Heirloom Brown Bread Food

OLD SCHOOL, NOVA SCOTIA BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, add bran, oatmeal. Add 4 cups boiling water and stir. Allow to stand for ten minutes. (The boiling water will melt the shortening, no need to melt beforehand)
• After 10 minutes proof the yeast; in a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons yeast, 2 teaspoons sugar and one cup of warm water. Allow to stand 10 minutes to proof.
• Add to bran mixture, one cup of molasses, stir, then add the yeast mixture and stir.
• Knead in 10 ½ to 11 ½ cups of flour, move onto floured surface as required and knead until dough feels firm "like a baby's bottom". (This term has been used with this recipe, dating back 50+ years. Bread and babies have changed very little.)
• Let rise in a warm, dry spot until double in size
• Divide and move to greased/prepared bread pans (makes 3 large sized loafs).
• Let rise again in pans and bake at 350⁰F (180⁰C) for 40 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool before turning out of pans.

OLD-FASHIONED BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, pour boiling water over oats. Stir in butter and molasses. Let stand until mixture cools to 120°-130°, stirring occasionally., In another bowl, combine 3-1/2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Beat in oat mixture until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

ARTY HOLIDAY BREAD

Steps:

• Oil a quarter sheet pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil and stretch out the bread dough to the edges. Allow the dough to rest and rise for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Brush the surface of the bread with another tablespoon of the olive oil. Decorate the bread with the tomatoes, olives, sage and rosemary, pressing them into the bread. Brush on the remaining olive oil; this will make it shiny and stop the vegetables burning. Sprinkle on the salt and Parmesan.
• Bake until it is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• Mix together the warm coffee and brown sugar in a small pitcher. Mix in the yeast and set aside for a couple minutes to bloom.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the bread flour, whole-wheat flour and cocoa powder. Add in the coffee/yeast mixture, as well as the honey, butter and molasses. With the dough attachment, mix on medium until a ball begins to form, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and knead for an additional 6 minutes.
• Grease a large bowl with olive oil; put the dough in it and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot in the kitchen and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Divide the dough in half, form into 2 tight balls and put on a baking sheet. Drizzle the tops with olive oil and cover very loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• When the dough is ready, remove the plastic wrap. With a serrated knife, cut an X in the top of each round. Carefully transfer the dough to two 10-inch cast-iron skillets. Place both skillets on the center rack of the oven and bake until the crusts are browned and the centers are set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

HOMEMADE BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine first four ingredients. Cool to 110°-115°. In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Sprinkle with sugar. Add oat mixture, brown sugar, molasses and 3 cups flour; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Divide in half; shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes. , Preheat oven to 375°. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Brush with butter.

HEIRLOOM BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix all ingredients in order written. Let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350F and grease a large loaf pan. Pour bread mix into pan and bake 45-50 minutes.

BROWN LOAF

Steps:

• Mix your choice of brown flour with the white, the yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Put in the butter and rub it into the flour. Stir in the seeds if using. Make a dip in the centre of the flour and pour in almost 300ml hand warm (cool rather than hot) water, with a round-bladed knife. Then mix in enough of the remaining water and a bit more if needed, to gather up any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl and until the mixture comes together as a soft, not too sticky, dough. Gather it into a ball with your hands.
• Put the dough on to a very lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins until it feels smooth and elastic, only adding the minimum of extra flour if necessary to prevent the dough sticking. Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured work surface. Cover with an upturned, clean, large glass bowl and leave for 45 mins-1 hr or until doubled in size and feels light and springy. Timing will depend on the warmth of the room.
• Knock back the dough by lightly kneading just 3-4 times. You only want to knock out any large air bubbles, so too much handling now will lose the dough's lightness. Shape into a ball. Cover with the glass bowl and leave for 15 mins.
• Now shape to make a tin loaf Grease a 1.2-litre capacity loaf tin (about 23 x 13 x 5.5cm) and line the base with baking parchment. Using your knuckles, flatten the dough into a rectangle about 25 x 19cm. Fold both shorter ends into the centre like an envelope, make a ¼ turn, then flatten again into the same size and roll up very tightly, starting from one of the short ends. Roll the top of the dough in extra seeds and place in the tin with the join underneath, pressing the seeds gently into the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel. Leave for 40-45 mins, or until risen about 5cm above the top of the tin.
• Put a roasting tin in the bottom of the oven 20 mins before ready to bake and heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Put the risen bread in the oven, carefully pour about 250ml cold water into the roasting tin (this will hiss and create a burst of steam to give you a crisp crust), then lower the heat to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Bake for about 30 mins or until golden, covering with foil for the last 5 mins if starting to brown too quickly. Leave in the tin for 2-3 mins, then remove and cool on a wire rack. If you tap the underneath of the baked loaf if should be firm and sound hollow.

IRISH BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Mix all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
• Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture forms fine crumbs.
• Stir whole-wheat flour and quick-cooking oatmeal into the butter mixture.
• Gently stir yogurt into the oatmeal mixture. If mixture is too dry to hold together, add 1 teaspoon milk at a time, just until dough holds together; it should not be sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead gently about 5 times to form a ball.
• Place the dough in the center of the prepared baking sheet; cut a large 'X' in the top of the loaf.
• Bake in preheated oven until well browned, about 40 minutes; transfer to a rack to cool. Bread can be served warm or cold.