Cracked (or bulgur) Wheat Bread

I cleaned out my pantry and made an inventory of odd things that needed to get used up. One of those things was bulgur wheat. Not sure what my intent was when I bought it. Last week I went to the library and go a big stack of cookbooks for us girls to look through. My favorite cookbook (meaning I went through it and wanted to bookmark every recipe) was A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. On the cover it says, "Bake to celebrate ~ Bake to nourish ~ Bake for fun", which I love. If you love cookbooks like I do, this would be one to browse through next time you are at the library or book store! The Best Pizza Dough Ever...Deluxe Sticky Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter Cookies....White Chocolate and Vanilla Bread Pudding....Choclate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. I'll stop.





Cracked Wheat Bread
from A Passion For Baking by Marcy Goldman



1/2 cup cracked wheat or bulgur wheat
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
2 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast (I used regular and was fine, maybe a little less lofty)
1 1/2 cup wheat flour
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 cups bread flour
cracked wheat, cornmeal, and bran for dusting

In a medium bowl, cover cracked wheat with boiling water and let stand for 20 minutes.

In a mixer bowl, hand whisk warm water and yeast together and let stand 2 or 3 minutes to dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, honey, salt, and soaked wheat and mix well. Add most of bread flour and then knead with a bread hook on the lowest speed, adding more bread flour as needed to make a soft dough. Knead on low for 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove dough hook, spray dough with cooking spray, cover and put in a warm place. Let rise 45 to 60 minutes, until doubled.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Shape into a ball and sprinkle with wheat, cornmeal and bran. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 to 45 minutes.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until done.

Enjoy!

This post has also been linked to:

Mouthwatering Monday at Southern Fairytale

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff

What's on The Menu Wednesday at Dining With Debbie

Hearth and Soul at A Moderate Life

Recipe Swap at Prairie Story (Thursdays)

Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge