Dry Mix:

In the mixer bowl using the Chef Whisk on speed 1, mix the Blue ingredients, minimize the 

mixing time. 

4. Combine Ingredients:

Switch to the Paddle Blade at speed 2, and slowly combine the Oatmeal and the blue

 ingredients, EXCEPT THE WATER. Don't add water just yet: the flour will absorb water from the oatmeal very slowly. Let the dough rest, maybe 15 minutes. Then add only the 

5.   Rest: Allow the mixture to rest for about five to ten minutes, then move the dough to another oiled bowl. ( so the stand mixer bowl can be cleaned). Spray the top of the dough with oil, and cover the bowl. 

6.  First fermentation;  Set the dough out at room temperature 72-75℉ (use a heating pad if room is cool) for 12 to 18 hours. If convenient, vigorously stir the dough about halfway through the rise.

7.  Deflate dough:  Gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Holding edge of dough with fingertips, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Add more  flour if the dough too sticky, aim for a workable dough. Turn bowl quarter turn; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (maximum of 8 folds). Divide the dough into two parts.  Keeping the cut edge as the bottom of each loaf, form rounds and place the rounds on 15-inch squares of baking parchment paper. 

8.  Second Fermentation: Dust the loaves with flour. Smooth out and round the surface to form a round shaped, domed loaf;  Cover each loaf with a large pan and let them ferment for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the dough doubles from the deflated size.

9.   Prepare Oven: 20 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the middle of the oven with the dutch oven; preheat to 450°F. If you have a baking stone place it near the bottom of the oven it will act as a heat sink. 

10.  Final Dough preparation: Sprinkle or spray the dough top generously with water. Using well-oiled serrated knife or razor, cut a 1/2-inch-deep, Using the parchment paper as a sling, carefully lift the dough into the pots; take care not to touch the hot pot. Immediately top the pots with their  lids.

11.  Baking: Reduce the heat to 425°F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid. Using the parchment paper, lift the loaves from the pots and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Remove the parchment paper from the loaves. (If the top is well browned, cover it with foil.) Bake for 25 to 35 minutes longer, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until the center registers 203° to 205°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Note: the appearance of the loaf is more important in determining the doneness of the loaf than the internal temperature (from Cook's illustrated magazine, May-June 2011 page 31).  Cool  thoroughly on a wire rack.

Dutch Oven or Just on Stone ?

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Hello loyal  follower(s)

I thought i might have to eat crow over some of my observation on bread making.  

The last few loaves looked good but the crumb was somewhat "gummy". Obviously there was too much moisture in the oven  during the baking process.  In other words the broiler pan with water in it was creating too much steam.  For using the broiler pan and water method I stand ready to eat crow.

My intent yesterday, was to compare making Basic No Knead bread using a Dutch Oven for one loaf (blog of Oct 14, 2011) and just baking the second loaf on the baking stone without water in   a broiler pan (blog of Feb 28, 2012). Both blogs had the same ingredients, only the baking methods were different.

This was the dough ready for the 18 hour first fermentation.

After  the 18 hour fermentation, the size looked good. The dough was divided into loaves.   

?? would have been better if the dough had been divided before the 18 hour fermentation??

The loaf on the leaf from the Dutch oven method of baking looked more appealing.

Both crumbs were the same and were not gummy. The loaf on the left was the Dutch Oven method.  The loaf below was baked on the baking stone.

BUT NEITHER ATTAINED MY ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE LARGE HOLES AS SHOWN  AT THE LEFT.

The picture at the left was from the book MY BREAD by Jim Lahey

I will try again, although, it will be one loaf at a time for a while because my neighbor and I have quite enough bread to last for about a week.

Now let's change the subject.

Cyndy and I grubbed out the winter plants and replaced them with heat resistant plants.

They were Marigolds and Vincus.

The pretty large plant is a perennial, neither of us know its name.

Even though I am two months plus one week

post-op from my back surgery, I needed to be careful here.  Translation, Cyndy did most of the work.

During the winter this is Cyndy's Pansy garden.  Now I have to work on the sprinkling system.

We added another desert plant to our desert plants.  We do not remember what it was called.  I think it was a weeping something.   Bur hey. we are not into flowers.

À bientôt

Mr Nut

Basic No-Knead Bread on Stone

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  Type in as much of  the title as you remember and then click return.    

  I have learned much since April 2010, when I declare I was going to make bread; how hard can it be?  Then during July of  2010 my son Charles suggested a blog and got me started.  After learning a little more about blogging and bread making  on March 30, 2011 I started this blog.  Since then I have learned that Dutch ovens are not necessary and some of the techniques applied in my first “bread bible” (My Bread by Jim Lahey) were outdated.  I have not tested the need for a long  fermentation yet, but I wonder about its effect  on the bread.

     Anyway, yesterday I started to make Basic No-Knead bread (see blog of February 28, 2012).  Today I got up “early 

8:45AM” (what can I say I’m retired). It was time for the second fermentation, and it was just started when I looked at our 

calendar which  indicated a Physical Therapy session (PT) in ten minutes ( it takes 20 minutes just to drive there), therefore  Cyndy had to take over on the bread. I called her from the PT office and gave her the instructions needed for the bread.

My intention was to have lots of pictures.

The dough felt good, very pliable.  Notice it did not cover the bottom of the deep pan at the start of the first fermentation. The tape measure give you  the relative size.

At the end of the first fermentation the dough covered the complete bottom of the pan and came up the side.

It was time to divide the dough into two rounds.  

The dough felt great.

i guess wanted to show you how  I covered the loaves for the second fermentation.

You can not read the thermometer, but it was 202℉.

The crumb looked  good but it seemed too moist.  I suspect that too much water was place in the broiler pan.  Every time I opened the oven there was an expulsion of steam. 

Therefore, next time only one cup of water will be added to the broiler pan and see if it makes  a difference.

À bientôt,

Mr Nut

Millet Bread- Not Viable Bread

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Hello loyal follower(s)

    Well, again the title of this blog has come into play.  Remember the shaver that I bought with the built-in charger.  I was impressed that it was the same size and shape as my old shaver.  What I did not notice until yesterday while shaving that the trimmer that used to be built-in has been removed. Sort of shows you that I shave infrequently.  Anyway, when all you can see is the packaging of a product with all the writing in two languages, it is not always clear what you are buying.

On a similar note while ordering stuff from Bob’s Red Mill (a good source for speciality grains) I ordered Millet ‘Flour instead of Hulled Millet.  Therefore with about seven pounds of this flour, there will be much Millet bread in the future, starting right now.

Quoting from the package: “Millet was originated in China nearly 5000 years ago, making it one of he earliest cultivated grains. Millet Flour is nutritious ------ with a distinctive sweet flavor.  It lends a delicate cake like crumb to your bake goods”.

Well lets find out:

Te dough was stiff and easy to work with. The Millet flour mad up about 33% of the flour.  At this point it was the start of the first fermentation ( 18 hours).

Voilà, The  end of the eighteen hour fermentation it looks good.

Formed two loafs at start of second fermentation ( 1.5 to 2 hours)

Ready for the oven on the parchment paper.

At the start of the heat.

After thirty-five minutes it was time for the aluminum foil to prevent further browning.

Loaves looked good and the internal temperature was 200℉.

Most bread recipes follow this sequence.

The  crumb looked good FOR CAKE

but was too gummy .  The crumb also tasted mrre like cake than bead.

The opinion of both Cyndy and myself was that Millet was a poor choice of a flour in bread.  With about seven pounds of the stuff I may have to make cake or maybe cookies and then give them away.

I will give the ingredients used for the above, but DO NOT try to make this bread.

Ingredients: 

5 cups (25 ounces; 700 g ) Bread flour.                  

2 cups Millet flour ( 9 ounces , 250 g)

3 tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten

1 tablespoon Sea salt

1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1/4 cup Dough Enhancer   (optional)                     

About 2 3/4  cups water 

  

À bientôt,

Mr Nut