muesli bread

     Last spring, I discovered the breathtaking magnificence of a bookstore. 

     I had taken up an interest in riding my bike around town. Being able to go places, without having to have someone drive me, was an exciting and novel concept to me. I biked to the grocery store alone to buy ingredients. Several times, I rode my bike to a park in Seattle, 8.2 miles away.  My bike was ridiculous, built for ten-year-old boys and bought from Wal-Mart, but I had freedom.

     Then, on a sunny spring day (much like the ones we've been having lately), I took a backpack and my helmet and rode to the bookstore, because why not?

     There was also a Great Harvest Bread Co. in the same shopping complex. I had never been in one before. I parked my bike outside and went in. It was amazing! A real bakery! I ogled the focaccia and sourdough and so much more - it all looked so good. Then I noticed that an employee was handing out samples. Too shy to speak up, I hung around until they offered me a slice of bread. I tried a piece of their bread with pesto and Asiago cheese, smeared liberally with butter. It was savory, complex, and delicious.

     I walked up the escalator to the bookstore. I had been there before, when I was younger, but never alone. Then, the sudden realization hit me - there were more books on one floor of a shopping complex than I would likely ever read in my life. Shakespeare's plays, classic literature, gardening manuals, treatises of philosophy, detective novels, trashy romances...in each of those blocks of stacked paper, there were words printed that came directly out of another human being's consciousness. How had we, as a civilization, managed to amass so much learning? I wandered around, just marveling. Then I walked down the escalator and rode my bike home.

     I've now developed a slightly misguided habit of buying every book I want to read. Whenever the local thrift store has a 50% off sale, I half-heartedly flip through the hideous shirts and dresses, but then spend most of my time with my head tilted to the side, scanning the bookshelves for good titles. The books I've amassed that have yet to be read sit in a permanent, 3-foot-high stack next to my desk. Agatha Christie: an Autobiography, Of Civil Government (bought at Magus Books in the University District), Letter to a Christian Nation, Little Women, and many more seem to accuse me of "why haven't you gotten around to me yet"? I will, one day.

     But back to Great Harvest Bread Co. A bakery, even a chain store or even a grocery store bakery, is a wonderful thing. The giant carts and dough hooks in the back, the multitudes of breads. There's something extremely beautiful about slicing into the crackly crust of a good artisan bread. Even when you're supposed to wait at least half an hour for it to cool, it's so tempting to just tear off a hunk of bread right out of the oven, releasing a billow of steam that catches the afternoon light in the kitchen. This bread is perfect for that, with little gems of fruits and nuts scattered in the soft dough. It's also good for making sweet-savory grilled cheese sandwiches. And for revisiting memories of simpler times.

Muesli Bread

adapted from Minimalist Baker

makes 1 large loaf

1.5 cups warm water
3 cups unbleached flour + ¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ tablespoon salt
¾ tablespoons fast-acting or active dry yeast
¼ cup toasted chopped pecans
¼ cup raisins (I used a combination of golden raisins, dark raisins, and dried cranberries)
¼ cup toasted chopped almonds

Combine warm water (like bath water, or 110*), yeast, salt and flours in a large mixing bowl and stir. The result will be a sticky, rough dough. If using a stand mixer, beat at medium speed for about a minute. Otherwise just use a spoon to stir until well combined.
Lift the dough out and lightly grease the bowl with nonstick spray or olive oil. Cover and let rise in the refrigerator for at least two hours and up to overnight.
Once risen, lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and transfer to a floured work surface. Knead a few times and then add pecans, almonds and raisins. Knead until until just combined, trying to keep the add-ins on the inside of the loaf, or else they’ll get too crisp while baking.
Place on parchment-lined baking stone or lightly greased baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; to help keep the dough moist. Let rest for 45-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready.
When ready to bake, slash the bread 2 or 3 times with a knife, making a cut about ½-inch deep.
Place bread in oven and carefully pour hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. Expect it to bubble and steam; then close oven door quickly.
Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, or until deep, golden brown.
Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack. Store leftovers in a plastic bag at room temperature.