Walnut and Jalapeno Country-Style Bread

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Walnut and Jalapeno Country-Style Bread

 

First step:

Scant 1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Scant 1 cup unbleached wheat flour

 

Second step:

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

5 cups unbleached wheat flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans

6 fresh jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

 

First step: Proof the yeast in the water. Let stand

for a minute and then stir with a wooden spoon. Add

the flour and mix to make a smooth batter. Continue

stirring for another 5 minutes or until the dough is

elastic and smooth. Scrape the dough from the sides of

the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a moist

kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 2 to 10 hours in

a warm room, or overnight. The longer the dough rises,

the more flavor the bread will have.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at

room temperatur 2 hours before kneading it.

Second step: Add water and yeast to the bubbling dough

and mix until smooth. Add about 1 cup (2 1/2 dl) of

the flour and all of the salt. Continue mixing and

gradually add remaining flour until it becomes

difficult to mix with a wooden spoon. Turn the dough

onto a floured surface and continue kneading by hand.

The dough will be very sticky and hard to handle.

Flour your hands and knead the dough by pressing it

against the inside of your hand and pulling from the

side towards the middle while adding the rest of the

flour, a little at a time. Knead the dough for another

15 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Knead in

nuts and jalapeños. Check whether the dough is kneaded

enough by pulling it to see if it pulls back at once.

If it does, its ready.

If you have a heavy-duty electric mixer, knead the

dough for 6 to 10 minutes.

Shape the dough into a round ball and turn it around

in a bowl with some oil, to prevent the surface from

drying out while rising. cover the dough with a moist

kitchen towel and let rise until double in size, 2 to

3 hours in a warm room.

Knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes. Let the

dough rest under a kitchen towel for 30 minutes before

dividing it into two pieces. Knead dough again to get

rid of all the air and to reactivate the yeast. Shape

the dough into two round loaves of the same size.

Flour a baking sheet and carefully place the loaves on

the sheet. Cover with a moist kitchen towel and let

rise in a warm room for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place the baking sheet in

the middle of the oven and spray some water in the

oven to create some steam. Shut the oven door to keep

the steam in. Do this again after 3 minutes and then

bake the loaves for another 25 to 30 minutes or until

they have turned nicely brown on top. Check the bread

by tapping with your finger on the bottom of each

loaf. If theres a hollow sound, the bread is ready.

Let the bread cool on rack. Wait for at least 20

minutes before serving. Yields 2 loaves.