Organic Brown Bread with Kernza by River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co.
This beautiful bread from River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co incorporates locally-grown Kernza perennial grain from owner Christine "Montana" Rasmussen's friend and supplier Ben Penner's Belle Plaine Farm. Incorporating Kernza into her bakery's products furthers Montana's goal of supporting local producers. It also provides a market for this unique perennial grain that supports healthy soil and water systems thanks to its deep roots.
Equipment
- 1 Oven Safe Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 5 cups Organic whole wheat flour (652g )
- ¾ cup Kernza Flour (98g)
- 1 ¾ cups Bakersfield bread flour (250g)
- 3 ½ cups water (90-95 degrees F) (800g)
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp kosher sea salt (22g)
- ¾ tsp instant dried yeast (3g)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix Ben Penner’s organic whole wheat flour and Bakersfield bread flour by hand. Add 750g of the water and mix by hand until incorporated. Cover and let rest 20-30 minutes.
- Sprinkle yeast over top of dough and mix by hand, squeezing and pinching dough until yeast disappears. Dissolve the kosher salt in the remaining 50g of water and pour over the top of the dough. Using both hands, squeeze and pinch the dough until it absorbs the salt water and becomes a cohesive mass. Be sure to wet your hands so that the dough does not stick to you. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
- This dough needs 3 folds, each 30 minutes apart. At the end of 30 minutes, pull the side of the dough closest to you up and away from the bowl towards you. Only pull as far as it will go without ripping, and then fold over the top of itself. Do this with all four sides of the dough, then flip it upside down so all the seams are now on the bottom of the bowl. Do this twice more, 30 minutes apart each time.
- After the final fold, let dough rise for 2 hours or until it is triple its original volume. Dust your work /surface liberally with flour and tip the dough out. Using a dough knife or plastic dough scraper, cut dough into two equal pieces. Line two proofing baskets or bowls with clean cotton towels, then dust with flour. Shape each piece into a tight ball and place seam side down in its proofing basket. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for 1-1 ¼ hours.
- At least 45 minutes before baking, put a rack in the middle of the oven and put 2 Dutch ovens on the rack with their lids on. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
- Carefully remove the heated Dutch oven from the oven and place the proofed loaf inside, making sure that the seam side is up. Replace lid and put the Dutch oven into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the loaf is dark brown all over. Remove from the Dutch oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
Yield: 2 loaves
