The Bulgar Bugle

I made my first loaf of no-knead bread today, using a variation of the recipe at http://www.breadtopia.com/bread-recipes-dry-yeast/#Rick_s_Whole_Wheat  .

The no-knead bread process is simple!  First you make the dough, then you let it rise for 18 hours.  You shape the dough into a ball, and let it rise for about 1-1/2 hours.  Meanwhile, you preheat the oven and the baking dish to 500 degrees F.  The site recommends a dutch oven, covered pyrex baking dish,  or a clay cloche, I used a ceramic crockpot insert with a pyrex lid.  After the final raising, you put the dough into the baking dish, cover it, and bake it for 30 minutes at 500 degrees.  Then you take the cover off, and bake it for 15 minutes.

Voila!  Excellent artisan whole-wheat/oatmeal bread with a great texture and an even better crust!

I followed his recipe exactly except:

+ Instead of using 1-1/2 cups of water, I used 1-1/2 cups of “Broth of Wheat”, which is water that I boil the wheat in to make bulgar.

+ Instead of using 2 tablespoons of milk, I used 2 tablespoons of Wagon Creek Creamery yogurt. I have always used either yogurt or buttermilk when making whole wheat bread.

+ I didn’t have any instant yeast so I used 1-1/2 teaspoons of Fleishman’s yeast.

+ I didn’t have any demerara sugar so I just used regular sugar, and I didn’t have any sea salt so I used pickling salt.

+ I also added 1/2 cup cooked whole bulgar to the dough (that is, wheat that has been through the bulgar process — boiled and then dehydrated, but not cracked) to the dough.  This adds a nice chewiness to the texture.  I boiled the whole bulgar for 15 minutes and let it cool before adding it to the dough.

+ And of course, I used Oklahoma wheat from the certified organic farm of John and Kris Gosney in Fairview, which I ground myself.

This may be the best loaf of whole wheat bread I have ever baked.