Brown Bread
Updated March 9, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- 4cups/450 grams whole-wheat flour, preferably stone-ground
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1tablespoon molasses or treacle
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1teaspoon canola or other flavorless oil, for greasing
- 1tablespoon sesame or poppy seeds or a combination (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
285 calories; 3 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 192 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt.
- Step 2
In a liquid measuring jug or small bowl, mix the molasses with 5 fluid ounces/150 milliliters of lukewarm water. Stir in the yeast and leave the jug somewhere warm for 5 minutes, or until the liquid develops a creamy froth.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, grease a 5- by 8-inch loaf pan with the oil and line the bottom and long sides with parchment paper to create a sling for the bread.
- Step 4
Pour the activated yeast mixture into the flour. Measure 10 fluid ounces/275 milliliters of tepid water into the jug, scraping and stirring any residual yeast into the water. Pour this into the flour.
- Step 5
Using your hand or a spoon, mix the flour and the liquid together to make a dough. It’ll be too wet to knead. Scrape the dough into the prepared loaf pan. If you’d like, sprinkle the top with sesame or poppy seeds or both.
- Step 6
Place the pan in a warm place (close to the stove is ideal). Pull a dish cloth tight over the top of the pan without letting it touch the dough, and leave the dough to rise until it reaches the top of the pan, 15 to 25 minutes. While the dough rises, heat the oven with a rack in the center to 450 degrees.
- Step 7
When the dough has nearly reached the top of the pan, remove the dish cloth and put the loaf on the center rack in the oven.
- Step 8
Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Continue to bake for another 30 minutes or until the top looks nicely browned.
- Step 9
Remove the pan from the oven, then tip the loaf out of the pan, running a knife around the outside of the bread to release it if needed and holding the hot loaf with oven mitts or a clean dish towel. Discard the parchment paper, shake off loose seeds, and return the loaf — upside down — to the oven, setting it directly on the center rack. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap its bottom.
- Step 10
Cool the loaf on a rack for 10 minutes before slicing to enjoy warm. The loaf will keep well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
Comments
Lukewarm is cuddly and cozy. Tepid is apathetic and indifferent. Oh, sorry. You asked about water... Lukewarm is in the 100-110 degree range - the ideal temperature for proofing yeast. Above 110 and you start running the risk of killing the poor yeast; below 100, the yeast will just sit there doing nothing. Tepid is just a tad warm in order to ease mixing ingredients into a liquid- Maybe the 75-90 degree range. Not too cold. Not too hot. Just right!
I was inspired to make this on a brisk, breezy March day in Austin. The result will make your house smell like heaven and make you feel like a baking genius for no effort at all. I used 4 mini-loaf pans instead of one large pan, reducing each of the cooking phases by about half, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The bread is splendid! Four lovely, sturdy little loaves. The crust is both crisp and yielding and the crumb is tender with a nutty, rich taste. Go make this everyone.
You can use instant yeast 1to1 with active dry yeast. Don’t proof the instant yeast, just add to the dry ingredients. Watch for the rise closely.
Can this recipe be made in a bread machine?
Regarding Bill’s comment about autolysis, although the enzyme content of white flour is certainly lower than whole wheat flour, white flour retains some of the necessary proteins and enzymes (protease and amylase) after milling, even when the bran and germ portions are removed. Thus, the process is more than simple hydration. It includes the biochemical changes that improve dough extensibility and flavor development, so it is correct to call the process autolysis, even when using white flour.
Always undercooked inside. I used fresh malted wheat flour. Was this the problem?