Thanksgiving Baking Edition

First up today is Sandwich Bread. What? Umm, isn't this, like, the national holiday of pie? You're thinking I should be making apple or sweet potato something, right? Well, nope. I'm still a kid as far as Thanksgiving goes, and I go to my Mom's house or my in-laws, so I don't have to cook or bake so much.

I come home with leftover turkey, though. See where I'm headed?

MultiGrain Sandwich Bread
adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

1 1/4 c. dry whole grain hot cereal mix*, divided
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. white flour
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 c. whole milk, cool, not cold
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. room temp. butter

Before we get going, you should know that this is not a high rising bread. It's dense, chewy, sturdy bread. The whole wheat flour and oats don't stretch like all white flour will. So, don't be disappointed if it is a small little loaf.

Pulse 1/2 c. grains, all the flours, salt and yeast in a food processor fitted with a dough blade for 5 seconds to blend. Add milk, syrup, and butter and process for 30 seconds. Dough should be moist but not sticky and cool to the touch. Roll it out onto a floured surface, and hand knead the remaining grains/oats into the dough. Oil a bowl, and set the dough inside to rise for about 2 hours. (I like to extend the rising time to 4 hours, punch it down halfway through and let it rise again, but that's not necessary.) Turn it out onto a floured surface, punch it down, and let it rest, loosely covered, 15 more minutes, before patting it into a rectangle and rolling it up like a fat jelly roll. Place it into a greased loaf pan, and gently pat it down into the pan. Cover loosely and let rise until the dough almost comes up to the top of the loaf. Preheat oven to 350F and place an empty cookie sheet in the oven one rack below the one you'll bake the bread on. Put a kettle of water to boil. As you're placing the bread in the oven, pour hot water into the baking tray. Bake for 45 minutes or until the bread has an internal temp. of @2ooF and sounds hollow when thumped. Despite the temptation, let it cool completely before slicing.

*I like a mix, but old fashioned rolled oats on their own are fine

Next: Pumpkin Sandwich Cake, which I did exactly from the recipe, and it came out flawlessly. The only small change I made was to bake all the batter in one 8x3"pan and slice it in half horizontally. It took 30 minutes instead of the recommended 16-18. I'll bring this to my parents' house, and probably snag some of the left overs to bring home with us after my in-laws. Pumpkin cake and cream cheese and chocolate for breakfast. Mmmmm.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Enjoy whatever you're doing, whereever you're going, and whomever you're with!