Baking Bonus: Whole Wheat Quinoa Bread
Hello my lovelies. Today I'm sending along a bread recipe I made this past weekend and I was reminded why this is one of my favorite baking projects. It's not too hard to make, the finished product looks super professional and for you busy bodies out there caught up in the current protein craze: the quinoa delivers on that front. This bread is a perfect match to a stew or hearty soup, and it can also be sliced and frozen for amazing toast and jam in the AM for the next week.
I imagine that it's possible to make this without a stand mixer, but it sounds like... IDK...a pain in the ass. I'm a baller, so I have the pro series kitchenaid stand mixer and as such I have the hp's to make two (2) loaves at the same time. It costs money because it saves money. Since I'm recommending things, I have never regretted owning the Willams Sonoma Goldtouch bread pans (1lb size). Lets Bake!
*NOTE: The Paprika file has two photos- one of the bread, and one showing the steps.
Recipe
Whole-wheat quinoa bread
Description:
makes 1 loaf
rising time 2½ to 3½ hours baking time 45 minutes
total time 4½ to 5½ hours, plus 3 hours cooling time
key equipment stand mixer, 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan, pastry brush, instant-read thermometer
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 ounces) water, room temperature
⅓ cup (1¾ ounces) plus 1 teaspoon prewashed white quinoa
1½ cups (8¼ ounces) bread flour
1 cup (5½ ounces) whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon flaxseeds
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ Cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water and pinch salt
Directions:
1 Microwave ¾ cup water and 1 cup quinoa in covered bowl at 50 percent power until water is almost completely absorbed, about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving. Uncover quinoa and let sit until cooled slightly and water is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes.
2 Whisk bread flour, whole-wheat flour, 2 tablespoons flaxseeds, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer.
Whisk milk, honey, oil, and remaining water in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until honey has dissolved. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add milk mixture to four mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
3 Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes.
Reduce speed to low, slowly add cooked quinoa, ¼ cup at a time, and mix until mostly incorporated, about 3 minutes.
4 Transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Using your lightly floured hands, knead dough until quinoa is evenly distributed and dough forms smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.
5 Grease 8½ by 41/2-inch loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up) and press into 8 by 6-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge.
6 Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed and place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, pressing dough gently into corners.
7 Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaf reaches 1 inch above lip of pan and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1½ hours.
8 Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine remaining 1 teaspoon quinoa and 1 teaspoon flaxseeds in bowl. Gently brush loaf with egg mixture and sprinkle with quinoa mixture. Bake until golden brown and loaf registers 205 to 210 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let loaf cool in pan for 15 minutes.
Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours, before serving.
Tips TLDR;
We're baking here, so use a scale. You dont have to get my fancy kind- any cheap one will work. But its really hard to make bread that doest look and taste like play dough using measuring cups.
The quinoa should be rinsed to get rid of the bitterness. Dont skip that step. Also, I have noticed that different quinoa absorbs different amount of water, but in any case let it sit for a full 10 minutes after microwaving to absorb moisture, and then put it back into the sieve you used to rinse it and press out any extra moisture before you add it to the dough. This will keep the dough from looking like wet cat puke.