Wild rice is generally used as a cooked whole grain in breads rather than as a flour. For the best results, use 1 to 2 cups of cooked rice to 6 cups of flour. Hard to find, but nice if you can find it, is wild rice flour. There is a pure wild rice flour, which has no gluten, and a wild rice and unbleached white flour mixture, which can be used straight from the bag for baking.
POLENTA-SUNFLOWER-MILLET BREAD
T
his is one of my cache of “crunchy munchy” breads with whole millet, which looks so pretty dotting every slice. The family of common millets is just huge, and the only between difference the millet we eat and the kind the birds eat is that the bird seed is unhulled. Once you feel the great textural additions of millet and the coarse grind of cornmeal known as polenta, you’ll be adding these grains often. If you find the little nubs too crunchy, just soak the millet in hot water for fifteen minutes and drain it before adding to the bread dough.
1
1
/
2
-POUND LOAF
1
1
/
8
cups water
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
2
1
/
2
cups bread flour
1
/
2
cup whole wheat flour
1
/
4
cup polenta
3 tablespoons whole raw millet
3 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
1
1
/
2
tablespoons gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
1
3
/
4
teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
1
/
4
teaspoons bread machine yeast
2-POUND LOAF
1
1
/
2
cups water
1
/
4
cup honey
3 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
3
1
/
4
cups bread flour
3
/
4
cup whole wheat flour
1
/
3
cup polenta
1
/
4
cup whole raw millet
1
/
4
cup raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons gluten
2 teaspoons salt
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic or Whole Wheat cycle; press Start. (This recipe may be made using the Delay Timer.)
When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.
I
am fascinated with buckwheat flour. It is an acquired taste unless you are Jewish and ate kasha as a kid or eat a lot of Japanese
soba-kiri
noodles. But this flour is great in small amounts, and I have made converts of lots of bakers with recipes like this. Buckwheat has its botanical origin at the unique Lake Baikal area in Siberia. It is the planet’s oldest and deepest fresh water lake, located in the center of the Mongolian empire and home to hundreds of plant species found nowhere else. It makes buckwheat special indeed. Cultivated since prehistoric times as a bread grain, it became a staple all around mainland Asia and, later, in Japanese and Indian diets.
1
1
/
2
-POUND LOAF
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups bread flour
3
/
4
cup whole wheat flour
1
/
3
cup light buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar Grated zest of
1 large orange
1 tablespoon gluten
1
1
/
2
teaspoons salt
2
1
/
4
teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
3
/
4
teaspoons bread machine yeast
2-POUND LOAF
1
1
/
3
cups buttermilk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1
/
2
cup light buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Grated zest of 1 large orange
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
2 teaspoons salt
2
1
/
2
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast
Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on dark and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.) The dough ball will be moist and springy.
When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.
Bread and Its Place on the Food Pyramid