Authors: Zoe Francois,Jeff Hertzberg MD
Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients (14 page)
Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
4 cups spelt flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups lukewarm water
2 cups plain whole milk yogurt (or nonfat)
1 cup pitted green olives, chopped
ZINC:
Yogurt is a terrific source of the trace element zinc, but its real claim to fame is its
calcium
content. It’s the most calcium-rich dairy food. Between zinc and calcium, yogurt may be the mineral king!
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the water, yogurt, and olives and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
5. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F
, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
8.
Just before baking, dust the top with flour. Slash the loaf diagonally with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
9.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
10.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
Pesto and Pine Nut Bread
“
The basil, cheese, and pine nuts are so fragrant while this bread is baking that it’s a chore to wait for it to cool down and cut into it. I’ve made this dough with both fresh pesto that my stepmother, Patricia, makes from her garden, and the jarred stuff. My stepmother’s is to die for, but in a pinch the store-bought is a great substitute. Serve the bread with fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, and a really great red wine.
Bellissimo!”—Zoë
Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
2 cups spelt flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
3½ cups lukewarm water
¾ cup pesto (for homemade, see
Pesto Pizza
, or use a jarred variety)
½ cup pine nuts
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the water, pesto, and pine nuts and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 10 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
5. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Elongate the ball into a narrow oval. Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F
, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
8.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with water. Slash the loaf diagonally with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
9.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 30 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake it directly on the stone or an oven shelf two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
10.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
Roasted Garlic Bread
Spelt flour, ground flaxseed, and
lots
of garlic are not only good for you, but create an incredible flavor. For the best garlic bread of your life, split the loaf lengthwise after baking and fill it with parsley butter. Two heads of garlic might sound like a lot, but roasting mellows garlic’s pungent bite.
Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
2 heads garlic
¼ cup ground flaxseed
3½ cups spelt flour
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
4 cups lukewarm water
The Parsley Butter (optional)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or zero trans fat, zero hydrogenated oil margarine, softened
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
GARLIC WON’T WARD OFF VAMPIRES,
but it might ward off some troublesome health problems. It’s a terrific source of the minerals manganese and selenium, plus vitamins B
6
and C. Other phytochemicals (beneficial plant chemicals) in garlic appear to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease.
1. Roasting the garlic:
Wrap the garlic heads in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 400°F. Allow to cool, and cut off the tops of the heads. Squeeze out the roasted garlic and set aside.
2. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flaxseed, flours, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
3.
Add the water and roasted garlic and mix without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
4.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
5.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 10 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
6. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
7.
Elongate the ball into a narrow oval. Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
8. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
9.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with water. Slash the loaf diagonally with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
10.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
11.
Optional parsley butter.
Mix together the ingredients for the parsley butter. Set aside.
12.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating. Split the loaf while slightly warm and fill with parsley butter, if desired. Wrap in foil, and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Herbed Potato and Roasted Garlic Bread
This fragrant loaf is made with an entire head of roasted garlic and herbed potatoes. The potatoes add moistness to the bread, and leaving the skins on increases their fiber and nutrient content. This bread is perfect for soups and salads or dipped in olive oil.
Makes enough dough for at least 4 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
1 head garlic
3½ cups spelt flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon
herbes de Provence
(use a prepared herb mix or make your own with an equal mixture of dried marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil, and savory, plus a little lavender if it’s available)
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets (
decrease to taste
)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
1 large raw potato, cut into ¼-inch cubes (clean but don’t peel potato)
3½ cups lukewarm water
POTATOES, WITH SKINS, PLEASE:
Potatoes are terrifically high in the essential mineral potassium, which may help control blood pressure, especially for those eating too much salt. But leave the skin on the potatoes—most of the potato’s fiber is in the skin.
1. Roasting the garlic:
Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes at 400°F. Allow to cool and cut off the top of the head. Squeeze out the roasted garlic and set aside.
2. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, flaxseed,
herbes de Provence,
yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
3.
Add the potato, water, and roasted garlic and mix without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
4.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
5.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 10 days. The flavor will be best if you wait for at least 24 hours of refrigeration.
6. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
7.
Elongate the ball into a narrow oval. Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Alternatively, you can rest the loaf on a silicone mat or a greased cookie sheet without using a pizza peel.
8. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450°F,
with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal broiler tray on any other rack that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
9.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with water. Slash the loaf diagonally with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts, using a serrated bread knife.
10.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone (or place the silicone mat or a cookie sheet on the stone if you used one). Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door (see
Chapter 3
for steam alternatives). Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully remove it and bake the loaf directly on the stone or an oven rack two-thirds of the way through baking. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
11.
Allow the bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.