Pumpernickel Rye

Pumpernickel Rye Bread
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine just for kneading the dough: 1½ hours
Second rising: 60 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes (or until bread sounds hollow when you tap it with your knuckles)

Ingredients: It’s important that the ingredients are added to the machine in the following order:
1 1/3 cup water (room temperature)
3 ½ tbsp molasses
2 tbsp butter, melted
1½ cups home-style white bread flour
1 cup rye flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup fine ground cornmeal
3 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
1½ tbsp gluten
½ tsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp caraway seeds
1½ tsp salt
2 ½ tsp bread machine yeast
Fine corn meal to sprinkle on the baking sheet

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients in a bread maker in the order given and set to “dough”.

2. Once the dough cycle is finished, remove dough from the bread machine, shape into a loaf and place on a prepared baking sheet (parchment paper sprinkled with corn meal). Cover and let rise until double (about an hour or so). If it’s cold and drafty in my kitchen (open plan great rooms are lovely usually, but not for finding warm places for dough to rise), I preheat the oven to 200°F/90°C (lowest setting) and as soon as it’s at that temperature I turn the oven off, leave the door open for a minute or two, add the covered loaf, close the door and let it sit until it doubles. Norene’s Gilletz' great tip…it’s ready if you stick your finger deeply into the loaf and it doesn’t bounce right back.

3. REMOVE THE BREAD FROM THE OVEN after 20 minutes (the entire resting process could take place on a dry draft free surface).
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Place a baking stone (if you have one – I use a pizza stone set in the middle of the oven. Allow the oven to heat for 20 minutes longer.

5. To bake the bread, I do not remove the loaf from the parchment lined baking sheet. I just place the entire sheet on top of the baking stone and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you knock it.

Last great tip…if you want the crust crunchy, place 1 cup of water in a shallow pan in the oven somewhere not in the way of the bread rising.

6. Once the bread is ready, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Gingery Carrot Loaf

Gingery Carrot Loaf
From WomenHeart's All Heart Family Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour (or until the toothpick comes out clean)

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (I just pulsed my regular whole wheat flour in the food processor a few times)
½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
2 tbsp crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp salt
1 cup grated carrots
½ cup vanilla soy milk (probably the only time I’ll use soy milk is in baking)
3 tbsp light olive oil
1 large egg

Directions:
1. Pre heat the oven to 350°F/170°C and coat a 8”x4” loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pecans, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. In a small bowl combine carrots, sugar, milk, oil and egg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the carrot mixture to it, stirring just until blended.

4. Pour in to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the center of the oven for 60 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a wooden toothpick in the center. If it comes out dry, it’s done.

5. Cool in the pan on a cake rack for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and continue to cool completely.

Dakota Bread

Dakota Bread
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Rising time: 1 hour
Baking time: 30 minutes
Cooling time: 15-20 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients: Make sure you place the ingredients in the order given. This recipe is for a medium loaf which for my bread maker means 1½ lb (680g) loaf

1¼ cups water
2tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp honey
2 ¼ cups bread flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup raw bulgar wheat ( used wheat germ instead)
2 tsp gluten
1½ tsp salt
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, chopped
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 ½ tsp poppy seeds
2 ½ tsp bread machine yeast

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients IN ORDER into the bread machine. Select Dough setting and press start. (My machine takes 1 hour 20 minutes).

2. When the bread machine beeps, press STOP and unplug the machine.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured working surface (I used whole wheat flour). Knead a few times and pat into a 12”x6” rectangle. Roll up from the long edge into a loaf about 14” long. Cover gently with a damp dish towel and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk – about 1 hour.

4. Preheat the baking stone before baking -place a baking stone on the center rack of a cold oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Place an EMPTY cake pan or broiler tray out of the way of your stone (I put mine on the lowest shelf, off to one side). I leave the oven on for at least 30 minutes before lowering the heat to 400°F/200°C.

5. Sprinkle a little flour directly on your pizza/baking stone. Using a dough scraper or steel spatula to help you, quickly slide the loaf onto the prepared stone. Don’t worry if it slightly deflates. Just before shutting the door add 1 cup hot tap water to the hot empty baking pan. This will steam the oven and make a very crispy crust. Bake for about 30 minutes until the surface is dark brown and sounds hollow when you tap the top.

6. Remove and let it cool on a rack.

French Whole Wheat Bread - Healthy Baguettes

French Whole Wheat Bread
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Rising time (in the bread machine) 30 minutes
Baking time: 30-35 minutes
Cooling time: 15-20 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients: Make sure you place the ingredients in the order given. This recipe is for a medium loaf which for my bread maker means 1½ lb (680g) loaf

1¼ cups plus 1 tbsp buttermilk (or 1 ¼ cups milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice)
2½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup whole grain spelt flour or ½ cup more whole wheat flour (my choice)
1 tbsp gluten with vitamin C
1½ tsp salt
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp SAF yeast or 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp bread machine yeast (my choice)

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients IN ORDER into the bread machine. Select Dough setting and press start. (My machine takes 1 hour 20 minutes). This dough is very sticky so when it’s ready to come out of the bread machine, just quickly tip it onto a prepared pan.

2. When the bread machine beeps at the end of the dough cycle, press STOP and unplug the machine. Open the lid and use your fingers (I oiled mine a little) to deflate the dough. Let the dough rise in the machine for another 30 minutes (kitchen timer is useful here).

3.Turn the dough onto a lightly floured working surface (I used whole wheat flour). Knead a few times and pat into a 12”x6” rectangle. Roll up from the long edge into a flat loaf and roll back and forth with your palms to make pointed eggs. Fold the log of dough in half lengthwise and pinch seams to seal. Roll the dough back and forth again (my loaf seemed to twist, but I liked the effect) to make the loaf about 14” long. Cover gently with a damp dish towel and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk – about 1 hour.

4. Twenty minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the center rack of a cold oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Place an EMPTY cake pan or broiler tray out of the way of your stone (I put mine on the lowest shelf, off to one side). Even though my oven preheats quickly, I leave the oven on for 20 minutes before lowering the heat to 400°F/200°C.

5. Holding kitchen shears at 45 degree angle, snip the surface 5 or 6 times down the length of the loaf, cutting no more than 1” deep.

6. Sprinkle a little flour directly on your pizza/baking stone. Using a dough scraper or steel spatula to help you, slide the loaf onto the prepared stone. Just before shutting the door add 1 cup hot tap water to the hot empty baking pan. This will steam the oven and make a very crispy crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the surface is dark brown and sounds hollow when you tap the top.

7. Remove and let it cool on a rack.

Best served right out of the oven, but almost as good toasted the next day for breakfast or cut in cubes and made into croutons.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
From Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Rest time: minimum…2 hours on the counter or (and my favorite way) up to 5 days in a lidded but not air tight container in the fridge.
Shaping and second rising: 1 hour 40 minutes
Baking time: 50-60 minutes

Makes 3 (1½ lb/680g) loaves

Ingredients:
1½ cups lukewarm water
1½ cups lukewarm milk
1½ tbsp granulated yeast (1½ packets)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
½ cup honey
5 tbsp neutral-flavored oil (I used canola) plus more for greasing the pan
6 2/3 cup whole wheat flour (avoid whole wheat pastry flour or “graham” flour)

Directions:
To mix & store the dough: I used my KitchenAid with dough hook attachment but you can use a 14 cup capacity food processor or a 5 litre/5 quart bowl and a wooden spoon. No kneading required!

1. Mix the yeast, salt, honey and oil with the milk and water in the (stand mixer) bowl.

2. Mix the flour using a spoon or dough hook attachment in a food processor or stand mixer.

3. Cover (not air tight) and allow it to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses – about 2 hours (you can bake the bread from this state) or let it “rest” in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Baking the bread:
1. Lightly grease a 9”x4”x3” non-stick loaf pan. Using wet hands, scoop out a 1 ½ pound (cantaloupe size) handful of dough. Keeping your hands wet, quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides.

2. Drop the loaf into the prepared pan. You want to fill the pan slightly more than half-full.

3. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Flour the top of the loaf and slash using the tip of a serrated bread knife.

4. 30 minutes before baking time, place a baking stone (I use my pizza stone) in the center of the oven and an empty tin broil or cake pan on the lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C .

5. Place the loaf on a rack near the center of the oven.

6. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the empty pan and quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam in. Bake for about 50-60 minutes. The loaf should be dark golden brown and firm.

7. Allow it to cool before slicing

Pain D'Epi

Pain D’Epi or Wheat Stalk Bread
From Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Rest time: minimum…2 hours on the counter or (and my favorite way) up to 14 days in a lidded but not air tight container in the fridge.
Shaping and second rising: 30 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes

Makes 4 (1lb/450g) loaves

Ingredients:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 ½ tbsp granulated yeast (I used the one for the bread machine, because … that’s what I had)
1 ½ tbsp salt
6 ½ cups bread flour (I think I needed more because the dough was very wet)
Whole wheat flour for the pizza peel and sprinkling on top of the loaf

Directions:
To mix & store the dough: I used my KitchenAid with dough hook attachment but you can use a 14 cup capacity food processor or a 5 litre/5 quart bowl and a wooden spoon. No kneading required!

1. Mix the yeast and salt with the water in the (stand mixer) bowl.

2. Mix in the flour at once just until the batter is evenly mixed. Do not knead! It only takes a few minutes in the mixer, slightly longer by hand. The dough should be wet and loose enough to conform to the 5 liter (5 quart) container with a lid but not air tight. I think my dough was a little too wet, so I’ll add a bit more next time around.

3. Cover (not air tight) and allow it to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses – about 2 hours (you can bake the bread from this state) or let it “rest” in the fridge for up to 14 days.

Baking the bread:
1. Dust the surface of the refrigerated (or counter top) dough with flour and cut off a 1 lb piece (they say the size of a grapefruit, but if the recipe makes 4 loaves…I say just cut off a quarter of the dough in the container), recover and place back in the fridge for next time.

2. Quickly (no more than a minute) shape the dough into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom. I had to keep sprinkling with more flour (I used whole wheat), rotating the ball quarter turns as you go. Fold the dough into three, lengthwise like a letter, pinching the seams closed as you fold. Stretch the dough gently into the shape of a baguette. If it shrinks back, let it rest for a minute and continue to work until you have a long, thin baguette .

3. Allow the dough to rest and rise, on a whole wheat flour dusted pizza peel, covered for 30 minutes. Do not slash yet.

4. 30 minutes before baking time, place a baking stone (I use my pizza stone) in the center of the oven and an empty tin broil or cake pan on the lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 450°F/220°C (hottest setting without broil).

5. Just before baking, dust the loaf with flour. With a sharp pair of scissors snip the loaf from the top down at a 45° angle into the dough, stopping ¼” from the bottom. Fold each cut piece over to the side, alternating with each cut.

6. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the empty pan and quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam in. Bake for about 25 minutes. The loaf should be dark golden brown and firm.

7. Allow it to cool before breaking off a section and, even if yours doesn’t look as awesome as those in French bakeries, I promise the flavor will be as delicious as any you’ve tried! Crispy crust and chewy center...perfect!

For the perfect tutorial go to ArtisanBreadinFive...after all Zoe Francois & Jeff Hertzberg are the experts.

Wine & Rosemary Focaccia

Wine Rosemary Focaccia
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Baking time: 25-30 minutes
Cooling time: 10 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients: Make sure you place the ingredients in the order given. This recipe is for a medium loaf which for my bread maker means 1½ lb (680g) loaf

1 1/8 cup slightly warm water
½ cup dry white wine (room temperature)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 ½ tsp bread machine yeast

Topping:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients except the topping – IN ORDER into the bread machine. Select Dough setting and press start. (My machine takes 1 hour 20 minutes). This dough is very sticky so when it’s ready to come out of the bread machine, just quickly tip it onto a prepared pan.

2. While the bread machine is doing its thing, line a 15”x10” lipped baking sheet or jelly roll with lightly oiled parchment paper. (I hate cleaning up.)

3. After turning the dough onto the parchment paper, use the heel of your hand to flatten and quickly spread the dough to fit the pan. Cover gently with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk – about 45 minutes.

4. To prepare the topping, add the chopped rosemary to the olive oil and let it “steep” for 20 minutes at room temperature.

5. Twenty minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the lowest rack of a cold oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Even though my oven preheats quickly, I leave the oven on for 20 minutes before lowering the heat to 400°F/200°C.

6. Using your fingertips or knuckles, gently dimple the dough all over the surface. Drizzle with olive oil & rosemary, letting it pool in the dimples. Place the pan over the baking stone and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Serve warm.

Swedish Rye Bread - Started in a Bread Machine

Swedish Rye Bread
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine just for kneading the dough: 1½ hours
Second rising: 40 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes (or until bread sounds hollow when you tap it with your knuckles)

Ingredients: It’s important that the ingredients are added to the machine in the following order:
1 ¼ cup water (room temperature)
2 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp honey
2 cups home-style white bread flour
1 ¼ cup rye flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp gluten
2 tsp fennel seeds
1½ tsp orange zest
1¼ tsp salt
2 ½ tsp bread machine yeast
Fine corn meal to sprinkle on the baking sheet

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients in a bread maker in the order given and set to the “dough” cycle.

2. Once the dough cycle is finished, remove dough from the bread machine, shape into a loaf and place on a prepared baking sheet (parchment paper sprinkled with corn meal). Cover and let rise until double (about 40 minutes or so). It’s cold and drafty in my kitchen (open plan great rooms are lovely usually, but not for finding warm places for dough to rise) so I preheat the oven to 200°F/90°C (lowest setting) and as soon as it’s at that temperature I turn the oven off, leave the door open for a minute or two, add the covered loaf , close the door and let it sit until it doubles.

3. REMOVE THE BREAD FROM THE OVEN after 20 minutes (the entire resting process could take place on a dry draft free surface).
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Place a baking stone (if you have one – I use a pizza stone) on a rack in the middle of the oven. Allow the oven to heat for 20 minutes longer. Score the top of the loaf with a serrated knife 3 times diagonally. Cuts should be no deeper than ¼” . Do this quickly and the loaf will still fall slightly.

5. To bake the bread, I do not remove the loaf from the parchment lined baking sheet (the first time I tried to do that...I ended up with focaccia!). I just place the baking sheet on top of the baking stone and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you knock it.

Last great tip…if you want the crust crunchy, place 1 cup of water in a shallow pan in the oven somewhere not in the way of the bread rising.

6. Once the bread is ready, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Whole Wheat Rosemary Focaccia

Whole Wheat Rosemary Focaccia
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Baking time: 20-25 minutes
Cooling time: 15-20 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients: Make sure you place the ingredients in the order given. This recipe is for a medium loaf which for my bread maker means 1½ lb (680g) loaf

2/3 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2¼ tsp bread machine yeast

Topping:
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
1-2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1-2 tbsp good coarse sea salt ( I used Maldon) for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients except the topping – IN ORDER into the bread machine. Select Dough setting and press start. (My machine takes 1 hour 20 minutes). This dough is very sticky so when it’s ready to come out of the bread machine, just quickly tip it onto a prepared pan. Don't try to handle it too much, it will just coat your fingers like glue...that's how sticky it is.

2. While the bread machine is doing its thing, line a 15”x10” lipped baking sheet or jelly roll with lightly oiled parchment paper.

3.After turning the dough onto the parchment paper, use the heel of your hand to flatten and quickly spread the dough to fit the pan. Cover gently with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk – about 1 hour.

4. Twenty minutes before baking, place a baking stone on the center rack of a cold oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Even though my oven preheats quickly, I leave the oven on for 20 minutes before lowering the heat to 425°F/220°C.

5. Using your fingertips or knuckles, gently dimple the dough all over the surface. Drizzle with olive oil, letting it pool in the dimples. Place the pan over the baking stone and bake for 15 minutes and sprinkle half the rosemary. Continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary and sea salt and let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan before sliding the focaccia onto a rack to continue cooling.

Cranberry, Pistachio & Ginger Loaf

Cranberry Pistachio & Ginger Loaf
Adapted from Jumbo Empanadas

Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
1 cup medium-grind whole grain cornmeal or regular cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup pistachios, shelled and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries (about 4 ounces)
1/3 – ½ cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C. Spray 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk both flours, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, melted butter, maple syrup, eggs, and extract in medium bowl. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Stir in 3/4 cup chopped pecans, ginger and cranberries.

3. Spoon batter into pan. Arrange pecan halves in row down center of batter. I didn’t have any handy.

4. Bake bread until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean, tenting bread loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes

5. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove and let the loaf rest on a rack until cooled.

Dark Pumpernickel Bread - Bread Machine or Not

Dark Pumpernickel Bread – Bread Machine..or not

I found the beginning of this recipe somewhere on the web...and forgot to bookmark the site so I can't give credit where credit is really due. But Norene's Healthy Kitchen shares the secret to baking freeform once the dough has risen.

I use the Bread Machine just to do the kneading…set your machine to “dough” and load the Ingredients in order as follows:
1 1/3 cup strong coffee
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup molasses
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
2 cups bread flour
2 ½ tsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
1 1/3 tsp salt
2 ½ tsp yeast

Directions:
Fill and bake according to bread machine manufacturer's directions. OR....

To bake free form in the oven….
1. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C

2. After dough rises in Bread Machine…remove and knead for 1-2 minutes on lightly floured board.

3. Form into a log and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes).

4. Score the top of the loaf and bake for about 30 minutes. Mist the oven (bottom of oven, not on the bread) to make a crispy crust.

5. The bread is ready when it sounds hollow when tapped.

What's Better than Homemade Bread?

Today was one of those grey and dreary days - snow, then rain, then snow, then rain...all of it dull and I already miss my kids who only left yesterday. So I wanted to eat something delicious, but I didn't want to cook anything. Naturally there was no one else around, so I let a machine take on the job....today it was the bread machine.

I admit, I don't like to actually BAKE bread in the bread machine. I hate the shape - big rectangle blocks of bread- no matter what kind of bread you bake. For me, different kinds of breads don't just smell distinctly different, or taste distinctly different, they should look distinctly different too. So when a couple of true bread machine lovers told me that more often than not they just do the kneading in the bread maker and then let it rise in a loaf pan or whatever, shape it into whatever they want it to look like, and bake it in a traditional oven. COOL!!!

On Monday I whipped up a fantastic brown bread recipe I found in Norene's Healthy Kitchen . You can find all sorts of delicious doings over at Norene's website - Gourmania, but I digress...back to the bread! The secret to the glorious colour...cocoa and molasses. It didn't taste exactly like the Montreal pumpernickel bread I love, but it looked close. I even scored the bread and shaped it in a long loaf. It was sooooo good, we scarfed it down in no time and I had to make it again today!

What a wonder the machine is...dump some ingredients into the special pan, turn it on, go relax for an hour and a half and let the smells do their magic on your spirit. Take it out of the pan, shape it, let it rise and then stick it in the oven for 30 minutes...heaven!

What could be better than Homemade Brown Bread you ask...

....eat it warm from the oven with thick and creamy New Zealand Rata Honey melting into the bread as soon as you spread it...

...followed by a lunch of Rustic Avocado & Bean Spread slathered on ...you guessed it....homemade brown bread. I didn't have the energy to do much and the avocado was ripe...one more day and I'd have to dump it....some beans I had cooked and didn't use in the Garlicy Bean & Spinach Soup I made recently...some fresh cilantro and lime juice. Lunch was delicious. The only thing that might have made it better would have been if someone else made it for me!

"Best" Brown Bread

Norene's Best Brown Bread
Adapted from Norene's Healthy Kitchen

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Bread machine just for kneading the dough: 1½ hours
Second rising: 30 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes (or until bread sounds hollow when you tap it with your knuckles)

Ingredients: I used a bread machine so it’s important that the ingredients are added to the machine in the following order:
½ cup 1% milk (Norene uses skim) at room temperature
½ cup water (room temperature)
1 tbsp soft margarine (room temperature)
1½ tsp salt
¼ cup molasses
2 ¼ cups home-style white bread flour (Norene uses all purpose)
1 cup rye flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ¼ tsp bread machine yeast

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients in a bread maker in the order given and set to “dough”.

2. Remove dough from the bread machine, shape into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan. Cover and let rise until double (about 30 minutes or so). It’s cold and drafty in my kitchen (open plan great rooms are lovely usually, but not for finding warm places for dough to rise) so I preheat the oven to 200°F/90°C (lowest setting) and as soon as the oven reaches that temperature I turn it off, leave the door open for a minute or two, add the covered loaf , close the door and let it sit until it doubles. Norene’s great tip…it’s ready if you stick your finger deeply into the loaf and it doesn’t bounce right back.

3. REMOVE THE BREAD FROM THE OVEN!!! Then preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Remove the bread from the loaf pan (this is my way, Norene leave’s hers in). Form a longer loaf and score 3 times diagonally across the top. This should be shallow cuts. That way the bread sort of reminds me of the Montreal rye bread I miss. Place the loaf on parchment paper on a heavy baking sheet and place in the center of the oven for 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you knock it – another great Norene tip)

Last great tip…if you want the crust crunchy, spray a little water on the bottom of the oven once or twice during baking. The hot mist does its magic somehow.