Make Bread, Not War

Yesterday morning I got up before the crack of dawn, put on a pot of coffee, and spontaneously started baking bread. When my roommate got up and came into the kitchen to find me kneading dough in my pajamas, eyes still half shut, he asked if I was stressed about something. My first reaction was to get a little defensive. "No, I'm just baking bread. We were out of bread."

This week I gave my notice at the bookstore and started working full time with a start-up venture. I'm excited about it, even though my new job involves a lot of sitting behind a computer screen. This week I've been confronting a new fear: that my creativity will shrivel up and die under the pressure of a 40-hour-a-week office job.

This is an interesting fear to pay attention to. It gets me up in the morning so I have time to play before work.

I came up with a whole wheat molasses oat bread, which tastes pretty delicious considering it's the first yeasted bread I've ever made. I followed a recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book, which is a resource I would highly recommend if you'd like some kind, thorough guidance and creative recipes.

Here is a brief version of the recipe I used. It makes two loaves.

3 cups lukewarm water (doesn't feel hot or cold on your wrist)
1 1/2 Tbs dry yeast
1/4 cup sweetening (honey, molasses, or brown sugar)
1 cup dry milk (optional)
2 eggs, beaten (optional)
4 cups whole wheat flour (substitute 1 or more cups unbleached white flour if desired)

4 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil (or butter or margarine)
3 cups additional whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat flour for kneeding

Dissolve the yeast in the water.
Stir in sweetening and dry milk.
Stir in eggs.
Stir in 4 cups of whole wheat flour to form a thick batter.
Beat well with a spoon (100 strokes).
Let rise 45 mins.
Fold in the salt and oil.
Fold in an additional 3 cups of flour until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead on a floured board, using more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the board, about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth.
Let rise 50-60 minutes until doubled in size.
Punch down.
Let rise 40-50 minutes until doubled in size again (optional).
Shape into loaves and place into oiled pans.
Let rise 20-25 minutes.
Brush tops with egg white/water mixture. Sprinkle with oats if desired.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until golden brown.
Remove from pans to cool.

Happy baking!