Baking bread for fall

Flathead Valley Community College’s Culinary Institute of Montana this fall is excited to offer two courses open to the public. Both are credit-based and meet one day a week. Keys to the Kitchen taught by Chef Manda Hudak and me is great for those interested in a balanced look at the skills and techniques involved in professional-level cooking and baking.

I also teach Artisan Breads, an in-depth look at how professional breads are produced where we create large-scale batches and practice all sorts of mixing, fermenting, shaping and baking techniques.

Here’s one of my favorites from class, an adapted version of Peter Reinhart’s Struan loaf from Brother Juniper’s Bread Book. If you look carefully around the valley, you may see some of our local bakeries producing their own interpretations.

STRUAN BREAD

YIELD: 1 large or 2 small loaves

INGREDIENTS

Soaker

3 T polenta

3 T rolled oats

2 T wheat bran

¼ c water

Dough

3 c unbleached bread flour

3 T brown sugar

1 ½ t salt

1 T instant yeast

3 T cooked brown rice, room temp

1 ½ T honey

½ c buttermilk, room temp

¾ c lukewarm water

1 T poppy seeds for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Mix the soaker ingredients together. Cover and allow to soak overnight.

2 In a stand mixer, add water, brown sugar, instant yeast, honey and buttermilk. Stir together with dough hook to hydrate ingredients. Add flour and salt and mix until dough forms a ball in mixer. Add soaker and mix in until completely incorporated.

3 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to ferment until doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and degas it gently by pressing down with a flat hand. Split it for two loaves or shape it as is for one.

4 To shape, flatten the dough into a large rectangle, slightly narrower than your loaf pan (it will expand slightly as you roll). Begin at the far end with a tight coil and roll it toward you, not allowing any air gaps to form. This takes practice, so I recommend making two loaves the first time!

5 Place the loaves in greased bread pans, spritz or sprinkle water on top, and sprinkle a handful of poppy seeds on top.

6 Cover pans loosely with plastic and allow the loaves to rise until doubled in size again, approximately 90 minutes. The corners of your loaf pan should be full of dough and the middle has risen above the top of the pan.

7 Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes until the internal temperature is 190 degrees. When ready, the loaves will be quite brown on top and will make a hollow thud when tapped on the bottom. Allow to cool completely and slice. It’s my absolute favorite toast and sandwich bread.

Dan Moe is a Chef Instructor at Flathead Valley Community College’s Culinary Institute of Montana. For more information, visit fvcc.edu/culinary.