Walnut Bread

I have had a request from my walnut bread recipe and I thought I would include it on my blogsite. I make all the breads we use in the dining room, both the hearth baked breads at dinner and the pan breads we use for breakfast toast. The walnut bread is a dinner bread and is an adaptation of a recipe I found in Maggie Glazier's book, American Artisan Breads, which she adapted from a bakery in Brooklyn named Tom Cat Bakery. I have to say that this book was a revelation to me in my search for a great loaf of bread. I have baked bread for many years using the standard recipe of plenty of yeast and a couple of hours of rising time. This book introduced me to the practice of using starters, in this case the poolish, a french term for starter, as well as a much smaller amount of yeast, longer resting and rising times and the great practice of turning the bread dough during the early stages of rising. This practice helps to develop structure of the dough and is similar to the turns one uses when making puff pastry.
With these thoughts in mind, I will attempt to help you create a great bread.

Ingredients: for two loaves, about 1 1/2 pounds each

Poolish:
1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
additional 2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 cup King Arthur Flour (I use their special blend which has a high ratio of hard wheat, is also unbleached)

Dough
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Flour
1 cup coarse whole wheat flour
2/3 cup lukewarm water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
2 cups raw, cleaned spinach
1 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions:
1. The night before baking, refresh the teaspoon of dry yeast in the cup of lukewarm water, let rest until the yeast begins to rise to the top of the water. Add 1/4 cup of this mixture, stirring well before measuring, to the flour and water. Discard remaining yeast water, stir the flour, water and yeast water well and cover with saran. Let this mixture rest overnight in a warm spot at least eight hours until it is well risen and bubbles have formed on top. This mixture is called "the poolish".
2. The next morning, combine the additional white flour and wheat flour with the lukewarm water and knead to make a very loose dough. Put this dough in a covered bowl and allow to rest for 20 minutes. This process is called the autolyse and it allows the water to be absorbed by the flour in preparation for the kneading process.
3. After 15 minutes, add the additional 1/4 teaspoon of dry yeast to the poolish and mix to combine, allowing the yeast to start refreshing in the poolish.
4. When the 20 minutes or rest time has finished, it is time to knead the dough. If you have a stand mixer that can accomadate a fairly stiff dough, the kneading time is about 20 minutes. If you have to use your hands, you are looking at about 1/2 hour of kneading time. Combine the rough resting dough with the poolish and begin working the dough. Depending on the humidity in the kitchen, you may need to add more flour or water. When the dough has begun to come together and start to become smooth, add the cleaned spinach and continue kneading and the spinach will break down and become incorporated into the dough. Keep kneading until you get a very smooth and pliant dough. After the 20 or 30 minutes, depending on your using a mixer or not, add the salt and continue kneading for another 5 minutes to make sure the salt is well combined. Then add the walnuts and knead in without breaking the walnuts in to small pieces.
5. Remove the dough to a covered bowl and let rest for 20 minutes. Then it is time for the first of three turns before allowing the dough to rise undisturbed. Remove the dough to a work surface with enough additional flour to prevent sticking to the surface. Pull one edge of the dough to the center of the mass, turn one quarter and pull second edge to the center, then continue with the third and fourth edges, flip so the seam is on the bottom and return to the bowl to rest for another 20 minutes. Repeat these turns 2 more times for a total of 3 turns in one hour. After the turns are completed, let the dough rest, tightly covered, for 2 to 3 hours, depending on temperature in the kitchen, until the dough is well risen and light to the touch.
6. With a gentle touch so as not to deflate the dough, turn the dough out to a work surface and divide in half. Again, trying not to deflate the dough, bring the outside edges toward the middle of the mass and press together gently to seal the loaf, using your hands to pinch the ends of the loaf to a point to create a football shaped dough. Place the loaves on an overturned cookie sheet lined with parchment or dusted well with flour and let the loaves rise again, well covered with saran, for about 30 minutes until they are well risen again.
7. While the loaves are rising, turn an oven on to 450 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, place it on the center rack of the oven when the oven begins to preheat. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can bake the loaves directly on the cookie sheet. If you have a pizza peel, you can transfer the loaves to the peel, slit the loaves lengthwise with a sharp knife and slide them directly onto the stone. If not, slit the loaves on the cookie sheet with a sharp knife and put the sheet onto the center rack of the oven. Close the door and bake the loaf for 45 to 50 minutes until it is well browned and sounds hollow when rapped with your knuckles. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool at least to lukewarm before slicing.
8. You can multiple this recipe, I multiple it by four, and store the unbaked dough in the refrigerator, removing however much you might need and proofing the dough until it is well risen and bake as above. The raw dough will last in the refrigerator for at least a week before the yeast begins to weaken significantly. You can also freeze the loaves and reheat in a hot oven to regain the crisp crust.

So, if this seems like a lot of work, remember that the actual work is quite limited and the rising time is the longest.

Lots of luck, tell me if it works for you.
Michael