Yeast-Raised Boston Brown Bread, Finale

I wasn't going to make this again today...really I wasn't. But as it turns out, I got the husband's work schedule wrong (again), so it was me and the boys all day. I am coming down with a cold, it was raining, and nobody had school or playdates or anything else lined up...so we hung around all day. Around three, I got bored enough to make bread again. Partly due to the fact that we had none, and the husband had to go to work without his sandwiches. (Bad Wife. No Biscuit.)
I tinkered with a few things...quite a few things, actually. The first being the amount of rye flour--which I found you only need a very small amount of. The second, the amount of vital wheat gluten...of which I needed the whole 2 tbsp. I also wanted it sweeter, because despite the 1/4 cup of molasses, it's not actually that sweet, so I added some table sugar. I started with a higher percentage of water as well, and let the dough stay rather sticky, instead of my usual inclination to "let it clear the bottom of the bowl". This bread is special, and needs special treatment to really shine. It's a Diva bread. Finally, I kneaded it for only about 6 minutes. All these changes amounted to...a wonderfully chocolate-brown, moist, chewy-sweet loaf of delicious brown bread, that rivals the favorites I love. I had to tear myself away, which is always a good sign that I have created something worth repeating. The only thing I would change is to let it rise longer--it just sprung itself right out of the pan. Husband is still at work, so he has yet to try it, but I know he'll love it...hope you do, too. And I know there are no raisins...but it's born of the Boston breads. Call it second-generation Boston Brown Bread.

Yeast-Raised Boston Brown Bread (Sandwich Loaf)
(c) copyright 2008 earthwatersunwind@yahoo.com

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup cornmeal, finely ground
1/4 cup molasses, regular
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2-3 tbsp granulated sugar (to your taste)

Dry Ingredients:
5 oz (1 cup) whole wheat flour
7.25 oz (1 1/2 cups) bread flour
2 oz (scant 1/3 cup) rye flour, fine
2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 tbsp dry milk powder
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp cocoa powder
*2 tsp kosher salt
*1/2-2/3 cup extra bread flour


Stir cornmeal into boiling water. Let sit 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, mix all dry ingredients except salt and reserved flour in mixer bowl or large bowl.
Stir remaining wet ingredients into cornmeal mixture, stir well. Check temperature, it shouldn't be more than 125 degrees--very warm to the touch. Pour into dry ingredients, and mix well, making sure all flour is moistened. Mix with wooden spoon or dough hook for 1-2 mins.
Cover with towel and let sit for 20 minutes. This is the autolyse, a resting period, don't skip it.
When time is up, attach mixer bowl to stand, and sprinkle on salt. (Dough may appear puffy, this is fine.) Knead with dough hook on low speed, and sprinkle in a few tablespoons of reserved flour. Dough will start very sticky. Turn mixer up to medium, or knead briskly by hand, adding a bit more flour as needed for dough to come together. You want it to be very sticky--it should not clear the bottom, and should stick to the sides. If it looks too sticky, don't be alarmed, it will come together--just don't add too much flour. If doing by hand, knead about 8-10 minutes, about 6 minutes on a mixer. It should still be very tacky when you're done.
Turn onto a board and knead into a smooth ball, place in oiled container and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, 3-40 minutes. Punch dough down, turn over onto itself several times, and shape it into a ball. Cover with a towel and let rest 10 minutes.
To shape dough, roll into a rectangle as wide as your loaf pan is long. Roll up jelly-roll style, pinching seam and ends tightly closed. Place seam-side down in oiled loaf pan, cover with towel and let rise until 2-3 inches over sides of pan, 40-60 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. Have an old pan on the floor of the oven, and make sure there is no rack above the rack you intend to bake your bread on.
Place pan into oven, and carefully toss a cup of ice cubes into hot pan, and shut door quickly. Bake 20 minutes, then turn pan around, and bake 15-35 more. Bread will sound hollow when done, and will read about 195 on a thermometer. Turn onto rack to cool, brush with butter for a soft crust, and wait 30 minutes before slicing.