This makes a great bread for thick-cut toast with jam in the mornings, or try it open face with cream cheese and sliced cucumbers! Or, knead in some herbs for a delicious herbed or garlic bread – yum…

1-1/2 cups warm water (around 105-115 degrees – NOT above 120 degrees!)
1-3/4 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
4 cups unbleached white flour*
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/4 cup honey (warmed for easy pouring)

+/- 1/2 cup flour
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

In a large mixing bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and add the flax seed. Let this sit for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. Make sure the water is not too hot, or it will kill the yeast.

While the yeast is activating, prepare your rising bucket or bowl by pouring some olive oil in it & spreading it around the sides & bottom.

When the yeast is beginning to get foamy, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine, and pour the dough out onto a lightly floured counter to knead. Knead until the flour on the counter is incorporated into the dough and the surface of the dough is slightly tacky.

Place the dough in the oiled rising bucket and place in a warm, draft-free area. Let it rise around 1.5 – 2 hours or until double it’s size. Do nit let it over rise.

Punch down the dough** & shape it into a loaf. Place it in a loaf pan that has been lightly buttered & slit the top a few times. Allow it to rise once again for 15-40 minutes – until double in size again. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while the dough is rising.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. It should be browned & sound hollow when tapped on the bottom of the loaf. Cover it with a towel and let it rest on a cooling rack for at least an hour to finish baking internally.

*The loaf pictured was made with 3 cups unbleached white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour.

**If you want an herbed bread, knead the extra ingredients in at this time. Some ideas are minced garlic, oregano, basil, savory, thyme, rosemary, etc. This is also a good time to add in some grains, if desired. Sunflower seeds, millet, amaranth, quinoa, and oats are all good add-in’s.

Tags: country bread, garlic bread, sandwich bread

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Breads, breakfast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.