Hazelnut Honey Bread

STARTER: In bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water; let stand for 1 minute. Stir with wooden spoon until yeast dissolves. Add flour; stir until consistency of pancake batter, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap; place in warm, draft-free place until bubbly and doubled in bulk, about 4 hours.

In food processor, finely chop half of the hazelnuts; set aside.

Dough: Pour warm water into large bowl; sprinkle yeast over top and let stand for 1 minute. Stir with wooden spoon until dissolved. Stir starter and scrape into yeast mixture. Add 2 cups (500 mL) of the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sliced and chopped hazelnuts, milk, 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the honey, butter and sa< stir until ragged soft dough forms.

Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, dusting with as much of the remaining flour as needed to prevent sticking, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Line large rimless baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Punch down dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead into ball. Divide in half; shape each into ball. Gently pull each into 11- x 8-inch (28 x 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at narrow end, diagonally roll up each into cylinder; pinch along bottoms and ends to smooth and seal. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, seam sides down and spaced well apart. Using serrated knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes in top of each loaf. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Stir remaining honey with 1 tbsp (15 mL) warm water; brush over loaves. Place baking sheet in centre of 400°F (200°C) oven. With spritzer bottle filled with cold water, spray walls and floor of oven (avoiding oven light bulb) until steam fills oven, about 10 seconds. Quickly close oven door to trap steam; wait for 5 minutes then repeat steaming. Bake until loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to rack to let cool.

Additional information :

Bread Machine Hazelnut Honey Bread (for dough only): Into pan of 1-1/2- to 2-lb (750 g to 1 kg) bread machine, add (in order) starter, water, milk, honey, melted butter, salt, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and bread machine yeast instead of active dry yeast. Choose dough setting. Add chopped and sliced hazelnuts when specified by machine for additions. Shape into 2 loaves and bake as directed.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: December 2005