Flash in the Pan

Cooler weather is rolling into our part of New England, and that usually gets me thinking about hot cereal. There has been increasing evidence that various non-wheat grains are good for health, largely due to dietary fiber. Old Wessex Ltd. 5 Grain Cereal not only has 20 g of dietary fiber in one serving, but it tastes good. A combination of oats, rye, triticale, barley, and golden flax, it looks a bit like oatmeal before being cooked. There's a nutty overtone to the taste, and the microwave directions are not only easy, but effective. You put half a cup of the cereal and a cup of water in a microwave-proof dish, put it on for five minutes, and out it comes with the type of creamy consistency that you might expect of cooking on the stove. (Actually, there have been times I've cooked quasi-ready oatmeal on the stove top and had less of a pleasing texture.)

Labels: 5 grain, barley, cereal, golden flax, hot, oats, Old Wessex, rye, triticale

One of the unfortunate things about my upcoming Complete Idiot's Guide to Pizza and Panini is that I ran out of room and so I had to cut a number of recipes. Here's one for rye bread - an easy way to add some excitement to a sandwich.

Yield: 2 loaves
Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serving size: 2 slices

Ingredients

2[1/4] cups water, 105ºF to 110ºF water
2 cups rye flour
2[1/4] tsp. dried instant yeast (1 packet)
4 to 5 cups bread flour
2 tsp. ground caraway seed (optional)
2 TB. whole caraway seeds (optional)
1 TB. salt
1 tsp. vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, add 1 cup water to rye flour. Let soak for 20 minutes.


2. In a small bowl, add yeast to remaining water, and stir until dissolved.


3. In a large bowl, combine 4 cups bread flour, rye flour, ground caraway seed (if using), 1 tablespoon whole caraway seed (if using), and salt, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add water and yeast mixture and rye flour and water mixture to the bowl, and mix. Add additional bread flour, 2 tablespoons at a time as necessary, until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.


4. Sprinkle flour on work surface, place dough on surface, and knead dough for 10 minutes until dough is satiny.


5. Add vegetable oil to the empty bowl, and swirl the bowl to coat the inside. Don't worry if there's a little oil left in the bottom of the bowl. Return dough to the bowl, and turn dough to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let dough double in volume.


6. When dough has doubled in volume, turn out onto a floured work surface and fold to deflate. Divide dough into 2 parts. Shape each portion of dough into a loaf, and place in 2 greased 8[1/2]-inch loaf pans. Lightly oil two pieces of plastic wrap, each large enough to cover one pan, and loosely cover each pan, oil side in. Allow top of bread to reach top of pan.


7. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the plastic from the pans, and brush each loaf with water. Sprinkle tops with remaining 1 tablespoon caraway seeds (if using). Bake 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom, when removed from the pan, sounds hollow when tapped.

Labels: bread, complete idiot's guide, panini, pizza, recipe, rye