Wisdom Bread

My recipe for Wisdom Bread came after a long conversation with a trusted classmate in the medical student lounge last spring.  I was feeling very unsure of myself (ok, maybe it was a bit of a pity party) and she shared some wonderful advice that really helped me shift back to my usual attitude of gratitude.  That afternoon I felt very inspired to do some baking, something that was earthy, nurturing, and comforting - something that tasted good for the soul.  The final result was exactly that, a crusty, dense loaf with earthy flavors of whole wheat, yeast and rosemary.  It's the perfect base for a veggie sandwich, paired with a plate of pasta, or even a bowl of homemade soup.  I like to gift this loaf to my preceptors (a physician instructor who gives practical training to medical students on clinical rotations) as a way of thanking them for sharing their time and knowledge with me.  And I never ever forget to bring an extra loaf for their nurse!

Wisdom Bread is my personal twist on the Master Bread recipe featured in "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. Please know that the basic method of this recipe defies all conventional breadbaking wisdom; in fact, it kind of downright mocks it.  But I promise you the method works, and the final product is fantastic and simple to make.  One way to make this recipe even easier is to use a stand mixer with dough hook attachment to mix your dough.  If you don't have one don't worry, you can easily mix the dough by hand.  Since we are making Wisdom Bread, now's a great time to wise up about some traditional breadmaking myths:

Yeast.  Traditional knowledge says you must fully dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water.  There are only two ways I know of to kill yeast, either starting with old yeast or adding yeast to water that's too hot (over 130 degrees).  Believe me, I've done both of these more than once!  In reality you can add yeast to cold tap water and it will still rise, it just takes longer and the dough comes out a little stickier.  I let my yeast mostly dissolve, but I never worry about a few chunks of yeast that aren't fully dissolving.

Kneading.  This is the traditional step of breadmaking that most people, myself included, dread.  So in this recipe you're just not going to do it.  Seriously, no kneading.  At all.  Keep reading, I promise everything will work out!

Double Rising.  Normally you let bread dough rise once, punch it down, knead it, then shape it into loaves to rise again.  This is also a step we're going to skip.  And forget about rising your dough in a warm place too, you're going to use the refrigerator because it makes your dough less sticky and easier to work with.

Baking Day.  Baking bread doesn't mean you need to give up an entire day to wait for bread to rise.  You can store your mixed bread dough in a plastic container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks before you bake it.  Baking day can be any day you want, and it will take you as little as 30 minutes for fresh homemade bread.

Bread Flour.  This recipe calls for bread flour, which has a higher protein content for a chewier texture.  You can make this with all purpose flour, but I am a fan of a dense loaf that's chewy on the inside.

Not only does homemade bread taste great, make your home smell amazing, and impress all your friends, it's more nutritious than most store brands.  Plus making a great loaf of homemade bread is dirt cheap.  I buy my flour in 25 lb bags and store it in a food-safe 5 gallon bucket in my kitchen.  I can turn that $11.00 bag of flour into 40 loaves of bread; buying those same loaves at your local grocery store would set you back over $160.00.  So give this recipe and it's unorthodox methods a try, you won't regret it.  Enjoy!

Wisdom Bread, Makes 3 Loaves
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 T. active dry yeast
3 cups lukewarm water
1 T. salt
2-3 T. cracked rosemary, or fresh if available

Place roasting pan on bottom rack
and baking rack in middle position.

Mix yeast in water.  Add 6 cups flour, salt, and rosemary to stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment and stir to combine.  Slowly add water, mixing constantly; dough will be quite wet.  Slowly add remaining 1/2 cup flour, dough should rapidly come together resembling traditional bread dough.

Fast But Sticky Method: cover dough with a towel and allow to rise on counter for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Slower But Less Sticky Method: Place dough in a large container with a lid or cover with plastic wrap.  Make sure the cover is a little loose to allow air to escape during rising, but not so loose that the dough dries out.  Place in refrigerator overnight to rise.

After shaping loaves into rounds
cut 1/4 inch slashes in tops to vent.

Baking Day:  Place an empty cake or roaster pan on the bottom rack of the oven, position the baking rack in the middle position.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease baking sheets.  Wet your hands, like you washed them but just shook them dry - this helps reduce sticking.  Remove a grapefruit-sized ball of bread dough and shape it into a ball by gently stretching the top surface of the dough around to the sides and bottom, rotating the loaf as you go.  This should take you under 30 seconds; if it doesn't you're fussing too much with the loaf and it's appearance which will negatively affect the quality of the final product.  Your only objective is to smooth the top into a ball-ish shape.  Place the dough on your baking sheets and slash the top with a sharp knife to vent.  Once the oven has preheated for 20 minutes, pour a cup of water into the now hot roasting pan at the bottom of the oven to create a steam bath.  Quickly place the loaves in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and crusty.  Cool on a wire rack.  Once loaves are fully cool, store in plastic bags.  These loaves also freeze extremely well after baking.