Speckled Sandwich Bread
A crunchy and slightly sweet sandwich bread made with cracked bulgur wheat, good for dinner or lovely for making sandwiches, thanks to the addition of four types of seeds giving it a dotted appearance. This is an eggless bread.
Equipment
- Digital Metric Scale
- Electric Mixer with Dough Hook
- 4 Liter food container (or bowl)
- Cover for container (or plastic wrap)
- Bowl scraper
- Bread pans (2 each)
Ingredients
Prep - 1 Hour Before Baking
- 150 grams Cracked Bulgur Wheat I used Bob's Red Mill Red Bulgur Cracked Wheat (3/4 cup)
- 1 T Chia
- 375 ml Boiling Water 1.5 cups
Bread
- 2.5 tsp Instant Yeast
- 60 ml Warm Water 110 F degrees (1/4 cup)
- 57 grams Butter unsalted (1/4 cup)
- 1 Cup Kefir, Plain Can substitute buttermilk (1 cup)
- 2 T Brown Sugar
- 1 T Honey
- 145 grams Whole Wheat Flour
- 400 grams Bread Flour
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 T Flax Seeds
- 1 T Poppy Seeds
- 1 T Sesame Seeds
Topping
- 1 T Butter, melted
Instructions
Scaling
- Measure all ingredients using a digital scale.
Mixing
- Mix bulgur wheat and chia seeds.
- Pour boiling water over the wheat and chia and allow to sit for one hour, stirring periodically.
- Drain bulgur wheat and chia seeds after one hour.
- Melt unsalted butter and mix with kefir, brown sugar and honey. Set aside.
- Mix yeast with warm water (110 F degrees) until dissolved, set aside for 10 minutes or until yeast is bloomed (it will be bubbly and frothy on top).
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add whole wheat flour, bread flour, salt, flax, poppy and sesame seeds, mix together.
- Add in drained bulgur wheat and chia, yeast mixture and butter mixture to flour in mixing bowl.
- Mix on Level 1 for 3 minutes until the mixture forms a ragged dough.
- Mix on Level 2 for an additional 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth, pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms gluten strands (see photo).
Bulk Fermentation (first rise)
- Scrape dough from the bowl onto a work surface.
- Fold the dough up and over itself 4-6 times and flip over so folds are on the bottom.
- Form dough into a smooth round ball.
- Place dough ball into a greased container and cover with a lid.
Folding (sometimes called punching)
- When dough has doubled in size, gently dump onto a work surface.
- Gently fold the edges of the dough towards the center into a log shape, about 10" long and flip it over so folds are on the bottom.
Dividing
- Divide the dough in half (do not saw to cut, rather use a bench scraper or knife to cut dough by pushing down gently).
Pre-Shaping or Rounding
- Flatten half the dough into a 6" x 8" rectangle.
- Roll the dough starting on the long side into a tight log.
- Pinch the seam together. Flip log over so pinched seam is below.
- Tuck ends of the bread under to form a tight 6-7" log.
Makeup and Panning
- Spray two bread pans.
- Pick up tight log and place it in one bread pan, seam side down. Repeat with second half of the dough.
Proofing (second rise)
- Cover pans with a sprayed piece of plastic. Set aside to rise 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- When doubled in size, remove cling film, cut a line very gently down the center of the dough, and place in a preheated oven.
Baking
- Bake these loaves at 375 F degrees for 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Cooling
- Immediately remove from bread pans and place on a cooling rack.
- Brush warm loaves with melted butter to soften the crust and give it a shiny surface.
- Allow these to cool for 30-45 minutes before slicing.
Storing
- This bread will remain fresh for 3 days. Once cool, store in a plastic bag on the counter.