Velvety Bean Bread with the BBB

My turn to host this month!  Join the Bread Baking Babes and bake up a unique little loaf that is high in protein but a little lower in gluten than normal.  I was intrigued by the description of this bread.  Nice brown crust, velvet smooth, fine moist crumb.  It makes very small loaves, so an 8x4" pan or smaller will do and you could probably fit the whole recipe in one larger loaf pan.  Because of the more delicate protein structure, it will over rise easily in a warm kitchen and indeed took much less time to prove for me than the recipe stated.  My first batch rose up to an inch over the edge of the pan and I could tell it was over risen.  So it totally deflated when I slashed it.  Still tasted great, but had a close crumb at the bottom as a result though still velvety and soft.  Fortunately I was able to try again with the rest of the beans I cooked.  You couldn't really see my chives after baking, but you could taste them.  The loaf pictured is a plain version.  You will see loaves with different kinds of beans that were available if you check out the rest of the Babe's results, as well as those that made one larger instead of two very small loaves.  I might try it one more time with canned beans, maybe cannelini beans (white kidney) because they are easier to find than navy beans.  This is a lovely little bread and we would love for you to bake along with us!  Just bake your version of this bread by July 30th and send me a note with your results and a picture or link to your post at eleyana(AT)aol(DOT)com with Buddy Bread in the subject line and I will include you in our buddy round up at the beginning of next month and send you a Buddy badge graphic to keep and/or add to your post.  You don't have to have a blog to participate, a picture is fine!

(I recommend a food processor rather than a blender to get the beans smooth.  If you only have a blender, I suggest using some of the 1 cup water in the recipe to facilitate blending, otherwise it will be difficult to keep the beans moving.  Actually, it would help in the food processor as well.)

And here's a great little article on the different white beans:

4 Types of White Beans: What’s the Difference?

  

Velvety Bean Bread

from Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition around the World
Makes 2 small pan loaves

Gram weights are from the Dutch version of the book

2 tsp (7 g) active dry yeast
1 cup (250 g) lukewarm water
2 cups (200g) drained cooked or canned navy beans, room temp (I soaked and cooked mine)
1 cup (130 g) whole wheat flour (I used sprouted spelt)
1 tbsp (~13.7 g) olive oil
1 tbsp (17 ~10 g) salt (I used less with my salt.  I recommend 1 tsp for a loaf this size.)
2 tbsp (~6 g) chopped chives (optional)
~ 2 cups (±320 g) all-purpose flour (I used 300g)

Dissolve yeast in water.  Process beans until smooth, transfer to a large bowl or stand mixer.  Stir yeast mixture into beans.  Add the whole wheat flour and stir for one minute, in one direction, to develop the dough.  Add the oil, salt, and chives if using, and stir them in.  Add 1 cup of the all purpose flour and stir in.  Add the remaining flour and knead in with a dough hook, or work in and knead by hand for about 5 minutes, until smooth.

Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 3 hours, until almost doubled in volume.  (There should be about 2.5 pounds of dough.)

Turn out dough and divide in half.  Butter two 8x4" pans.  Form each portion of dough into a loaf and place seam side down in the pans.  The directions say to let rise for 2½ hours.  That was WAY too long for my kitchen.  The above loaf was baked after 1 hour.  You'll have to watch the dough for proper rise.  Check at 1 hour and continue to proof if needed.
Preheat oven to 400ºF, have a spray bottle or small cup of water ready for steam.  Slash each loaf lengthwise , place in oven and bake for 5 minutes, adding steam every couple minutes with the sprayer or cup.  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF and bake for 25 minutes until rich brown with a matte finish.  Turn the loaves out and check for doneness. Finish cooling on a wire rack before slicing. 

Approximate nutrition per ½" slice when making two small loaves:
(That's about 15 slices per loaf for an 8x4" pan)

The rest of the Bread Baking Babes:

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• Notitie Van Lien – Lien
• My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Bake My Day - Karen
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle