Sullivan Bakery Bread: http://www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/recipes
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Laurie Colwin’s Recipe from the Book Home Cooking
Bloomer Loaf: Whole Wheat baguette-shaped loaf – (no setting of the sponge, no proofing the yeast)
Ingredients
1.5 cups unbleached white flour
1.5 cups stone-ground whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup coarse ground ground whole wheat flour (or if you can’t find coarse ground, use whole wheat flour)
1 tspn salt
1 Tbspn wheat germ (or corn germ)
1/2 tspn yeast (if leaving overnight, use 1/4 tspn yeast (Walnut Acres … preservative free)
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
EQUIPMENT:
1 large bread bowl
large spatula
your hands
Procedure:
Mix 1/2 tspn. yeast with 1.5 cups of the liquid (scant)
Pour the liquid into the flour and stir it up. (dough should be more sticky than dry (if too sticky use little more flour)
Knead the dough, roll it in flour (a better crust than rolling in butter or oil)
put it in a warm bowl (though one right off the shelf is okay too)
Long first rise: Let it rise until double in size (45 min to 3 hours – Laurie did 3 hours)
Short 2nd rise: Punch down, roll in flour and let rise again (a long 2nd rise is fine too)
punch it down, knead it one more time and shape
slash the top with 4 diagonal cuts
brush with water and let proof for a few minutes (or if no time…straight into the oven)
450 1/2 hour reduce to 425 and bake another 20 minutes. My oven runs very hot so I reduced it to 375 and baked it for 35 minutes. That was 1/2 of the loaf. I might increase the temperature if I baked the whole loaf at once.
Notes and tips:
long rise use less yeast
Dough will rise well at lukewarm places (most American houses)
For a softer crust that’s not too hard … Be sure your oven temperature is accurate
Notes from others on crust that is too hard or chewy.
I do find my sourdough to get a kind of tough “chewy” crust after the first day or so after baking. Hence I usually toast it after that which restores the delicious crispiness! Note I preheat to 475-490F, on a pizza stone that is preheated 30-45 min, and always use steam.* Another Note: Aluminum pie pan with some stones (collected from outside) in it, preheated, then pour boiled water over it after loading bread.
Note – Angela’s notes: after making this fabulous bread. I made this bread yesterday. I learned about Laurie Colwin from the book simple abundance. I have been so intimidated by bread making, and have suffered all the failures that most cooks have experienced. BUT …. that is all in the past. I will make this bread again and again. It truly was sooooooooooooooooooooooo easy.
xxx
Another Whole Wheat Bread Recipe from Breadtopia with braided top. Step by step directions.
