Brown Bread

I was visiting my mom last week and this was in her New York Times. It is easy, fast, and delicious!

Ingredients

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp lard
1 tbs sesame or poppy seeds or a combination (optional)

4 cups/450 grams whole-wheat flour, preferably stone-ground
1 tsp kosher salt or 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 tbs molasses or treacle

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt.
  2. In a liquid measuring jug or small bowl, mix the molasses with 5 fluid ounces/150 milliliters of lukewarm water. Stir in the yeast and leave the jug somewhere warm for 5 minutes, or until the liquid develops a creamy froth.
  3. Meanwhile, grease a 5- by 8-inch loaf pan with the lard and line the bottom and long sides with parchment paper to create a sling for the bread.
  4. Pour the activated yeast mixture into the flour. Measure 10 fluid ounces/275 milliliters of tepid water into the jug, scraping and stirring any residual yeast into the water. Pour this into the flour.
  5. Using your hand or a spoon, mix the flour and the liquid together to make a dough. It’ll be too wet to knead. Scrape the dough into the prepared loaf pan. If you’d like, sprinkle the top with sesame or poppy seeds or both.
  6. Place the pan in a warm place (close to the stove is ideal). Pull a dish cloth tight over the top of the pan without letting it touch the dough, and leave the dough to rise until it reaches the top of the pan, 15 to 25 minutes. While the dough rises, heat the oven with a rack in the center to 450 degrees.
  7. When the dough has nearly reached the top of the pan, remove the dish cloth and put the loaf on the center rack in the oven.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Continue to bake for another 30 minutes or until the top looks nicely browned.
  9. Remove the pan from the oven, then tip the loaf out of the pan, running a knife around the outside of the bread to release it if needed and holding the hot loaf with oven mitts or a clean dish towel. Discard the parchment paper, shake off loose seeds, and return the loaf — upside down — to the oven, setting it directly on the center rack. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap its bottom.
  10. Cool the loaf on a rack for 10 minutes before slicing to enjoy warm. The loaf will keep well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.