Struan Food

BROTHER JUNIPER'S STRUAN

Steps:

• In a mixer bowl, combine dry ingredients including salt and yeast.
• Mix with paddle until well blended.
• Add brown rice, honey, buttermilk, and about half of the warm water.
• Add as much of the additional water as necessary to get the dough to hold together.
• Mix and switch to dough hook.
• Knead for 12-15 minutes by hand or 8-10 minutes by machine.
• Dough will be tacky and very elastic.
• Turn into a clean bowl, cover with plastic or damp towel and allow to rise until double, 60 to 90 minutes, in a warm draft-free location.
• Punch down and shape into three equal rounds.
• Although it does not need to be rested, I found it easier to handle after a short 15 minute break.
• Shape into three cigar shaped loaves and place into greased 8X4.
• 5 loaf pans.
• Allow to rise until double, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• When the loaves have crested the tops of the pan, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until you get a hollow thump upon tapping the bottom of the loaves.
• (I check the temperature and look for something above 190 degrees.) Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool at least 45 minutes before cutting.

STRUAN

Steps:

• Combine the flour, cornmeal, oats, bran, rice, sugar, salt, yeast, honey, water, and milk in a mixing bowl. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for about 2 minutes. The dough will be sticky, coarse, and shaggy. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the flour.
• Once again, mix on the slowest speed with the paddle attachment, or by hand using a large spoon, for 2 minutes more to further develop the dough. Add flour as needed to keep the dough together, but it should still be soft and very tacky or slightly sticky. (In the unlikely event that the dough is too stiff, work in a little more water.)
• Use a bowl scraper to transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, then dust the top of the dough with flour. Lightly knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will still be soft and sticky but should hold together to form a soft, supple ball. With wet or oiled hands, reach under one end of the dough, stretch it out, then fold it back onto the top of the dough. Do this from the back end and then from each side, then flip the dough over and tuck it into a ball. The dough should be slightly firmer, though still very soft and fragile. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Repeat this entire process three more times, completing all repetitions within 40 minutes.
• After the final stretch and fold, place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or for up to 5 days. (If you plan to bake the dough in batches over different days, you can portion the dough and place it into two or more oiled bowls at this stage.)
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake. Shape the cold dough into one or more sandwich loaves (see page 23), using 28 ounces (794 g) of dough for 4 1/2 by 8-inch loaf pans and 36 ounces (1.02 kg) of dough for 5 by 9-inch pans; into freestanding loaves of any size, which you can shape as bâtards (see page 21), baguettes (see page 22), or boules (see page 20); or into rolls (see page 25), using about 2 ounces (56.5 g) of dough per roll. When shaping, use only as much flour on the work surface as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. For sandwich loaves, proof the dough in greased loaf pans. For freestanding loaves and rolls, line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and proof the dough on the pan.
• Brush the top of the dough with water and sprinkle with poppy (or sesame) seeds, then mist with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until increased to about 1 1/2 times its original size. In loaf pans, the dough should dome at least 1 inch above the rim.
• About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C), 300°F (149°C) for a convection oven.
• Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan; rotate rolls after 10 minutes. The total baking time is 45 to 60 minutes for loaves, and only 20 to 25 minutes for rolls. The bread is done when it has a rich golden color, the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and the internal temperature is above 185°F (85°C) in the center.
• Cool for at least 20 minutes for rolls and 1 hour for large loaves before slicing or serving.
• You can substitute almost any cooked grain, such as bulgur, millet, or quinoa, for the brown rice. Just don't use white rice, as it tends to stand out too much and draw attention to itself, and don't use cooked grain that's more than 5 days old unless it's been kept in the freezer. If you don't want to take the time to cook grains for this recipe, you can make the bread without this ingredient, but don't increase the amount of the uncooked grains to compensate.
• In place of the oats, cornmeal, and bran, you can use commercial multigrain blends, such as ten-grain or twelve-grain cereal. Simply replace the 3.25 ounces (92 g) combined weight of those grains with an equal amount of any multigrain blend. Alternatively, you can replace any one of those grains with an equal amount (by weight) of multigrain blend.
• If you want to make a sourdough version, add 4 ounces (113 g) of mother starter to the recipe without making any other changes. Don't change the amount of instant yeast; yes, it is a lot of yeast, but it's necessary.