Bread Machine (44 page)

2 tablespoons rolled oats, for sprinkling

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, for sprinkling

Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start.

Lightly brush the bottom and sides of two 8-by-4-inch loaf pans with peanut oil. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface; it will naturally deflate. Without working the dough further, use your metal bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into into 4 equal portions. With the palms of your hands, roll into 4 fat oblong sausages, each about 10 inches long. Place 2 of the pieces side by side. Holding both pieces of dough together at one end, wrap one around the other 2 to 3 times to create a fat twist effect. Repeat to form the second loaf. Place in the pans and tuck under the ends. Brush the tops with some peanut oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is almost doubled in bulk, about 1 inch over the rims of the pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Twenty minutes before baking, set the oven rack to the middle and preheat the oven to 350°F (lower the temperature by 25° if using glass pans).

Brush the tops of the loaves with more peanut oil. Sprinkle the tops with the oats and sunflower seeds. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaves are deep golden brown, and the sides are slightly contracted from the pan. Lift one end of a loaf up out of the pan to peek underneath to check for even browning on the bottom, and tap on the top and bottom surface with your finger; it should sound hollow. An instant-read thermometer will read 200°F. Immediately remove the loaves from the pans and place on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

Whole Wheat Nutrition

A kernel of wheat is known as the “five-in-one”; it contains protein, carbohydrates, soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The less it is processed, the more nutrition you get. For high nutrition, look for products with the germ intact, such as whole wheat flours, wheat germ, and bran. Whole grains and bran contain hemicelluloses along with the insoluble fiber. The cellulose absorbs water, preventing constipation, colon cancer, and varicose veins. The germ of wheat contains precious phytoestrogens and the B vitamins. Wheat grass and sprouted wheat are routinely used in salads or juice as part of a regenerative cleansing program. Wheat contains vitamin E, iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc. As with all true grains, wheat and wheat products lack a substantial amount of lysine and methionine, so if you don’t eat meat, wheat is best combined with beans and seeds to give you all the essential amino acids. Eat some form of vitamin C, too, when you eat whole wheat. Since wheat contains phytic acid, without the C, the minerals concentrated in the bran stay unassimilated.

No Additives

When you bake your own bread, you avoid consuming the many artificial additives and preservatives that have become commonplace in the commercial baking industry’s processing, packaging, transporting, and storing of bread. A synthetic chemical can even be infused into the packaging material to make bread that has been on the shelf for weeks still smell freshly baked! Chemical additives control molds, yeasts, rope bacteria, and other invisible organisms that make bread go stale or rancid.

Chemicals help extend the shelf life of a loaf. Surprisingly, the worst enemy in the commercial baking industry is oxygen, which makes bread go stale. In 1947 antioxidants were one of the first chemical additives to be commercially produced. Dough conditioners are additives used during production to modify the physical appearance and texture of a loaf. They turn what would probably be a mediocre baked loaf into consistently high-quality bread. Anti-staling and anti-firming compounds are other important ingredients in commercial breads. When bread stales, the starch crystallizes. To inhibit this crystallization, bread emulsifiers are used. Thirty years ago, over 16 million pounds of chemical food additives were used every year in the American food industry for bread. One can only imagine how much more are used now.

Other countries that are more serious about their bread, like France and Italy, do not widely permit anti-staling agents, dough conditioners, and antioxidants. It is more common to find small batch bakeries in these countries, where it is acknowledged that bread is a food meant to be made fresh every day.

The following list contains some of the most common additives to bread and flour:

Bleached flour
—artificially aged with chlorine bleach gas to cut down on expensive storage time and supposedly to increase its baking qualities by developing the protein

Potassium bromate
—added to unbleached flour, labeled bromated, to speed up the aging process in a manner similar to bleached flour

Calcium peroxide
—antimycotic agent used to prevent the growth of microscopic spores

BHT and BHA
—preservatives, and the first anti-oxidants to hold up in the heat of baking

Potassium sorbate
—preservative and antimycotic agent

Sodium benzoate
—preservative and antimycotic agent; because of its natural origin, it is the least harmful additive.

Sodium propionate
—antimycotic agent

ADA
(azodicarbonamide)—a dough conditioner that keeps the dough from getting overworked during long machine mixing

EDTA
—an antioxidant

Calcium propionate
—antimycotic agent

Calcium disodium
—dough conditioner

L-cysteine, Stearoyl-2-lactylate, and Sodium steryl fumarate
—dough conditioners, often paired with glycerides, that allow bread to be made more easily in a machine and even out differences in batches of flour

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
—usually combined with some palm oil to prolong shelf life and add texture and body to crumb

Mono- and diglycerides
—anti-staling compounds

Chemical additives need to be regarded with suspicion. Many people have found that elusive health problems stem from being allergic to chemicals like BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole).

If you are chemical sensitive, this information is very important. If you think you do not eat much bread, and that you are not consuming many of these chemicals, consider the statistics that report that each person eats approximately 100 pounds of bread a year.

When you bake in the bread machine, it is good to allow each loaf to have its own appealing inherent taste, texture, and appearance, rather than comparing it to an aerated commercial loaf. Allow the simple pleasure of your own bread and its health value to become a priority in your diet.

WHOLE WHEAT CRESCENT DINNER ROLLS
          
Makes 16 dinner rolls

I
n small amounts, sour cream is a wonderful addition to a dough; it helps create a moist, close-textured roll. Here the whole wheat flour is sweetened a bit with the addition of a small amount of ground almonds.

1
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- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES

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cup slivered blanched almonds

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup water

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

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cup sour cream

2
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cups bread flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon gluten

2 teaspoons salt

2
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teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
³
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teaspoons bread machine yeast

Place the almonds in a dry skillet. Lightly toast over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. In a food processor, combine the almonds with 2 tablespoons of the whole wheat flour. Grind to a fine meal.