food blog
I've tried buying and baking wheat bread but the crust is usually very hard and so I always peel it off. One day when I was forming the loaves, I made a couple of small flat buns. They turned out great because the crust was soft and chewy and I would eat the whole thing so there's no cut side or heel to harden. This time I made the whole recipe in buns. The flatness makes for a great sandwich or burger too. The recipe is from Beth Hensperger's Baking Bread Old and New Traditions for Old-Fashioned 100 Percent Whole-Wheat Bread. I use real buttermilk instead of dried and get my flour from a local bakery that grinds their own.Whole-Wheat Buns
Yield: 10 buns
Sponge
2 cups buttermilk (at room temperature)
1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
3/8 cup mild honey
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
Dough
1/4 cup vegetable oil (not olive or peanut)
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
Sponge, above
1. To prepare the sponge: In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, yeast, honey, and the 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour until smooth. Scrape down the sides and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place for about an hour. The sponge will double in bulk and be bubbly. Gently stir it down with a wooden spoon.
2. Sprinkle the oil, salt, and 1 cup of the flour over the sponge and beat hard with a whisk for a minute or until smooth. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed that just clears the sides of the bowl. This bread may also be made in the workbowl of a heavy duty mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and springy, yet slightly sticky, about 3 minutes, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Turn the dough onto the work surface and divide it into 10 equal portions. Shape into 10 round balls, press each ball with the heel of your hand until it is very flat, approximately 1/2 inch thick. Place buns at least 2 inches apart on greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until not quite doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
5. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for about ten minutes, cover the tops loosely with foil to control browning. Bake for an additional 6-10 minutes. The tops will be very slightly browned and soft and slightly hollow when tapped. Cool on racks.
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