Chaosqueen's Kitchen

Ingredients

Source

Directions

1. Place the yeast and warm water in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes.

2. Whisk the whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, cornmeal, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Add the sponge starter, cool water, honey and oil to the yeast mixture. Mix the ingredients with your fingers for 1-2 minutes, just to break up the sponge. The mixture should look milky and be slightly foamy. Add the flour mixture and stir with your fingers to incorporate the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the dough over itself until it gathers into a shaggy mass.

4. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until it becomes supple and elastic. If the dough seems too stiff and hard to knead, add additional cool water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a malleable dough. Shape the dough into a loose ball and let it rest, covered with plastic wrap, on the work surface for 20 minutes. (This rest period is the autolyse.)

5. Combine the prepared walnuts and wheat berries (directions appear below) in a small bowl. Set aside.

6. Flatten the dough and stretch it gently with our fingers to form a rectangle about 1″ thick. Spread the walnuts and wheat berries evenly over the dough. Fold to enclose the whole mass and knead gently until the nuts and berries are well incorporated, about 2-3 minutes. If the dough resists, let it rest for about 5 minutes and then continue kneading. Some of the nuts and berries may pop out of the dough, but they can easily be incorporated again after the first rise when the dough is soft.

7. Shape the dough into a loose ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl along with any loose nuts and berries. Turn the dough to coat with oil and cover the bowl tightly with oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature (75 °-77 °F) for 1 hour, or until it looks slightly puffy but not doubled.

8. Refrigerate the dough overnight to intensify the walnut flavor.

9. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.

10. Gently remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured board, pressing in any loose nuts and berries. Divide it into 2 equal pieces and shape each piece into a boule. Dust a peel or the back of a baking sheet generously with coarse cornmeal. Place the loaves on the peel or sheet, seam side down, leaving several inches between them so they won’t rise into one another. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2-3 hours, or until they have doubled in size (a finger pressed lightly into the dough will leave an indentation).

11. Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 °F. Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat and place an empty water pan directly below the stone.

12. When the loaves have doubled, cut a shallow X on tope of each one with a single-edge razor blade. Shake the peel or pan slightly to ensure the loaves aren’t sticking and slide them onto the baking stone. Quickly pour 1 cup of very hot water into the water pan and immediately close the door. After 1 minute, using a plant sprayer, mist the loaves quickly 6-8 times, then shut the door. Repeat the misting procedure 1 minute later.

13. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 400 °F and bake for 15-20 additional minutes until the loaves sound hollow when “spanked” on the bottom. Transfer the loaves to racks and allow to cool before serving. This bread freezes well wrapped tightly in aluminum foil and a heavy-duty plastic freezer bag.

Toasting Walnuts:

To toast walnuts or other nuts, spread them on a cookie sheet and toast in a preheated 350 °F oven for about 8 minutes, stirring once or twice. Let cool.

Cooking Wheat Berries:

To save time, you can cook the wheat berries a day ahead. Place the berries in a saucepan with water to cover them by at least 1″, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook. until they’re plump, 30-40 minutes. Let the berries cool, then drain, saving the cooking liquid to use as part of the water called for in the recipe. Refrigerate in an airtight container if you don’t plan to use them immediately. (Whole rye berries can be cooked the same way, but you should increase the cooking time by 10 minutes). Wheat berries (and rye berries) triple in volume when they are cooked. To determine how many dry berries you need to cook, simply divide the measured amount in the recipe by 3. Or cook a bit more and sprinkle on your morning cereal or toss with a salad.

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