Breaking the Fast, and Breaking into Autumn with Whole Wheat Millet and Oatmeal Bread

              

Yesterday was Yom Kippur. It's not the easiest day to be a Jew, and it's especially not the easiest day to be a rabbinical student. Most of my classmates, like me, fasted while conducting services or serving in other leadership roles. I actually had a good bit less to do than many of my colleagues. The Hillel where I work only holds Kol Nidre (evening) services. On Yom Kippur morning I song led for a children's service and was then able to go to a synagogue of my choice for a few hours of adult services. Then it was back to my Hillel campus for an afternoon study session, ne'ilah (concluding) services, and break fast. The worst part of my day by far: realizing at 4:30 that we'd forgotten to purchase a few necessary items for the break fast. Y'know what's not fun? Grocery shopping on Yom Kippur. Nonetheless, it was a good day and I feel really awesome going into this new year.

Yesterday was also the Equinox and the First Day of Fall! I adore that the timing lined up like that. It's so cool to have been able to start a new season in the secular calendar at the same time as this new year begins in earnest with the end of the High Holidays.

Fall to me means many things. I love pumpkin spice lattes as much as the next person, but fall also means that it's legitimately time to bake. Summer baking always feels a little less awesome than autumn baking. Feeling a slight, crisp chill in the kitchen as I pre-heat the oven makes stuff taste better. It just does.

I grew up with parents who baked fresh bread. Not all the time-- we had plenty of store-bought-- but enough that it wasn't a rare occurrence. My folks had (and still have, I think) a falling-apart copy of the Tassajara Bread Book. They grew up in the Bay Area, not far from the monastery where Edward Espe Brown lived and baked. The original edition made huge recipes-- 4 loaves at a time-- and my parents did the same. I have strong memories of my dad punching down what seemed an impossibly large amount of dough in an impossibly large ceramic bread bowl.

The year that I graduated from college, the book, which had been difficult to find in stores for some time, was published in a new edition, and my parents bought me a copy. It was the beginning of my love for bread-baking, and even though I've ventured into many a sort of loaf since, I always find myself coming back to Tassajara. It's simple and wonderful, and everything about it feels like home.

Mr. Brown provides an excellent base recipe (cut down in the new edition from 4 loaves to 2) for yeasted whole wheat bread, but he also provides an amazing assortment of variations on that theme. I don't typically follow a straight-up recipe anymore. Instead, I riff off of it. This isn't a task to undertake on an "out of the house from dawn til dusk" day, but it's perfect for a "I need to do a few small things that take an hour or less each" day.  So, basically, this won't have you standing in the kitchen for hours, but it will have you standing in the kitchen for 5-20 minutes several times over the course of 5-6 hours.

Tassajara Yeasted Bread (with Emily's modifications)

Ingredients:

Yes, King Arthur is better. There, I said it. 

Stage 1:

• 3 cups wrist-temperature water
• 1 1/2 TBS active dry yeast
• 2 TBS honey
• 1 TBS maple syrup (you can also use 3 TBS of one or sub in some brown sugar or molasses)
• 1 cup dry milk (omit for a vegan loaf)
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups millet + 3/4 cup hot water

Stage 2:

• 4 TBS salt
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup whole wheat flour, plus an additional 1-2 cups for kneading
• 1/2 cup oats

Stage 3:

• (optional) sunflower seeds or nuts to sprinkle on top of the loaves

You'll also need a large bowl for mixing, a counter space for kneading, and 2 loaf pans. While these loaves probably could be baked free-form on a baking sheet, I've never tried it. If you do, let me know how it goes!

Procedure:

Stage 1: (approximate hands-on time: 5-10 minutes)

• Put the water into your large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top
• Mix in the sweeteners and the dry milk
• Add the flour one cup at a time, stirring briefly after each. You can use more white flour or all whole wheat. I find that using a little white flour helps the dough come together a little more without sacrificing any of the delicious whole wheat flavor.
• After all 4 cups are in, beat vigorously for about 100 strokes.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 45 minutes. The dough will likely get very very bubbly.

• Place the millet into a bowl and pour the 3/4 cup of hot water on top. Let soak until stage 2.

Stage 2: (approximate hands-on time: 10-20 minutes)

• Fold in the salt and the oil, followed by the soaked millet. Try not to add any of the water that the millet didn't soak up!
• Stir in the oats and 1 cup wheat flour. 
• Dump the dough onto the counter top and dust liberally with flour. 
• This is where the fun begins. Kneading this is not like kneading challah or pizza dough. There are no eggs to make this supple. There is very little white flour. Whole wheat flour takes work. You will dump a shaggy mess onto the countertop. It will soak up flour by the handful. It will fall apart. It will get everywhere. Yes, you will have to sweep your floor. And possibly mop. There will be millet and flour on the stovetop, under the toaster, and quite possibly in your hair. Keep kneading, feeding the dough as much flour as it needs but not any more than that. Small little finger handfuls are best. In maybe 5 minutes, the dough will begin to behave as though it's entertaining the possibility of becoming a cohesive unit. You should be able to ease up on the flour input, although you'll still need to feed it a little. Keep kneading for another 5 minutes or so. At some point, the dough will stop being sticky and become merely tacky, digging into your hands without coming along for the ride when you move your hands. The dough will begin to smooth out and take direction. 
• Oil the bowl and place the dough into it, turning it so that all the surfaces get oily. Cover the bowl with plastic-wrap (you may want to also oil the side of the plastic wrap that will be in contact with the bread) and a dishtowel, and place somewhere nice to rise. 
• In 50-60 minutes, or when it's doubled in size, uncover the bowl and punch the dough down. 



That's only one punch. What will a couple dozen do??




Ohhh it'll do that. 



Not so pretty, but it did its job!

• Re-cover the bowl and let rise for 40-50 minutes, until it's doubled again. 

Stage 3: (approximate hands-on time: 10-15 minutes)

• Cut the dough in half and shape it into loaves. To do this:


• Cut the dough in half, shape each half into a ball and let it sit for about 5 minutes



I said "try." I realize that this looks more like a mountain than a rectangle.

• Take one half of the bread and knead it for about a minute, flattening it out slightly towards an ovular/rectangular shape. If it's still quite sticky you can add a tiny bit of flour, but try not to. You don't want to dry it out. 
• Roll the dough into a log shape, placing the "seam" on the bottom. Use the back of your hands to flatten out the top and even out the ends into square-like shapes. 
  
  
  
• Place seam-side up into a well-oiled loaf pan, flatten the dough with the back of your hands again, tip out of the pan, flip so that it's seam-side down, replace in pan, and flatten the dough again. 
• Repeat for 2nd loaf. I know this sounds confusing, but don't worry too much about it. Even if you don't follow these instructions to the letter, you'll likely end up with an attractive and delicious loaf. :)
• Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise 20-25 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
• Make 3-5 half-inch deep slits in the top of each loaf to let steam escape.
• Sprinkle the loaves with sunflower seeds (you may have to press them very lightly into the loaves for them to stay)
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, until tops are golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when rapped. 
• Remove carefully from loaf pans (a butter knife slid around the edges of the pan can help to loosen the loaves) and let cool on a wire rack. You shoooould let the loaves cool for at least an hour before cutting in order to get clean slices. But you could also cut a slice or two right away and douse them with butter and it might be the most delicious thing ever. Just a thought. 

This bread is fantastic plain, makes incredible grilled cheese, works nicely for PB&J, and really I'm sure would be quite delicious in a variety of circumstances. Go bake and see! Fasting is over and autumn awaits!

What? Of course I didn't cut into the loaf as soon as I took it out of the oven. How silly would that be?