Love,
Cara
You have noooooo idea how excited I am. For the first time I finally got a whole wheat bread to rise!!!!! After countless loaves that resembled squishy little bricks I was so close to giving up on ever being able to make my own bread...
That is of course, until a friend of mine, Jake a master vegetarian cook, gave me a little advice, a fabulous recipe and introduced me to a little powder called guar gum.
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| Mr. Jake himself |
Guar gum is an all natural, lightly colored powder derived from a guar bean that is typically grown in Pakistan and India. It's a thickening agent eight times more powerful than cornstarch. It's also used as a binder in baked goods.
With Jake's permission, I am truly delighted share with you his recipe. No joke, I have never been able to get my bread to properly rise, until this recipe! I can't express my thanks enough, now I can cross bread off the list of things I no longer buy at the grocery store (next to peanut butter, jam, soup, salad dressing, sauces and pizza crust). This bread is lightly sweet, ultra fluffy and 100% whole wheat! (I didn't have ever ingredient on hand so I will add my substitutions as well)
Jake's Whole Wheat Bread: (makes 2 loaves)
- 1 package Red Star Rapid Rise Yeast
- 2c warm water (I used soy milk)
- 1/2c sugar (I used agave syrup)
- 1 1/2t salt
- 1/4c sunflower oil (I used Earth Balance. If you do use oil do not use olive! too dense)
- 6c whole wheat bread flour (I subbed 5c whole wheat flour and 1c vital wheat gluten)
- 1 1/2t guar gum
In a sauce pan set to medium low, bring water/soy milk to around 110 degrees (what I would call lukewarm, in other words warm to the touch but by no means uncomfortable when you stick your finger in) dissolve sugar/agave in water and remove from heat gently stir in yeast. Allow these ingredients to sit (proof) for 12 mintues (mixture should look bubbly when done). While yeast is proofing, sift together flour and guar gum, set aside.
Add yeast mixture to a large bowl and to the yeast mixture stir in salt and oil, slowly incorporate flour until stiff.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is soft (won't be as soft as white bread dough and it won't be as pliable).
Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a humid warm (but not hot!!!) place for 1 hour or until doubled in size (I set mine on the counter above the dishwasher while it's running a wash cycle, it goes for exactly 1 hour, releases moisture into the air around it and heats the counter top above it).
Punch down dough (literally, push your fist into the center of the dough to release trapped gasses). divide in two halves, shape dough and place into loaf pans (I baked only one loaf, you can tuck the other into the fridge and let rise again overnight or freezer and do the second rise another time) at this point cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in a humid place to raise for one more hour. (luckily I had lots of dishes to do).
if you have a boiling pan, pour water into the bottom part, place on the bottom rack and preheat the oven to 350. Remove plastic from bread dough, brush with a mixture of 1T of soy milk and 1/2t Earth Balance (optional) and place into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool fully before you cut into it.
Oh my goodness this bread is phenomenal as is this song, just thought I'd share it with you. Happy Baking!
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