I was looking for a bread with a sourdough flavor and a shape-able dough the other day. I saw this bread, which was actually kind of clear from the ingredient list that it’d be more wheat-y than sour, but I tried it out. I didn’t get the sourdough flavor at all, but it also didn’t have the unpleasant bitterness you sometimes get with whole wheat flour. Just a generally pleasant soft wheat bread that I enjoyed, and would eat again.

I am pretty terrible at tying bows, turns out.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rye flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 3/4 teaspoons dry yeast, divided
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or another cup of bread flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• about 1/3 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
• about 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
• enough water to make a soft, but firm dough

The night before, create a sponge by stirring together the rye flour, cup of water, and 1/4 teaspoon yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight.

The next day, mix the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast, the bread and whole wheat flours, the salt, sugar, and oil into the sponge.

Knead together, adding additional water 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary. I didn’t need any to get a nice soft dough. Knead in the nuts and seeds if using.

Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, rotating to grease all over. Cover, and let rise until doubled, 1 – 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts. Shape each into a ball, and then flatten into a rounded square.

Fold four strips of tin foil into strips the width of your ribbon. I folded a straight edge on one side, and then would fold the other side up to fit into the ribbon spool to get the right size. Grease the foil, and then fold it over the dough in an X.

Grease some plastic wrap and cover the bread and let rise, about an hour. I only shaped one half of the dough, but you can see that it rose around the foil some.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, sprinkle the surface of the bread with water, and bake about 25 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Remove the foil and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cool, tie a bow! Put the middle of the ribbon on the top of the bread, then twist underneath to come up on the other sides.

I think it looks fun and festive!

Wheat Gift Bread

Recipe from BreadMan Talking, shaping technique from Bread Experience.

• 1 cup rye flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 3/4 teaspoons dry yeast, divided
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or another cup of bread flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• about 1/3 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
• about 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
• enough water to make a soft, but firm dough

The night before, create a sponge by stirring together the rye flour, cup of water, and 1/4 teaspoon yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight.

The next day, mix the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast, the bread and whole wheat flours, the salt, sugar, and oil into the sponge. Knead together, adding additional water 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary. Knead in the nuts and seeds if using. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, rotating to grease all over. Cover, and let rise until doubled, 1 – 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts. Shape each into a ball, and then flatten into a rounded square. Fold four strips of tin foil into strips the width of your ribbon. Grease the foil, and then fold it over the dough in an X. Grease some plastic wrap and cover the bread and let rise, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, sprinkle the surface of the dough with water, and bake about 25 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Remove the foil and let cool loaves completely on a wire rack before tying a bow around each loaf.