Recipe: Red Truck Bakery Harvest Wheat Bread

RED TRUCK BAKERY HARVEST WHEAT BREAD

"After a spirited back and forth with my uncle Stan over the better part of a year, we nailed this harvest wheat bread, punctuated with golden raisins, dried cranberries, and walnuts. It's been on the bakery's daily list since we opened.

This loaf works well as sandwich bread-we use it for our Chicken Salad with Apples, Grapes, Walnut, and Curry-or simply slathered with butter while it's still warm."



"To keep the loaf soft and springy, and to prevent it from becoming too dense, we use a combination of whole wheat and high-gluten bread flours.

Bread dough is living and growing, and you want to move it about carefully or it will collapse. Don't bang the side of the oven with the loaf pan and be careful to set it down gingerly on the rack."

Nonstick cooking spray
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole milk
3 tablespoons active dry yeast (four 1/4-ounce packets)
3/4 cup honey
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups All-Bran cereal
3 1/2 cups bread flour, sifted
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
1/2 cup mixed seeds (a combination of sunflower seeds, flaxseed, sesame seeds and poppy seeds, or any pre-packed mixed grains), plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 large egg , whisked with 1 tablespoon water

Coat two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, whisk together the water, milk, and yeast . Let stand for 10 minutes, until the mixture starts to foam and bubble.

Add the honey, butter, bran cereal, bread flour, whole wheat flour, mixed seeds, and oats to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed for 6 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed. Add the salt and mix on medium high speed for 10 minutes. Add the cranberries, raisins, and walnuts and mix on low speed for 6 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place in a warm, draft-free place, and allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until it has risen out of the pan to create a dome and has developed "shoulders" that spill over thee side.

Turn the dough out onto a surface coated with nonstick spray. Divide the dough into two balls.

Using your hands , roll one ball out into a rectangle the width of your bread pan with the long edge facing you . Fold the top half of the dough over toward you halfway across the dough, smashing it down with your palms to eliminate any air holes and pinching the sides and seam together tightly with your fingers. Bring the bottom half of the dough up to the top, again pressing firmly and pinching all seams. Turn the dough over, evening out the sides with your palms, and place it seam-side down into one of the loaf pans. Repeat with the second ball of dough

Lightly brush the top of each loaf with egg wash (don't let it drip down the sides or it will cause the bread to stick to the pan), sprinkle with seeds or oats, and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Set the loaves in a warm, draft-free space to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size (it may take longer depending on room temperature and humidity; be patient). Make sure the shoulders of the loaf have formed; you want a high dome with a bit of overhang above the pan, but don't let it get too large, if it gets too tall-overflowing and full of air-it will collapse once it hits the heat of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, turn the pans, and bake for 15 to 25 minutes more, until the bread is a dark golden brown, almost mocha, color. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool slightly on a raised wire rack. Run a knife around the edge of each loaf and flip them out of the pans onto their sides on the rack. After 10 minutes, set the loaves upright and let them cool completely before slicing with a serrated bread knife. Store in a plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 4 months

TIP:
To allow the bread to rise, place it in a warm spot in your kitchen such as near the stove or on top of the refrigerator.

Makes 2 (8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch) loaves
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Red Truck Bakery Cookbook: Gold-Standard Recipes from America's Favorite Rural Bakery Hardcover by Brian Noyes and Nevin Martell