Fresh From The Oven - Whole Wheat Walnut Bread

Here it is - finally!  I'm a little late with this months Fresh From The Oven challenge but I finally got a chance to make it this morning.  Adding its weight to the 'finally' is the fact that this is also my 200th post - woo hoo!

This months Fresh From The Oven Challenge was picked by Sarah from Simply Cooked.  Sarah choose Whole Wheat Walnut Bread which has been adapted from The Neighborhood Bakeshop by Jill Van Cleave. 



At this point I need to point out that this bread and I did not start out life as friends!  The dough was awkward and unruly at times but with a firm hand (and more than a few choice words of which I will not repeat here) determination won the day.  The end result is a wonderfully crusty loaf that is moist on the inside and flecked with hidden gems of walnuts, with a deep nutty flavour that surpasses the addition of the walnuts alone.  It is wholesome!  I've surprised even myself to discover that I actually really like eating this bread ... but part of me wonders if that is pay back for having to put up with its 'attitude'!  We've eaten it simply with a good farm churned, lightly salted butter to really bring the flavour out but I think it would also work really well alongside an 'earthy' flavoured soup like butternut or sweet potato, or equally as well with some rich blue cheese liberally applied.

My only punishments modifications to the recipe below was to use my kitchen-aide to knead the dough and two dinky little bread tins to bake the finished product in.  Both of these measures were on account of how wet the dough was to work with, it resisted all efforts (by this I mean adding all the reserved flour and a whole bunch more!) made to pacify it into a workable dough.  I'm wondering if the recipe states too much water?  Neither of my proving steps resulted in the bubbling mixture described below, just a bowl of drowned yeast!

Whole Wheat Walnut Bread
1 tsp active dry yeast, divided
500ml lukewarm water, divided
380g plain bread flour, divided
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive or walnut oil
220g stone-ground whole wheat flour (40g of this can be replaced either with semolina flour or oat flour if you have any handy)
1 tsp sea salt
150g coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

First prepare the sponge starter. Dissolve 1/2 tsp yeast in 250ml lukewarm water in a medium bowl. Let prove until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Add 190 g bread flour and stir until a thick batter forms. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature to rise and bubble for 6 to 8 hours. The starter is ready to use now or can be put in the fridge overnight. (Bring it back to room temperature before using.)

Dissolve the remaining 1/2 tsp yeast with the remaining 250ml lukewarm water in a large bowl. Let prove for about 5 minutes.

Add the sponge starter and mix well. Stir in the honey, oil, whole wheat flour, semolina flour (if using), and salt.  Add 160 g of the remaining bread flour gradually to form a stiff dough. Add the walnuts.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for ten minutes, adding as much of the reserved flour as needed to keep it from being too sticky. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Grease the bowl and return the dough, turning it to coat it in oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Divide the dough into two pieces and form into loaves. Place on a baking pan and leave them to rise again, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 200C for 30 to 40 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Cool on a wire rack.


Makes 2 loaves
 

 
I really enjoyed using the sponge starter technique as described in the recipe.  I've tried twice now to make my own sourdough starter but both times have ended in smelly tragedy.  This recipe has encouraged me to give the starter another try.  I made my sponge starter on Thursday night and it has kept in the fridge until this morning, even surviving an accidental summer holiday on the bench top for an hour or so last night!