“Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” -Mary Oliver
It’s not always easy to start the day in happiness, or to be kind to the first person you encounter on your mad dash out into the world. But how we start each day matters, especially if that first person we encounter is a spouse or child. This toast is how we at Little Flour start our days in happiness and kindness. It’s also the most requested bread in our Flour Baskets, and subscribers are always asking what makes it so delicious. The dates are the secret ingredient, and when we are baking it in the bakery we fold the dough over on itself every thirty minutes for the first couple hours of rising. It takes a bit of time, but we think it’s worth it. If you enjoy baking bread at home, give it a try with your favorite mix of dried berries and raisins. If you are enjoying it fresh from Little Flour, we suggest slicing it thick, toasting, and topping with good butter. It’ll keep well in the freezer all week, and tastes so good you might actually look forward to waking up in the morning.
- 70 grams chopped pecans
- 70 grams raisins and dried berries
- 100 grams chopped dates
- 400 grams bread flour
- 100 grams whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ teaspoons yeast
- 1½ cups water
- 1 cup artisan seed mixture
- Chop fruit and nuts and set aside.
- Measure and whisk together the flours in a separate bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk yeast into warm water.
- Dump all the flour into the water mixture and mix with a dough whisk until shaggy.
- Cover and let rest ten minutes.
- Knead in salt and fruit/nut mixture.
- Let rise in a warm place about three hours.
- Divide in half and shape into rounds.
- Roll in seed mixture and place on parchment paper.
- Let rest another hour.
- Slash with an X and bake at 425 about 25 minutes, until golden brown and internal temperature is about 200 degrees. If not baking in a steam oven, spray water into oven in the first ten minutes of baking. Cool before slicing. Excellent frozen and then toasted later in the week.