AuthorAnn Ogden GaffneyMany of us have gotten into baking recently, and I am no exception. I came up with the idea for Anise Scented Whole Wheat Bread after chatting with a friend about Greece. I have found that adding a little anise seed to my basic no knead recipe takes it to another level. If you need a more basic loaf, simply leave the anise out, but the bread tastes so very good with it! Making the dough is easy, but like all bread, you will need to allow time for it to rise, hence the long prep time, but don't be put off. I have found with bread that if you accept that it takes time and that you have to plan ahead, you can fit in the stages of your bread making with life in general. The results are well worth it.
In a large bowl stir together the flours, salt, anise seeds and yeast. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula - or your hands - until all the flour is incorporated into a wet sticky dough, about 30 seconds - 1 minute. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let the dough sit at room temperature 12-18 hours for the first rise. When completed, the dough will have more than doubled in size and its surface covered in bubbles.
Using a scraper, carefully tip the dough in one piece onto a floured work surface. Flour your hands and lift the edges of the dough towards the center. Gently tuck them in to form a round.
Place a cotton cloth on the work surface and sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Gently place the dough on the cloth seam side down. Loosely cover and move to a warm draft free place for the second rise. Leave for 1-2 hours or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
Meanwhile, 30 minutes before the end of the second rise, place an oven proof 5qt iron pot with a lid into the oven on a middle shelf. Set the oven to 475F (245C) to preheat both the oven and pot.
When the second rise is complete and the oven hot, using serious potholders, take the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Gently lower the dough into the pot seam side up and cover. Return pot to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for 15-20 minutes more or until the bread is a deep warm brown. Carefully lift the loaf out and let cool completely on a rack.
Ann's Tips:
Makes 1 X 10inch loaf.
You will need a heavy, lidded pot for this. Cast iron is best. As the oven is very hot, make sure that your pot lid has an oven proof handle that will withstand 500F.
Without the anise seeds, this makes a nice whole wheat bread.
I came up with the idea for this Anise Scented Whole Wheat Bread after chatting with a friend about Greece. I have found that adding a little anise seed to my basic no-knead bread recipe takes it to another level.
8 servings
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl stir together the flours, salt, anise seeds and yeast. Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula - or your hands - until all the flour is incorporated into a wet sticky dough, about 30 seconds - 1 minute. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let the dough sit at room temperature 12-18 hours for the first rise. When completed, the dough will have more than doubled in size and its surface covered in bubbles.
Using a scraper, carefully tip the dough in one piece onto a floured work surface. Flour your hands and lift the edges of the dough towards the center. Gently tuck them in to form a round.
Place a cotton cloth on the work surface and sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Gently place the dough on the cloth seam side down. Loosely cover and move to a warm draft free place for the second rise. Leave for 1-2 hours or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
Meanwhile, 30 minutes before the end of the second rise, place an oven proof 5qt iron pot with a lid into the oven on a middle shelf. Set the oven to 475F (245C) to preheat both the oven and pot.
When the second rise is complete and the oven hot, using serious potholders, take the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Gently lower the dough into the pot seam side up and cover. Return pot to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for 15-20 minutes more or until the bread is a deep warm brown. Carefully lift the loaf out and let cool completely on a rack.
Ann's Tips:
Makes 1 X 10inch loaf.
You will need a heavy, lidded pot for this. Cast iron is best. As the oven is very hot, make sure that your pot lid has an oven proof handle that will withstand 500F.
Without the anise seeds, this makes a nice whole wheat bread.
