I have a great friend who goes a little whack-O when she eats dairy products, and she can't afford anymore whack-O if you catch my drift! (wink)
I created this recipe for her and others who need a dairy free recipe! I think it's yummy and it has recieved a stamp of approval from Jennifer H's children, and that's good enough for anyone!
I am hoping that other little friends like 2 year old Nolan can enjoy it as well.
If you would like a little more sweetness you can add an extra tablespoon of raw sugar to the soaker, but all the reviews so far have been positive.
Jennifer H's Dairy Free
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread
Pre-heat oven to 425
Bake at 325 35-40 minutes
mmm-mmm good.
Biga 2 Cup Whole wheat flour 260 grams
1/4 tsp Instant Yeast -
3/4 Cup Water 180 grams
Soaker 2 Cup Whole Wheat flour 260 grams
*1 Cup Twice pressed Oats 100 grams
1/4 Cup Turbinado Sugar 50 grams
or Raw Sugar Crystals
3/4 tsp Sea Salt -
3/4 + 2 Tbsp Water 210 grams
Final Dough All of biga
All of Soaker
2 tsp Instant Yeast
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
2 Tbsp Black Strap Molasses 40 grams
2 Tbsp Oil
* I use my Marga Oat press and run my oat groats through twice. If you have not invested in a Marga press yet I highly recommend it; I couldn't live without mine. I sell them for 108.00. Oat groats are superior in your nutritional arsenal. They have a long shelf life and are much more nutritious than rolled oats. See "Whole grains".
For Directions on making the Big and Soaker please visit "Making Yeast Breads".
Combine: Lightly sprinkle your counter top with flour. Cut the Biga and the Soaker in pieces and add them to the bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and salt over the pre-doughs, add the molasses and oil. Knead the doughs and enrichments together. Turn the dough out onto the counter and continue kneading until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporate, about four minutes. If needed, use a bench scraper to scrape up the dough and bring it back to you.
Knead: Knead an additional 10-12 minutes, approximately 600 strokes. The dough will become shaggy at first, but will begin to come together and form a ball. Remember your bench scraper. I knead with my left hand at this point and scrape the dough up and over with my right. DO NOT ADD ADDITIONAL FLOUR.
Autolyse: Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for at least 20 minutes. If you can afford the time, allow the dough a full 30 minute autolyse. The dough will undergo a drastic change in texture as it rests and soaks in moisture.
Knead: After the autolyse, the dough will be smooth and elastic, another 10 minute kneading cycle and the dough will be ready for fermentation. Make sure your gluten is completely developed by doing the window pane test. See Making Yeast Breads
Fermentation: Place the dough in a lightly oiled container. I use a Clear container with tall straight sides which allows me to watch the dough. Allow the dough to rest and double in size, 45 minutes to an hour. During fermentation the flavors of the dough will continue to develop. The gluten is becoming even more elastic and the dough becomes fully hydrated.
Shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased counter top. I use two methods combined to shape my loaves.
Roll the dough into a long rectangle. Fold the top third down and seal the edge by compressing it with your fingers. Fold the bottom third of the rectangle up over the top third and compress the seam. You have just created another rectangle only smaller. Turn the dough a half turn so that the length is going away from you, and roll it out again to a large rectangle.
Repeat this process a second time.
Roll the dough into a long rectangel the width of your bread pan. Tightly roll the dough up jelly roll style tugging slightly as you go. This will creat a nice tight outer layer on the bread and aid in a nice shape as the loaf proofs.
Place the rolled loaf into a lightly greased bread pan and allow it to proof until it has risen double.
Bake: Bake the loaf in a 425 degree oven with steam for five minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees and cook an additional 30 minutes or until the loaf is done.
Cool: Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack for five minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and allow the loaf to cool completely.