Pilgrim Bread

Lise in Indiana's Note:

This is the recipe my husband's grandmother made religiously every Monday. It has a great rustic texture and slight sweetness that makes wonderful toast - especially when slathered with peanut butter. I'm putting it here for safe keeping - I've lost the recipe once; never again!

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 24

Yield: 2.0 loaves

• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 F)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rye flour
• 4 -4 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour

Directions:

1. Thoroughly combine cornmeal, brown sugar, and salt.
2. Stir gradually into boiling water.
3. Stir in oil. Cool to lukewarm.
4. Soften yeast in warm water. Stir into cornmeal mixture.
5. Add whole wheat and rye flour; mix well. Stir in enough white flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6-8 minutes.
7. Shape dough into a ball; place in bowl, cover, put in a warm place and let rise until double, about 1 hour.
8. Punch down. Knead a little more; shape dough into 2 loaves.
9. Put into greased bread pans; cover and let rise until almost double, about 45 minutes.
10. Bake the loaves at 375º F until done, about 35 minutes.
11. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks, covered.
12. Butter loaves as you remove them from the oven for softer crust.
13. note: bread flour or unbleached flour can be substituted for the a.p. white flour.

Reviews

[Podkayne]

Excellent multigrain bread, hearty and a bit sweet. Like Dj's Eagles, I increased the proportion of whole wheat and rye flour, and it still came out great. I made one 9x5-inch loaf and a dozen rolls (clover-shaped, in a muffin tin.) The rolls were done in about 20 minutes, and I brushed the tops with melted butter 5 minutes before they were done to encourage browning.

[Scrivener1]

I made this with my bread machine. I followed the directions, except, I put the cornmeal/yeast mixture in my bread machine first. Then, I put my flours in. I also used 1 c. whole wheat flour. I set the bread machine on the dough cycle for a 2 lb. loaf. Once the machine stopped after mixing and kneading, I put the dough in the bowl and covered it. Then, I just followed the rest of the directions. It makes a perfectly textured loaf of bread. This is really a wheat bread recipe. The rye flour does not stand out but probably adds to the rustic texture.

[superlib]

I followed the recipe exactly, and this bread turned out absolutely amazing. Very flavorful, sweet, and a nice soft crumb with a firm crust. Fabulous!