Whole Wheat Fennel Bread Recipe
🕒 Total Time: 5 hours
🥖 Yield: 1 loaf
📝 Description: Hearty bread that pairs perfectly with soups and stews. This recipe, sourced from Bon Appetit (January 1982), yields a wholesome loaf packed with the flavors of fennel and whole wheat. The prep time includes three rises, ensuring a beautifully textured and flavorful bread.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups hot water
- 4 cups white flour
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cake yeast (or equivalent dry yeast)
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds
Instructions:
-
Prepare: Grease a large bowl and set it aside for later use.
-
Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the molasses, vegetable shortening, and salt.
-
Add Hot Water: Pour the hot water into the bowl with the molasses mixture. Use an electric mixer to beat the ingredients until well blended.
-
Incorporate Flours: Gradually add 2 cups of white flour and 4 cups of whole wheat flour to the mixture. Blend at medium speed with the mixer or stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are well combined.
-
Add Yeast and Fennel: Dissolve the cake yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Once dissolved, add it to the flour mixture along with the fennel seeds.
-
Knead Dough: Stir in enough of the remaining white flour to make a stiff dough. Transfer the dough to a floured breadboard and knead it for several minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
-
First Rise: Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the prepared greased bowl, turning it to coat both sides with grease. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a draft-free area, such as an unheated microwave, for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
-
Second Rise: Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and reshape it into a ball. Let it rise again until doubled, which should take about 1 hour.
-
Prepare Pan: Grease a 12-cup bundt pan and set it aside.
-
Shape Dough: Turn the risen dough out onto a floured breadboard and roll it into a cylinder approximately 24 inches long.
-
Place in Pan: Carefully transfer the cylinder of dough into the prepared bundt pan, pinching the ends together to seal them.
-
Final Rise: Allow the dough to rise in the pan for an additional 30 minutes.
-
Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
-
Bake: Place the loaf in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, or until it is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
-
Cool and Serve: Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Enjoy your freshly baked Whole Wheat Fennel Bread, perfect for any meal or occasion! 🍞
