Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups lukewarm, non-chlorinated water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2-1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/2 cup sprouted hard wheat berries
Directions
- Measure the water and yeast into a mixing bowl, and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flours and salt, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together in a soft, solid mass.
- Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes. Stir in the sprouted grains, and then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. You could also use a 2-quart dough-rising bucket — scrape the dough into the bucket and put the lid on.
- Let the dough ferment at room temperature until it roughly doubles in volume, about 1-1/2 hours. Lightly grease or oil a regular loaf pan. Turn the dough out onto a floured cutting board or countertop, and gently shape into an oblong that fits in your loaf pan. I like to wear nitrile gloves for the shaping process, because I find the dough doesn’t stick to the gloves nearly as much as it sticks to my hands. The less you manhandle the dough at this point, the better.
- Put the shaped loaf in the pan, cover lightly and let it rise again while the oven preheats. The dough won’t double in volume this time; it may reach about 1-1/2 times its original volume instead.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake your bread for 40 to 45 minutes; if you prefer free-form loaves on a baking stone, check them at 35 minutes. A few test runs will reveal what works best with your oven, but most 1-pound loaves should bake within 35 to 50 minutes at 450 degrees.
- Let the bread cool briefly in the pan, then tip it out onto a cooling rack. Cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Victoria Redhed Miller is the author of From No-Knead to Sourdough: A Simpler Approach to Handmade Bread; Pure Poultry; and the award-winning Craft Distilling. Victoria is also a regular speaker at the Mother Earth News Fair. She lives on an off-grid farm in northwest Washington state with her husband, David.
Bread BakingCreate delicious, healthy breads in your own kitchen. No experience required!Is there any food that evokes pleasant memories and warm feelings more than bread? It's the most basic of foods, yet many of us are intimidated by the prospect of making our own. "Artisan" bread, craft bakeries, and wood-fired pizza are gaining popularity; imagine creating these fabulous breads at home.With From No-Knead to Sourdough, author Victoria Redhed Miller blends her own journey toward self-reliance with her fascination for traditional homesteading skills and love of good food. From making simple yeast breads, to learning how to bake a wide variety of sourdough-based breads, Miller's curiosity and fearlessness come together to share with readers a simpler approach to the pleasures of baking bread.From No-Knead to Sourdough will inspire the beginner and the accomplished baker alike to find their own comfort zone and move on to new skills when they are ready. Pizza and bagels, flatbreads and loaf breads, even gluten-free breads – you become the artisan when you make your own bread.Order from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Store or by calling 800-234-3368.
This no-knead recipe calls for sprouted wheat and is great for learning how to bake with sprouted grains. Don’t use more than about 1/2 cup sprouted grains per loaf of bread. It doesn’t sound like much, but too much sprouted grain can interfere with the gluten structure of the bread and prevent it from rising properly. Start small, and then try larger amounts or different grains as you gain experience. Everything, from the flour you use to the humidity levels in your kitchen, can affect your results.
