Sourdough Discard Brown Bread Recipe (Restaurant bread)

Soft, hearty and full of that sweet molasses flavor, this brown bread is made with whole grains and sourdough discard. This tried and true family favorite is even better than anything you can buy at the grocery store or get from a popular restaurant.

Prep Time20minutes mins

Cook Time40minutes mins

Rise Time2hours hrs 30minutes mins

Total Time3hours hrs 30minutes mins

Author: Amy Coyne

Ingredients

• 450 grams water, warmed 
• 80 grams molasses-- about 1/4 cup
• 175 grams honey-- about 1/2 cup
• 9 grams instant yeast-- about 1 Tablespoon
• 200 grams sourdough discard 
• 30 grams cocoa powder --about 5 Tablespoons
• 14 grams salt -- about 2 teaspoons
• 460 grams whole wheat flour  
• 550 grams bread flour

Instructions

• Mix: To the bowl of a stand mixer add the warm water, molasses, honey and instant yeast. Look for the yeast to give off a “yeasty” smell telling you that it is active and ready. See recipe notes for using dry active yeast.

  Add the sourdough discard, cocoa powder, salt, whole wheat flour and bread flour. I like to reserve a little of the flour (a little less than a cup) and add it in as needed. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until cohesive and strong. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl or gather all together as it kneads. It will feel tacky to the touch, but should not be overly sticky. If it is very sticky, add a little bit more flour 10-20 grams at a time until it feels tacky and workable. This dough can also be kneaded about 10-20 minutes by hand.
• Bulk Rise: Transfer the dough to a large container and cover with a plastic shower cap or kitchen towel. Let rise for about an hour or two until doubled in size. The warmer you keep the dough, the faster the dough will rise.
• Separate: Once the dough has doubled in size and is light and airy, dump the dough on the countertop and separate into two equal portions. 
• Shape: Pat one of the portions out into a rectangle. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll up the dough. Take care to press in the dough at the seam after each roll and pinch the seam closed at the end. Pinch and round the ends of the dough just a bit to get a uniform loaf. Place in a greased 8.5-by-4.5 loaf pan and cover (I use a plastic shower cap or plastic wrap). Repeat with remaining portion of dough. You can watch a shaping video here.
• Rise: Let the bread rise in the pan until the dough has risen over the edge of the loaf pan. Press in gently on the dough with a finger. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs a little more time to rise. If it leaves a little indentation and springs back just a little bit, it is ready to bake.

  Note: Keeping the dough at a warm temperature will encourage this bread to rise more quickly. Do not bake the bread until it has at least doubled in size.
• Bake: Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Bake loaves of bread for 40-45 minutes until the loaf is baked through and the internal temperature is about 200ºF. Spread melted butter on the tops of the loaves if desired. Let bread cool completely before slicing for sandwiches. Enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough Discard: I use 100% hydration sourdough discard in discard recipes. You can use fresh, bubbly sourdough starter or discard that’s been in your refrigerator for a week. The older the discard, the more sour your bread will taste.

 

Bread Flour: I use 12.5% unbleached bread flour from my local mill. If you use a flour with a lower protein content, you will need to add more flour to the recipe. If you use a bread flour with a higher protein content you’ll want to use a little less flour.

 

Dry Active Yeast: This recipe calls for instant yeast which doesn’t need to be activated. If you choose to use dry active yeast instead, you will need to activate it before adding it to the recipe. Use the same amount of yeast and activate it in some of the warm water with a little bit of the honey called for in the recipe. Once active, add to the recipe.

Elise's Sourdough Recipe

Elise’s Sourdough Recipe

 

150 grams starter 

14 g salt 

300 water 

450 g flour 

 

Do 3 pull and stretches over like 20/30 minutes (I find doing this 3-4 times, half an hour apart, makes a fuller, holier bread) and raise for 8 hours on the counter.

Then shape and put in the Dutch oven On a pice of parchment paper (or proofing basket) for 3- 4 more hours on the counter 

OR 

put in fridge till ready (usually overnight) then remove and raise for 4 hours.

Rub flour across the top of the dough and Score right before backing.

Preheated oven at 420* then bake for 40 mins. Remove lid for tenish till brown. I sometimes put the bread and parchment paper directly on the oven rack for this part.

 

Options

Add a handful of pumpkin and sesame seeds!

9 Grain Bread

Makes two 9 by 5-inch loaves OR one nice size loaf in the Dutch Oven.

Don't confuse 7-grain hot cereal mix with boxed, cold breakfast cereals that may also be labeled "7-grain." 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups 7-grain hot cereal mix 

• 2 1/2 cups boiling water 

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

• 4 tablespoons honey 

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly

• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 

• 1 tablespoon table salt 

• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, (unsalted)

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

Instructions

1. Place cereal mix in bowl of standing mixer and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk flours in medium bowl.

2. Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, melted butter, and yeast and stir to combine. Attach bowl to standing mixer fitted with dough hook. With mixer running on low speed, add flours, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough forms ball, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes; cover bowl with plastic and let dough rest 20 minutes. 

3. Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3 to 4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2 to 3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and continue mixing); continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Add seeds and knead for another 15 seconds. 

4. Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, taut ball.** Place dough into greased container with 4-quart capacity; cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

5. (## Dutch oven option) Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and pat into 12 by 9-inch rectangle; cut dough in half crosswise with knife or bench scraper. Shape loaves and coat with oats; cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. (Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.) 

4. Bake until internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and cool on wire rack before slicing, about 3 hours.

**HINTS: Technique For Getting the Loaf into Shape

1. With short side facing you, starting at farthest end, roll dough piece into log. Keep roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go.

2. To seal loaf, pinch seam gently with thumb and forefinger. Spray loaves lightly with water or nonstick cooking spray. 

3. Roll each dough log in oats to coat evenly. Place loaf seam-side down in greased loaf pan, pressing gently into corners.

##DUTCH OVEN OPTION: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees after bread has doubled. Place a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot in the oven as it heats. Spray pan with Pam OR use parchment paper, then gently place the dough over into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

2. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 10-15 more minutes, until the crust is a deep chestnut brown. The internal temperature of the bread should be around 200 degrees.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

A King Arthur Recipe          

2 large eggs

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional

1/3 cup Dark cocoa (Or light)

1 cup Whole Wheat 

2/3 cup All-purpose flour

2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F; lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, oil, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, cocoa, and flour, mixing until well combined.

Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the bread for 65 to 75 minutes, until the loaf tests done (a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean, save for perhaps a light smear of chocolate from the melted chips).

Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack.

Cool completely before slicing; store well-wrapped, at room temperature.

Yield: one 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf.

Whole Wheat Zucchini-Nut Bread

Baker's Hotline

2 large eggs

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated OR brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup White Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini (1 small to medium)

3/4 cup raisins (golden are nice)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

 Preheat the oven to 350°F; lightly grease a standard 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan, or line it with parchment. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, oil, molasses, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

 In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Stir in the zucchini, raisins and walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the loaf tests done (a wooden tester inserted in the center will come out clean). Remove the bread from the oven, and place on a rack to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan and returning to the rack to cool completely.

PAIN AUX NOIX

 A King Arthur recipe

Makes two 6" round loaves

Nut bread is the simple translation of pain aux noix, one of France's delightful whole-grain loaves. This golden, tender bread is fairly simple to make, but the texture and flavor are complex: oven heat brings out the walnuts' flavor, as well as the deep, rich taste of whole wheat. Serve this bread, thinly sliced, with a nice goat cheese, Roquefort, or a Brie.

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 cups  White Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cups  All-Purpose Flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/3 cups warm milk

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted until golden brown**

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients except the nuts, and knead — by hand, mixer, food processor or bread machine — until smooth.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise, covered, for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and gently but thoroughly knead in the walnuts. This will seem like messy work at first (the nuts will keep falling out onto the work surface), but persevere — eventually they'll stay where they belong.

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a ball. Place the balls on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and let them rise, covered, for 45 minutes, until they're quite puffy, though not necessarily doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Uncover the loaves, and bake them for about 25 to 27 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove the loaves from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

Cool the loaves before slicing. Store, well-wrapped, at room temperature for three days, or freeze for up to three months.

**How do you toast walnuts? You can stir them in a dry saucepan (no oil) set over medium heat until they're golden; or toast them in a preheated 350°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes, again until golden.

Whole-Grain Banana Bread

A King Arthur recipe

2 cups thoroughly mashed banana; about 4 or 5 medium bananas

2/3 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cup White Whole Wheat Flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted if desired; optional *Leave the nuts out, if desired; or substitute up to 1 cup chopped dried fruit, chocolate or butterscotch chips, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or other mix-ins of your choice.

Topping

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan*** if your pan is glass or stoneware, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Measure flour by gently spooning them into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts into the banana mixture. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the batter.

Bake the bread for about 60 to 75 minutes, until the bread feels set on the top, and a paring knife (or other thin knife) inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs (but no wet batter). If you have a digital thermometer, the bread's temperature at the center should register about 205°F. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 15 to 20 minutes of baking. Note: If baking in a glass or stoneware pan, increase the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 15 minutes, then loosen the edges, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Store leftover bread, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.

***This recipe will make 15 standard-size muffins. Bake muffins in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a thin paring knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Bean Bread

2 cups lukewarm milk (Or powdered milk)

1 1/2 tbls yeast

2 cups beans, mashed

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons shortening, melted1 cup bread flour
5ish  cups WW flour

DIRECTIONS

Combine the milk, beans, sugar, salt, shortening, and bread flour. Mix.

Stir in 5-6 cups flour, to make a kneadable dough.

Knead 5-10 minutes, until satiny.

Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease dough.

Cover loosely with a clean damp cloth and let rise till double.

Punch down; let rise again.

Punch down; shape into 2 loaves.

Place in greased loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until thumps hollow on bottom.

Velvety White Bean Bread with Rosemary

Velvety White Bean Bread with Rosemary

White Bean Bread with Rosemary is velvety smooth, has a nice golden brown crust and a wonderfully fine, most crumb.

Serves: Two 8x4-inch Loaves

Ingredients

1 tsp instant dry yeast

1 – 1 ½ cups lukewarm water, divided

2 cups drained, cooked or canned white beans, room temp (unsalted)

1 cup bread flour 

1 tbsp olive oil

4 salt 

2-3 tbsp chopped rosemary (optional)

2 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Process beans in a blender or food processor until smooth (using ½ cup of the water), then transfer to a large bowl or stand mixer. Stir yeast mixture into beans. Add the bread flour and stir for one minute, in one direction, to develop the dough. Add the oil, salt, and rosemary, if using and stir them in. Add 1 cup of the WW flour and stir in. Add the remaining WW flour and knead in with a dough hook, or work in and knead by hand for about 5 minutes, until smooth.

Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 2 hours, until almost doubled in volume. (There should be about 2.6 pounds of dough.) Fold the dough after 45 minutes and again after 1 ½ hours. Let it rest on the counter for the final 30 minutes.

Cover the bowl tightly and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead it slightly to degas it. {Alternately, proceed to the next step if you prefer to bake the loaves the same day.}

Shape dough into a round ball and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes. Divide in half. Grease two 8x4" pans. Form each portion of dough into a loaf and place seam side down in the pans.

If you are proofing cold dough, let it proof for 2 ½ hours. If however, you are proofing dough that hasn’t been cold fermented, reduce the proofing time to about an hour. Watch the dough for proper rise. Check at 1 hour and continue to proof if needed.

Preheat oven to 400ºF, have a spray bottle or small cup of water ready for steam. Slash each loaf lengthwise, place in oven and bake for 5 minutes, adding steam every couple minutes with the sprayer or cup. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF and bake for 25 minutes until rich brown with a matte finish. Turn the loaves out and check for doneness. Finish cooling on a wire rack before slicing

Seeded bread

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups lukewarm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons honey, molasses, or maple syrup

4 cups White Whole Wheat flour

1 tablespoon gluten

1/4 cup sunflower seeds, chopped*

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped*

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Instructions

Combine all of the ingredients, and mix them until you have a shaggy dough. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes, then knead until fairly smooth.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for about 2 hours, or until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough, shape it into a log, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" bread pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap (or a clear shower cap), and allow it to rise for about 2 hours, until it's crowned about 1" to 2" over the rim of the pan.

Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes. Tent it with foil during the last 20 minutes of baking.

Bread will keep on the counter for 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months