Brown Rice Bread Recipe

This is yet another example and variation of how you can add healthy ingredients to bread to make them not only more nutritious but also have a longer shelf life. Unless you are using a natural leaven (sourdough starter) homemade breads can go stale pretty quickly. But with the addition of beans and grains the bread stays moister longer and is in fact healthier...it's like a meal in itself. This is another example of a variation of one of my favorite breads, which is Ezekiel Bread. Click here and here for earlier posts with pictures and recipes. Click here for a recipe for Turmeric Chickpea bread. Key factors in this style bread are making sure that the grain is cooked sufficiently and using the cooked grain and the cooking liquid in the preferment, which then becomes the dough. Also the slower the bread rises the better. It is a misconception that bread has to rise "in a warm place."  A slowly risen bread will have more flavor, character, and will stay fresh longer. The below recipe is a basic formula, but somewhat different from how I actually made it (the method not ingredients or amounts). When I made it I allowed the preferment to rest in my refrigerator overnight, made the dough in the morning (carried the raw dough with me to work on my bike), and after a slow four-hour rise, I baked it about 18 hours after it was started. Delicious. The following recipe is simple and straightforward. Post a comment or email if you have questions. Pictures follow the recipe; click any one for a larger view.

Brown Rice Bread

Makes 5 (1 lb.) loaves

   1 cup brown rice
   3 quarts water
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      cooked rice
   2 cups cooking liquid
   2 cups whole wheat flour
   1 tablespoon instant yeast
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1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
   1 tablespoon instant yeast
4-5 cups bread flour
   1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine the rice and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil; lower the heat to simmer and cook the rice for about 45 minutes or until very soft. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to cool in the cooking liquid. Strain the rice, squeezing out excess moisture and reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Make a pre-ferment by combining the cooked rice and 2 cups of cooking liquid with 2 cups whole wheat flour and a tablespoon yeast. Allow the pre-ferment to ferment for 1-12 hours. Transfer the pre-ferment to an upright mixer that is fitted with a dough hook. Stir in the honey, olive oil, additional tablespoon of yeast, 4 cups of the bread flour, and kosher salt. Mix on low speed until it begins to form a dough. If it seems too sticky add the remaining cup of flour. Mix on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to dough to a lightly oiled bowl or bucket and allow to rise for about 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Transfer the dough top a work surface and cut it into 5 pieces, approximately 18 ounces each. Gently shape the dough into loaves, place them into lightly oiled pans and allow to rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat an oven to 425F. Bake the loaves for about 1/2 hour, or until golden brown. Turn the loaves halfway through their baking. They are done when they sound hollow when tapped upon. Remove the bread from their pans and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before slicing.