Brown bread

This is basically the New York Times Brown Bread Recipe from Clare de Boer. It was OK, but with such simple preparation and no effort to get the flavors out of the wheat (such as using a poolish or soaker), it was pretty plain. But it worked and did not require a mixer as advertised.

• 15.9 oz. (4 cups, 450 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. molasses
• 2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
• 1 tsp. canola or other flavorless oil for greasing the pan
• 15 oz. water at 70°F
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds

The original recipe calls for active dry yeast and the activation step, which I skipped since I typically use instant yeast which doesn't require that.

Grease a 5x7 loaf pan with the oil and line the bottom and long sides with a parchment paper sling.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the instant yeast. Add the molasses. Mix 15 oz. water at 70°F into the flour mixture. The dough will be too wet to knead.

Pour into the loaf pan. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Let rise in a warm area for 15 to 25 minutes, covered with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

When the dough has reached the top of the pan, transfer to center rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400°F. Rotate the loaf pan 180° and bake for 30 minutes until the top is browned.

Remove the loaf from the pan, invert, removing loose seeds, and transfer to a perforated sheet pan with the loaf upside-down. (The original recipe calls for placing it directly on the oven rack.)

The parchment sling is really necessary! The two uncovered sides wanted to stick to my glass loaf pan and the loaf was tricky to get out and would have been impossible without the parchment. Four-sided parchment might be a reasonable plan next time.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F with the loaf inverted until it sounds hollow. Mine had an internal temperature of 190°F.

Left cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with butter.

Keeps for 3 days, wrapped, at room temperature.