The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book Part 7

Stir the cornmeal into the boiling water and set aside, covered.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix the flours, seeds, and salt in a bowl.

Mix the yogurt, vinegar, oil, and honey into the corn mixture, stirring until smooth.

Stir the cornmeal mixture into the flours, then stir in the yeast. Use your hands to work the ingredients together into dough, adding more water if required. The dough should be quite stiff. Knead for about 5 minutes, dipping your hand every 10 strokes or so into the extra cup of water so that you gradually work it into the dough. The dough will become quite soft: stop kneading when it gets dramatically sticky. This should take about 15 minutes, but whatever the timing, once the dough gets sticky, stop kneading.

Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the bowl. Cover and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently poke the center of the dough about inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn't fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round it and let it rest until relaxed, then form into round or oblong hearth loaves or into 8x4 pan loaves. Dust the baking utensil with cornmeal after greasing it, and place the shaped loaves on or in it. Let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough slowly returns a gently made fingerprint. Place in a preheated 400F oven. After 10 minutes turn the heat to 350F and continue to bake about 50 minutes more. This bread has a wonderful rise and a warm deep-red crust with bright golden "break" on the sides-extraordinarily pretty.

Peasant's Hearty Rye - 2 teaspoons active dry yeast ( oz or 7 g) - 1 cups warm water (355 ml) - 4 cups whole rye flour (coa.r.s.e, freshly homeground) (520 g) - 3 cups whole wheat bread flour (450 g) - 2 teaspoons salt (14 g) - 1 teaspoon caraway seeds - 1 tablespoon mola.s.ses (15 ml) - 2 tablespoons cider vinegar (30 ml) - 1 to 1 cups more water (350 or more ml) This bread rises surprisingly well, though its crumb is dark and tender. The flavor is richly rye, full and wholesome. A very big hit with old-fas.h.i.+oned rye fans, who compare it to what they used to get in the old days in New York or Los Angeles (depending). An especially good sandwich bread because it is not at all sweet. Good toast, and a very good keeper.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir the dry ingredients together.

Mix the mola.s.ses and vinegar. Gradually work the yeast mixture, then the mola.s.ses-vinegar mixture into the dry ingredients, using more water as necessary to make the dough come together. It will be very stiff. Knead it, working in as much of the 1 cups of water as the dough requires to become soft and supple (10 to 20 minutes of kneading time.) Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the bowl. Cover and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently poke the center of the dough about inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn't fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round it and let it rest until relaxed, then deflate and shape into loaves. Let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough slowly returns a gently made fingerprint. Bake in a preheated 450F oven for ten minutes, then lower the heat to 325F and continue baking until done, about an hour in all.

Apply the cornstarch glaze to the baked loaves, returning them to the oven for two minutes.

Petaluma Rye - 2 teaspoons active dry yeast ( oz or 7 g) - cup warm water (120 ml) - 5 cups whole wheat bread flour, preferably finely ground (750 g) - 1 cup rye flour (130 g) - 1 tablespoon caraway seed (or use less, or omit) - 2 teaspoons salt (14 g) - cup water, very hot (175 ml) - 2 tablespoons honey (30 ml) - 1 cup b.u.t.termilk (300 ml) - 2 tablespoons oil (30 ml) - 2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 ml) Light and airy, with an enthusiastically full rye taste in spite of the relatively small measure of rye in the dough. A fine balance of flavors that makes good sandwiches or toothsome toast.

Since there is only cup rye flour per loaf in this recipe, there is no need to use the special rye mixing method.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a bowl, making a well in the center.

Mix the hot water and the honey, and add the b.u.t.termilk, oil, and lemon juice. To protect the yeast from these acidic ingredients, pour them into the well in the flour, stirring to pancake-batter consistency before you add the yeast. Fold in the remaining flour and check the dough for wetness, adding more flour or water if necessary.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and almost silky though gently slubbed, of course, with caraway. The dough will be ragged and unpromising for nearly 20 minutes, but will become really smooth at last. Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in its bowl.

Cover and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently poke the center of the dough about inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn't fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round it and let it rest until relaxed, then deflate and shape into loaves. Let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough slowly returns a gently made fingerprint. Bake about 45 minutes at 350F.

Orange Rye - 1 tablespoon dried rose-hip pieces (7 g) - 1 cup water (235 ml) - 2 teaspoons active dry yeast ( oz or 7 g) - cup warm water (60 ml) - 3 tablespoons honey (45 ml) - 1 cup cold b.u.t.termilk (235 ml) - 4 cups whole wheat bread flour (675 g), finely ground - 2 cups whole rye flour (255 g) - 2 teaspoons salt (11 g) - grated peel of 2 oranges - 1 tablespoon anise seed - cup tepid water, or as required - 2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter (28 g) Marvelously perfumey, delicately flavored, feather-light.

Simmer the rose hips in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes, until the liquid is a light reddish-brown; strain, reserving the tea.

Dissolve the yeast in cup warm water.

Dissolve the honey in the rose-hip tea, and add the b.u.t.termilk. Combine the flours, salt, peel and seeds. Stir in the yeast mixture and b.u.t.termilk mixture. The dough should be somewhat stiff, but not too stiff-add more water if necessary. Knead in the remaining cup of water, adding it generously the first 10 minutes. Knead the b.u.t.ter into the dough now, and add more water cautiously thereafter until the dough softens. Stop if the dough becomes sticky.

Place in a covered bowl to rise at warm room temperature, until the dough feels spongy and a -inch finger-poke fills in slowly, about 1 hours. Deflate and let rise once again about 45 to 60 minutes. Divide in half and round. Let the dough relax.

Shape into regular loaves, or rounds to bake in pie tins, or make rolls-all these work beautifully with this bread. Place in greased pans and keep in a warm place for the final rise, 85 to 90F. Let the dough rise until spongy to the touch, when a fingerprint fills in slowly, even if it takes an hour to get there-this one should be light. light. Bake at 350F about 45 minutes. When done, brush the crust with melted b.u.t.ter. Bake at 350F about 45 minutes. When done, brush the crust with melted b.u.t.ter.

Raisin Rye - 1 cup raisins (145 g) - 1 cup water (235 ml) - 2 teaspoons active dry yeast ( oz or 7 g) - cup warm water (120 ml) - 3 cups whole rye flour (385 g) - 4 cups whole wheat flour (600 g) - 1 teaspoon salt (16.5 g) - teaspoon caraway seeds - 3 tablespoons mola.s.ses (45 ml) - 2 tablespoons cider vinegar (30 ml) - 2 tablespoons oil (30 ml) - raisin water plus additional water if needed - water as required for kneading, about cup (120 ml) One of our most popular and toothsome ryes, this is a mildly sweet, all-occasion bread that makes outstanding rolls as well.

Cook the raisins for 5 minutes in 1 cup water. Drain, reserving the liquid to use as a part of the water measure.

Dissolve the yeast in the cup warm water.

Stir the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine the mola.s.ses, cider vinegar, oil, and raisin water in a 2-cup measure and add enough cold water to total 2 cups. Mix the yeast and the other liquids into the flour to make a somewhat stiff dough.

Knead well, using water on the table and on your hands to soften the dough. After about 10 minutes, before the dough becomes sticky, flatten it out on the board, spread the raisins on it, fold it up, and knead the raisins in. Stop kneading when the dough shows signs of becoming sticky.

Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the bowl. Cover and keep at warm room temperature in a draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently poke the center of the dough about inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn't fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round it and let it rest until relaxed, then deflate and shape into loaves. Let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough slowly returns a gently made fingerprint. Bake about an hour at 350F. Cornstarch glaze makes this bread as pretty as it is tasty.

Ukrainian Black Bread - 1 teaspoon active dry yeast ( oz or 3.5 g) - cup warm water (60 ml) - 1 cup strong coffee (235 ml) - 1 teaspoon blackstrap mola.s.ses (5 ml) (optional) - 3 cups whole rye flour (385 g) - cup whole buckwheat flour (42 g) - 1 teaspoon salt (7 g) This is not like store-bought Russian rye but dense and intense. The bread is indescribably tasty. This amount makes one long skinny loaf, or 2 shorter ones. Slice cracker-thin.

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. If you are making fresh coffee for the purpose, make it double strength using boiling water; allow to cool until warm. Stir in the mola.s.ses.

Combine the dry ingredients. Add the yeast solution and cup of the sweetened coffee. If required, add the rest of the coffee to bring the dough together. Knead until soft and smooth, using a little water on your hands and the board, but not so much as to let the dough get very sticky. Knead 5 to 10 minutes.

Cover and let rest for 2 hours at room temperature. Using a generous amount of water on your hands, knead briefly and shape into a round ball. Let it rest for 30 minutes more, covered with a damp cloth. Rolling the dough back and forth under your palms, shape it into a long, skinny loaf or two, about 2 inches in diameter. Again, use plenty of water so the surface of the dough doesn't crack.

Grease either a cookie sheet or a French baton pan and place the shaped dough on it. Proof in a warm and humid place, around 85F, until the dough is soft-approximately 45 minutes. Don't expect it to rise very much: it won't. Bake in a hot and steamy oven (see this page this page) for 20 minutes, then without steam at 375F for another half-hour or so. Check while baking to make sure the loaf is browning evenly on the top and bottom, repositioning the bread in the oven if necessary.

Vollkornbrot We were determined to find out how to make cla.s.sic dark Pumpernickel for this book, but after three years of fruitlessly scouring American and German books on bread, writing to German friends of friends, and so on, we had really given up on it-until our own neighbor magically turned up with an authentic loaf and this recipe, which he now happily makes every week. For a description, I don't think I can improve on the note he included with that first gift loaf: Laurel,I am willing to bet my soul and its overcoat that you never before held a loaf of bread of this size that weighed more than three pounds. If you were to drop it on your floor, it would break a tile. I am very pleased with this result. It is nice and chewy and it has a crust worthy of being called a crust....You will note that it takes six days from the initial preparation of the Starter to the climactic consumption of the first thin slice. A fellow could starve in the meanwhile if it weren't for an occasional loaf of Holsum from Diekmann's....

This recipe makes three regular-size loaves. The bread bakes nicely in covered ca.s.serole dishes or clay pots that mimic the old-fas.h.i.+oned brick oven, but it does even better in three normal-sized loaf pans, each one wrapped in aluminum foil for the first three hours of baking. The loaf is about 3 inches high, and should be sliced, according to tradition, about inch thick.

STARTER.

- STEP ONE - 1 teaspoons active dry yeast (5 g) - 3 tablespoons warm water (45 ml) - cup fine whole wheat flour, about (3040 g) - STEP TWO - cup fine whole wheat flour, about (7080 g) - cup water (60 ml) - 1 teaspoons active dry yeast (5 g) - 6 cups water (1 l) - 2 tablespoons Starter (30 ml) - 6 cups rye flour (800 g), finely ground - 1 pound wheat berries (whole grains) (450 g) - 1 tablespoons salt (25 g) - 2 generous tablespoons each, ground caraway seeds and ground coriander - 6 cups rye flour (850 g) Step one: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add enough flour to make a soft dough. Keep in a loosely covered gla.s.s or clay container at about 85F, 15 to 24 hours. Do not let the dough dry out. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add enough flour to make a soft dough. Keep in a loosely covered gla.s.s or clay container at about 85F, 15 to 24 hours. Do not let the dough dry out.

Step two: Mix the additional flour and warm water into the first starter, making a firmer dough this time. Cover and let ferment until it has doubled or tripled and looks spongy. This takes about 5 hours at 85F or about 24 hours at 70F. Mix the additional flour and warm water into the first starter, making a firmer dough this time. Cover and let ferment until it has doubled or tripled and looks spongy. This takes about 5 hours at 85F or about 24 hours at 70F.

You now have a starter that can be stored in the refrigerator for several months; keep in a tightly covered jar that is not more than three-fourths full.

PRELIMINARY DOUGH.

Prepare the evening before baking day.

Dissolve the yeast in a cup or so of the water at 110F. Stir in the starter, then alternately another 2 cups warm water and the rye flour. Let the mixture stand 12 to 14 hours at room temperature.

Rinse the wheat berries in warm water. Bring 2 cup water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the wheat berries, and let them sit overnight. By morning the berries should have burst open; if they don't, bring them to a boil again and cook until they burst. Let them cool to warm-room temperature.

MAIN DOUGH.

Stir the salt into the wheat mixture.

Mix the ground seeds into the rye flour. Pour half of this mixture into the preliminary dough and stir in the wheat berries. Work in the remaining flour, adding more water if necessary. Cover with a platter or plastic sheet and let the dough rise for about three hours in a warm place, until it is soft and quite spongy.

NOTE: If you grind your own rye flour, the seeds can be ground along with the rye berries-or grind them in the blender if you can't find them already ground. Coriander is hard to grind fine: a light toasting beforehand helps a lot. If you grind your own rye flour, the seeds can be ground along with the rye berries-or grind them in the blender if you can't find them already ground. Coriander is hard to grind fine: a light toasting beforehand helps a lot.

When the dough is ready to shape, grease the ca.s.serole or whatever pans you are going to use. Dust them with sifted bran or sesame seeds.

Press the dough into the pans, smoothing the surface with a wet spoon. Cover the pans and let the bread rise for 1 to 2 hours until small rifts appear in the top. Place covered breads on the lowest shelf of a cold oven and bake 1 hour at 425F, then 2 hours at 215F. Remove the covers or foil and bake another hour (longer in clay!), again at 425F.

If you bake in three normal pans covered with aluminum foil and your oven is reliable, you can follow our baking timings with confidence. But if you use a covered ca.s.serole, especially a clay one that is soaked in water before baking, or one with wider dimensions, more baking time will be required. If you have a scale and want to be really sure when the bread is done, you can weigh the loaves both before and after baking. The bread will lose 12 percent of its weight in baking, so, for example, if your loaf weighs 3 pounds 4 ounces before baking, it will be done when it weighs 2 pounds 14 ounces.

Let the baked loaves cool on cake racks for half an hour to an hour; turn them out of the forms, and let them rest two days in a cool, airy place before slicing. Slice very, very thin.

Making Sourdough Ryes Manuel's Rye Sour With its genius for fermentation, rye makes a super sourdough starter, much better both for rye and for wheat sourdough breads than any wheat starter we have come across (except, of course, desem, if you can count that as sour sour). This sort of starter is added for flavor and for its conditioning effect rather than to leaven the dough-yeast does that-so the sour is easy to store and maintain. No doubt it pa.s.ses through stages when it has plenty of leavening power, but none of our recipes depends on that.

This recipe came to us from master whole-foods baker Manuel Freedman, and following his instructions we made good starters over and over. Still, we couldn't quite believe that the tiny amounts of milk and yeast were necessary until we tried making starters a few times without them: mysteriously enough, they really do make a difference.

TO MAKE THE SOUR.

- 1 cup rye berries, freshly ground - OR - 1 cups whole rye flour (175 g) - 1 cups water (375 ml) - teaspoon milk - 1 grain (one granule) yeast Mix together the flour, water, milk, and seed grain of yeast until smooth-the mixture should be the consistency of pancake batter. Keep at warm room temperature, anywhere from 65F to 80F, in a nonmetal container that is covered to keep out intruders. Let stand for 3 to 5 days, stirring twice a day, until pungently fragrant. If the odor becomes unpleasantly sour, you have let it get too warm and should begin again.

TO STORE THE SOUR.

Store undisturbed in the refrigerator in an airtight nonmetal container. It will keep much longer than anyone would think-we have used ours after as much as two months of total neglect, and found it sleepy but alive. A black, watery liquid will usually collect on the top. Don't panic, it is merely oxidation, like potatoes turning dark after they are cut. Just stir the black stuff back into the brew.

If your sour has been dormant in the refrigerator and you are in doubt as to whether to use it, bring it to room temperature and double its volume with flour and water. Allow it to sit out at room temperature, stirring twice daily, until it bubbles up. Stir, and take a whiff-if the fragrance pleases you, it will certainly be good in the bread.

TO USE THE SOUR.

When you want to use the sour in dough, let it come to room temperature and give it a chance to bubble up, if it will-allow the better part of a day. Replace what you remove with fresh flour and water before refrigerating the sour again. For example, if you take out cup, mix in cup flour and cup water, maintaining the pancake-batter consistency.

Roberta's Sourdough Rye - cup Manuel's Rye Sour - cup warm water (175 ml) - 2 cups rye flour (255 g) - onion, separated into pieces - 4 teaspoons active dry yeast ( oz or 14 g) - cup warm water (160 ml) - starter mixture from above - 3 cups whole wheat flour (525 g) - 2 teaspoons salt (14 g) - 1 tablespoon caraway seeds - cup warm water (80 ml), about Splendid sourdough rye, bright, tangy, with no off-flavor; the bread is amazingly light.

The night before baking day mix starter, water, and flour, and spread the onion over the top of the mixture, pus.h.i.+ng it down lightly into the dough. Cover tightly and leave 12 to 15 hours or more at room temperature. mix starter, water, and flour, and spread the onion over the top of the mixture, pus.h.i.+ng it down lightly into the dough. Cover tightly and leave 12 to 15 hours or more at room temperature.

In the morning dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Remove the onions from the starter mixture. dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Remove the onions from the starter mixture.

Stir the flour, salt, and seeds together and then mix in the yeast and starter mixtures, squeezing with your fingers until the dough comes together. Knead about 15 minutes; wet your hands with the remaining cup of water from time to time until it is all used up and the dough becomes soft and begins to feel sticky. Ideally, these things should happen at about the same time, in 15 to 20 minutes, but they may not. Add the water very slowly; stop kneading when the dough is soft or begins to be unpleasantly sticky.

Put dough in clean bowl, cover, and let rise once, at about 80F, for approximately 1 hours. Divide into two or three small pieces, round, and let rest for 15 minutes or so, covered. Shape into hearth-style loaves and place on a greased baking sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal. Let rise again in a warm place until the dough slowly returns a gently made fingerprint.

Slash the loaves in a tic-tac-toe pattern and place them in a preheated oven (450F). Bake with steam for 10 minutes (see this page this page); reduce the heat and finish baking without steam at 325F for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done.

German Sourdough Rye - BASIC SOUR - cup Manuel's Rye Sour (90 ml) - OR - pound of Flemish Desem starter (115 g) - 1 cup whole rye flour (130 g) - cup tepid water (60 ml), approximately - FULL SOUR - basic sour from above - 1 cup tepid water - 2 cups whole rye flour (255 g) - DOUGH - 4 teaspoons active dry yeast ( oz or 14 g) - 1 cup warm water (350 ml) - full sour from above - 3 cups whole rye flour (385 g) - 3 cups whole wheat flour (450 g) - 3 teaspoons salt (21 g) - teaspoon caraway seed A cla.s.sic, old-fas.h.i.+oned bakery rye: mild in flavor, substantial, satisfying. Beginning with a very small sour starter, the baker builds the dough for this bread in three stages. Since the timing is unusual, it may fit into a schedule that ordinary breads do not: the basic sour basic sour ferments overnight, then is mixed into a larger sponge, the ferments overnight, then is mixed into a larger sponge, the full sour. full sour. After around four more hours of fermentation, the dough is mixed and shaped, and goes into the oven within an hour. The final loaves are large hefty rounds with thick, burnished crusts. After around four more hours of fermentation, the dough is mixed and shaped, and goes into the oven within an hour. The final loaves are large hefty rounds with thick, burnished crusts.

BASIC SOUR Combine the starter with the rye flour and add enough water to make a stiff dough. Keep at room temperature overnight, about 12 hours at 70F. Combine the starter with the rye flour and add enough water to make a stiff dough. Keep at room temperature overnight, about 12 hours at 70F.

FULL SOUR To make the full sour, soften the basic sour in 1 cup water. Combine with the flour and add just enough water to get the mixture to come together in a very stiff, claylike dough. Knead it, working in another 2 to 4 tablespoons water to soften the dough, but not so much that it gets sticky. Let it stand covered in the bowl at room temperature, around 4 hours. To make the full sour, soften the basic sour in 1 cup water. Combine with the flour and add just enough water to get the mixture to come together in a very stiff, claylike dough. Knead it, working in another 2 to 4 tablespoons water to soften the dough, but not so much that it gets sticky. Let it stand covered in the bowl at room temperature, around 4 hours.

DOUGH Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and combine with the remaining ingredients, including the full sour, to make a stiff dough. Knead in another 1 cups of warm water, or whatever is necessary to make the dough soft but not sticky. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then divide it in two and shape it into round loaves, using water liberally on the dough surface so it won't tear. Let rise in greased round 2 -quart bowls, preferably gla.s.s ca.s.seroles with lids. Keep in a warm place, 85 to 90F, until the dough becomes soft. This usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, never more than an hour. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and combine with the remaining ingredients, including the full sour, to make a stiff dough. Knead in another 1 cups of warm water, or whatever is necessary to make the dough soft but not sticky. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then divide it in two and shape it into round loaves, using water liberally on the dough surface so it won't tear. Let rise in greased round 2 -quart bowls, preferably gla.s.s ca.s.seroles with lids. Keep in a warm place, 85 to 90F, until the dough becomes soft. This usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, never more than an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450F, allowing it plenty of time to reach temperature. Pour cup warm water over each loaf, cover, and bake in the hot oven. After 20 minutes reduce the temperature to 400F and bake for another hour until done. These loaves are large so they take a long, hot bake.

Using the Bean

Homemade, fragrant, hot from the oven-bread offers a natural way to help smooth and encourage the transition to a more healthful diet. Try to include certain other wholesome foods, though, and sometimes a wall of resistance goes up. It's one thing when we ourselves find new items strange and unsatisfying at first; but when our family's health is at issue, and logic, persuasion and the nutrition charts don't seem to carry much weight, it's time to call upon art, and maybe even a little sleight of hand, to keep everybody in harmony.

The recipes in this section definitely fall into the sleight-of-hand category. They are not meant for people who can happily sit down to enjoy a hearty meal of good plain bread and beans; they are designed for those who, while acknowledging the fine nutritional contribution of legumes, would just as soon not take them neat. They are for moms who want to give their kids a more nutritious diet despite their resistance to it, and for people on the go who are likely to make a meal of toast. Above all, they are meant to address situations where the taste buds are more convincing than any nutrition chart: "I don't care care if it is good for me, I if it is good for me, I don't don't LIKE LIKE it! it!"

These breads are good nutrition, and good eating, too; the recipes are original and reliable. They show that you can incorporate an impressive amount of legume protein into bread without compromising its natural appeal-and there is a broad spectrum represented here, too. We hope that the recipes serve you well, and that the guidelines we have worked out will enable you to design your own bean breads, perfectly tailored to your needs and taste.

SOME CONSIDERATIONS WHEN BAKING WITH BEANS.

Most of these recipes call for either soy or garbanzo beans. Other kinds will work, but for our money, their flavors and their nutritional contribution just don't compare. The n.o.ble Black Turtle Bean stands as the remarkable exception.

Big Daddy Soy, of course, is a bean unto itself. No other boasts the protein or the range of vitamins and minerals, and few can match the cooked beans' modest, sweetly self-effacing flavor either, for that matter. For the baker, though, soy presents interesting complexities and challenges.

For one thing, soy protein has a binding effect on bread dough, actually tying up the gluten so that the loaf is unable to rise very well. Learning this tidbit nearly knocked us over, because for years our daily loaf-a hefty one-was loaded with cooked, mashed soybeans. During that period we completely forgot that bread could spring up while it baked. Our research for this book revealed the reason and, happily, the remedy, too: 1 tablespoon of shortening or 2 tablespoons of oil mixed into each loaf will lubricate the gluten sufficiently to overcome soy's binding effect. Taking this into account, all our soy recipes call for a conditioning amount of oil or b.u.t.ter, and if you want light bread, don't leave it out. Soy affects dough in other ways, too, which we will discuss in the next pages.

Garbanzo and black turtle beans are not so concentrated nutritionally as soy, but they are nevertheless quite nouris.h.i.+ng. Because they are easier on the dough, you can add a larger amount, and come out about even in protein-and perhaps ahead in flavor-after all. These two have the further advantage of making good bread without added fat.

COOKED BEANS.

Probably our favorite way to use beans in bread is to cook them, mash them, and work them into the dough. Breads made this way are mild in flavor and have a moist crumb that stays soft for days-this is particularly true with soybeans.