Name: No knead fresh milled wheat bread
Prep time: 2 h 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 3 h 5 min
Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups warm water; 1 tablespoon instant yeast or active dry yeast; 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey; 2 tablespoons soft butter or olive oil plus more for greasing the pans; 2 tsp salt; 300 grams wheat berries (substitute equal weight of whole wheat flour); 400 grams bread flour (3 cups + 1 Tablespoon); 1 egg; 1 tsp water

Description

The taste of sweet fresh wheat in the best kind of sliceable sandwich loaf that comes together in a lazy morning.

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2 tablespoons soft butter or olive oil plus more for greasing the pans
2 tsp salt
300 grams wheat berries (substitute equal weight of whole wheat flour)
400 grams bread flour (3 cups + 1 Tablespoon)

Egg wash

1 egg
1 tsp water

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Instructions

1. 1. First, mill the wheat berries on a fine setting (see note).
  2. Dissolve the yeast in a little bit of the warm water with the maple syrup. When it is foamy, add the rest of the water, and the rest of the ingredients. Stir to form a shaggy dough.
  3. Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
  4. Stretch folds: Scrape under the bottom of the dough, then fold it over on itself towards the center of your bowl. Do this 4 or 5 times, then cover for another 15 minutes.
  5. Do another set of stretch folds from step 4, then rest for another 15 minutes.
  6. Perform one last round of stretch folds. By this time, the dough should easily form into a ball, Cover and allow the dough to rise until it’s doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  7. Brush some soft butter or olive oil in the bottom and sides of two 9″x5″ loaf pans.
  8. Divide the dough into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface, cut one half of the dough into 3 pieces with a bench scraper or serrated knife. Pinch the top together, then braid the pieces together.
  9. Pick up the braid and place it to rise in one of the prepared pans.
  10. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
  11. Cover the loaves to rise for about 30 minutes. They should be just puffing up near the rim of the pan.
  12. While the loaves rise, preheat the oven to 350 F (180C).
  13. Optional egg wash: Whisk 1 egg with 1 tsp water to create an egg wash. Just before the loaves go in the oven, brush on the egg wash with a pastry brush. Sprinkle the loaves with poppyseeds, sesame seeds or flax seeds or a combination of all three.
  14. Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when you rap the bread with your knuckles. If it looks like the loaves are getting too brown as they bake, cover them with foil after about 20 minutes into the baking time.
  15. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the bread should read 200 degrees F when you test the temperature in the center of the loaf.
  16. Let the bread cool completely, then slice and enjoy.

Notes

What mill should I use? I have a Komo Fidibus mill I bought from Pleasant Hill Grain, though I have a good friend who swears by her Nutrimill. For this recipe, I set it to the finest grind. If you want a little texture, you can adjust accordingly. Just be sure to use DRY wheat berries in your mill.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 50 minutes

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 86
Sugar: .79
Sodium: 152
Fat: 1
Saturated Fat: .48
Carbohydrates: 16
Fiber: 1
Protein: 2