Sage & Pepato Bread
I've made what might be my best wholemeal loaf yet! It was what my photography professor called "happy accidents" -- accidents that happen unplanned, but turn out being really good things in the end. I was following an adapted recipe from The Bread Book, making sure to put half of everything and substitute the white flour for wholemeal flour, and I accidentally put in more water than necessary. I had actually added 50 ml more of water than I needed, which resulted in a very sticky dough, which required that I add more flour during the kneading process. I also added a bit more quick-action yeast than the recipe required because apparently the low gluten count of wholemeal flour and the dryness of the flour requires a bit of tweaking.
Up until now I have only adding enough flour to produce a rather dry dough that only softened slightly after 10 minutes of kneading -- perfect for focaccia and pizza crusts, but not for other breads. I decided this time to leave it a bit more moist and pliable. After having kneaded it for about 5 minutes, just enough time to reduced the stickiness, I let it prove for and hour, knocked it down again and finally put it to rest in a square baking pan for 30 minutes. Using one of the technique in the book, I sliced the dough into pie slices so that the bread would be easy to pull apart after baking.
Up until now I have only adding enough flour to produce a rather dry dough that only softened slightly after 10 minutes of kneading -- perfect for focaccia and pizza crusts, but not for other breads. I decided this time to leave it a bit more moist and pliable. After having kneaded it for about 5 minutes, just enough time to reduced the stickiness, I let it prove for and hour, knocked it down again and finally put it to rest in a square baking pan for 30 minutes. Using one of the technique in the book, I sliced the dough into pie slices so that the bread would be easy to pull apart after baking.
The result: Very fluffy, wholesome portions of wholemeal bread. No toughness or dryness included.
Sage & Pepato* Bread
200g wholemeal flour
20g Pepato cheese, finely grated
1 tsp ground dried sage
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp honey
150 ml water
extra Pepato for dusting
1. Put the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the cheese, sage, salt and yeast. Add the oil and honey, then gradually mix in enough water to make a smooth soft dough, it should be moist as well.
2. Knead well on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. This can be check by pulling off a small portion and stretching it to check for "stretchy strings".
Return to its bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil on the sides of the bowl and roll the dough around the bowl so it is covered in olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to prove for 1 hours or until it has doubled in size.
3. Knock the dough down to its original size and knead for a couple minutes. Place the dough in an oiled square baking pan and roll it out so that it fills out the pan. It's not essential that the dough fills the corners. With a knife slice the dough in half, then into quarters with the final result ending in 8 slices. Sprinkle with salt and cheese, then leave the dough to prove again for 30 minutes.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 C for 14-16 minutes until golden and the bread sounds hollow when it's surface is flicked.
5. Place the bread on a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly before breaking apart.
*Parmesan cheese can be used here, but Pepato is a slightly more moist cheese that doesn't contain rennet of animal origin.
200g wholemeal flour
20g Pepato cheese, finely grated
1 tsp ground dried sage
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp honey
150 ml water
extra Pepato for dusting
1. Put the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the cheese, sage, salt and yeast. Add the oil and honey, then gradually mix in enough water to make a smooth soft dough, it should be moist as well.
2. Knead well on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. This can be check by pulling off a small portion and stretching it to check for "stretchy strings".
Return to its bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil on the sides of the bowl and roll the dough around the bowl so it is covered in olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to prove for 1 hours or until it has doubled in size.
3. Knock the dough down to its original size and knead for a couple minutes. Place the dough in an oiled square baking pan and roll it out so that it fills out the pan. It's not essential that the dough fills the corners. With a knife slice the dough in half, then into quarters with the final result ending in 8 slices. Sprinkle with salt and cheese, then leave the dough to prove again for 30 minutes.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 C for 14-16 minutes until golden and the bread sounds hollow when it's surface is flicked.
5. Place the bread on a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly before breaking apart.
*Parmesan cheese can be used here, but Pepato is a slightly more moist cheese that doesn't contain rennet of animal origin.
