Yeasted Buttermilk Bread

This is another recipe from my favorite cookbook "Nourishing Traditions". It's a soaked bread. I tried it once before, before I had my sourdough ready. This weekend, I made both sourdough and this bread. Not sure what I was thinking...but sometimes I don't think. I loved this last time I made it. The flavor is more yeasty than I've ever been able to get my wheat bread to taste like. It's soft and moist. But I still have yet to get it to rise for some reason! I actually had to let it sit overnight since it got to be too late and still hadn't risen. When I woke up, it had risen an inch or two. The top was barely to the top of the loaf pan. I baked them anyway while I was getting ready for work. I pulled them out of the pans and threw them in the toaster oven (it was off) so they could cool and not be eaten by dogs while I was at work. I didn't get a chance to taste it until I got home from work. Yummy! It may not rise well (YET) but it just tastes and feels so good in my mouth that this is my new favorite bread.

It's in the mid 90's here this week and we won't be turning the AC on for a while. So we decided that cold sandwiches sounded good for dinner last night. I gave Adam the choice of the sourdough bread, the soaked bread (this one) and his regular, storebought bread. He asked for the soaked bread. This is the first bread I've made that he's chosen over his storebought bread so I definitely consider this one a success. It's healthy and we'll both eat it. I just have to experiment and make it rise, then it will be perfect.


Yeasted Buttermilk Bread




4 c. whole wheat flour
1-1 1/2 c. buttermilk, warm
1/2 c. melted butter
1/4 c. room temperature water
2 1/4 tsp. SAF yeast
2 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. unbleached white flour

Method:

Warm buttermilk over low to medium heat until finger temp (body temperature). Pour buttermilk out of pan and melt butter.

Combine flour, 1 cup buttermilk and melted butter in a food processor until a ball forms. If dough is too thick, add buttermilk, but it should be thick enough to form a ball. Place in a bowl, cover with a towel and rest on the counter 12-24 hours.

The next day, combine water, yeast and honey in a small bowl and leave for 5 minutes or until it bubbles. Add salt and baking soda and mix well. Place half the flour mixture, half the yeast mixture and 1/2 cup white flour in food processor. Process until a smooth ball forms. Repeat with other half.

Knead the two balls together briefly. Place in a buttered bowl, cover with a towel and allow to rise two hours or until doubled. Punch down, cut the dough in half and process each half in a food processor for 30 seconds each. Form into loaves and place in buttered loaf pans. Cover with a towel and let rise 1-2 hours, until doubled. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Cool on racks.

The use of the food proccessor is new to me for bread making, and usually I don't like to make things that rely on modern conviences...I'm weird like that...but I am so glad I gave this one a shot anyway because I really do LOVE this bread. There's very little hands on time (no hand kneading) but you need to plan ahead, for sure. I will be making this one often now.