Pain Au Riz (Rice Bread)

Submitted by pattikay in L.A.

"This is a lovely, slightly sweet bread from Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads. Posted for ZWT III, France. The texture the rice adds to this sets it apart from other breads."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 55mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 2 loaves

ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups milk
• 1⁄3 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
• 1 egg
• 2 cups cooked rice, cooled
• 1⁄2 cup currants

directions

1. Grease 2 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. in a medium saucepan, warm the milk, molasses, butter and salt.
3. in a separate bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 2 cups flour and stir to blend.
4. pour in the milk mixture and beat 100 strokes with a spoon, or for 2 minutes with a mixer flat beater.
5. while beating, add the egg, rice and currants.
6. Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, till the dough forms a solid mass and pulls away from teh sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes by hand or 8 minutes under the dough hook.
7. the dough will be quite sticky as you begin but will become elastic and smooth as sprinkles of flour are added.
8. Refrain from using too much flour.
9. keep the dough elastic and not a hard ball.
10. place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put aside at room temperature to double in volume, about 1 hour (or about half that if using rapid rise yeast).
11. remove the dough from teh bowl, cover with a cloth and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
12. cut the dough into 2 pieces. form rectangular loaves the length of the pans.
13. place the dough in the pans and push the dough into the corners of the pans with your fingers and level.
14. cover the loaves with wax or parchment paper and leave to rise at room temp till dough reaches 1 inch above the edge of the pans (about 45 minutes).
15. preheat oven to 400 20 minutes before baking.
16. place the loaves in the middle of the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or till loaves test done when tapped on the bottom with a finger.
17. (if using convection oven, reduce heat 50 degrees).
18. turn out from pan onto metal rack to cool.

Reviews

[Ginger Rose]

What a perfect way to use leftover rice! The bread was lovely and moist. I think it would also taste great savoury so I may make it again without the molasses and the currants. Thanks for this lovely recipe!

 

[Rita1652]

I used goji berries in place of currents. Made in the bread machine adding the liquid ingredients without melting or heating anything first. Used 2 teaspoon rapid rise bread yeast. This is very sticky but with a little flour workable. The directions state loaf pans which I did bake them in, so with that in mind it would be hard to test by tapping on the bottom. This did bake in 20 minutes. Never know that this bread had rice in it. Just enjoyed it warm with nothing on it. Thanks!

 

[Annacia]

This baked while I was having breakfast this morning (sometimes insomnia can be a good thing). I used leftover rice that was on the soft side but for this it worked very well. The baking aroma was lovely and very enticing. It was still warm when DH arrived looking for coffee. After asking if he could cut the bread (in some things he's well trained) he took a slice and was back in about 2 min's and took a BIG piece slathered with butter and vanished to the living room with a smile. The bread is not difficult to make (once you get past the sticky gooey part)and makes a tall, well formed loaf (I made one)that browns gorgeously. If you your bread goes like mine is, you might want to make extras *wink*