Baked in the sun in the middle of February, this slightly sweet hearty bread is true comfort food. The directions call for using an electric mixer with dough hooks, but mixing and kneading by hand would work just as well. Adapted for solar cooking from a similar recipe on lovelylittlekitchen.com
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant or fast acting yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup oats
- 4-5 cups white whole wheat flour (or a mixture of white and whole wheat
- egg wash (optional)
Directions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix yeast and warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes for the yeast to dissolve.
- Add the honey and egg, and mix on low speed.
- Add salt, oats, and 1 cup of flour. At this point, switch to the dough hook attachment and turn the mixer to medium speed. Continue to add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing in between. Don't rely too heavily on the 4-5 cup measurement for the flour, but instead by the feel of the dough. When it is still quite sticky but just starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, and gather around the dough hook, stop adding flour.
- Allow the mixer to knead the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. The dough should still be sticky, but somewhat manageable. If you don't have a dough hook for your mixer, you can knead the dough by hand for 12-15 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, just to grease the sides, then place the dough back into the bowl. Roll the dough around to grease the top of the dough, and then cover with a clean kitchen towel.
- Place the bowl in a warm place to rise.
- Allow the dough to rise for about 45 minutes, and then punch it down and place it on a well floured surface. Let it rest for 10 minutes, and then press it into a rectangle shape. Starting at the short end, roll the dough up and place it seam side down into a greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.
- Cover the pan loosely with the clean kitchen towel, and set it in your warm place to rise again. Allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, or about 1 hour.
- At this point, you have the option of brushing the top of your loaf with an egg wash (1 egg beaten plus 1 tablespoon of water). This will add a nice sheen to the top of your loaf, but it is optional.
- Carefully place your loaf pan in the Solavore Sport, and bake for about 45-50 minutes. You may need to bake it longer depending on your oven temperature. Your bread should sound hollow when you tap on it if is done.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove it from the pan to a cooling rack.
