Earth Bread: the Recipe

Happy Saturday! I've had a number of very kind requests for the recipe to the Earth Bread I have mentioned in my 11/26/07 and 1/17/08 posts. I've been meaning to post this since November, but you know how intentions are sometimes. Anyway, here is the recipe if you're interested in trying it out:


Earth Bread*

Yield: 2 to 3 loaves or 12 to 15 rolls

3 Tbs sugar
2/3 cup warm water
2 pkgs active dry yeast
2 cups milk
4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbs butter or oil
4 cups unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups quick oatmeal, uncooked
2 cups cooked cracked wheat (1 cup raw) -->recipe for cooking it at bottom
1/2 cup sesame seeds

In a small bowl, combine 3 Tbs sugar, warm water and yeast; let stand 10 minutes.

Scald milk and add salt, 1/3 cup sugar and butter or oil; let cool and place in a large bowl. Add unbleached bread flour, whole wheat flour, uncooked oatmeal, cooked cracked wheat and sesame seeds. Pour in yeast and mix to a stiff dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for 10 minutes**. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size.

Place on a floured board and divide into 2 or 3 portions*** (depending on the size desired), and shape into round flat loaves.

Place in well-oiled 10 or 12-inch round plans****. Brush tops of loaves with oil or butter. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Bake at 375 degrees until golden and loaves start pulling way from the sides of the pan*****.

A few of my comments on the above recipe:
*My whole-grain-phobic teenage son *loves* this bread - this makes me very happy.
**10 minutes feels like a really long time when you're doing this by hand, but it's worth it.
***I tend to experiment with size and shape and always make a combination of loaves and rolls with each batch.
****I bake loaves and rolls on flat cookie sheets and have never used the 10 or 12-inch round pans recommended.
*****I can tell the loaves are done when they are golden and sound hollow when you thump them.

This bread is yummy as toast, too.

Recipe for cooking the cracked wheat:
Stir 1 cup cracked wheat into 2 cups rapidly boiling water. Reduce heat. Cook 15-18 minutes, stir occasionally.

I really love the cookbook this recipe came out of, too: Savor the Flavor of Oregon.