Orange Amaranth Bread

Made with a mix of white and wheat bread flours, amaranth flour, orange zest, and honey, this bread has a unique slightly sweet flavor and wonderful aroma. Suitable to make by hand or in your bread machine. I adapted this recipe from one I found online, while looking for bread recipes that use amaranth flour. Very good with butter and honey. Amaranth flour is available from Bob’s Red Mill®. Stores that have a decent selection of natural foods or natural markets should stock it.

Step: 1

Stir water, honey, and yeast together in a large bowl. Let stand until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 10 minutes.

Step: 2

Whisk bread flour, whole wheat bread flour, amaranth flour, and vital wheat gluten flour together in a bowl.

Step: 3

Stir orange zest, vegetable oil, and salt into yeast mixture. Gradually add flour mixture to yeast mixture to form a sturdy dough. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Step: 4

Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Step: 5

Lightly grease a loaf pan.

Step: 6

Punch down dough, turn onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 5 to 6 times. Form dough into loaf and place into prepared pan. Let rise until doubled in volume, 30 to 45 minutes.

Step: 7

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step: 8

Bake in preheated oven until the top is golden brown and the bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes.

Per Serving: 190 calories; protein 5.8g; carbohydrates 33.6g; fat 3.6g; cholesterol 0.1mg; sodium 147.3mg.

The best flavour of the flour could make a real difference to your bread. Different brands do vary. Extra-strong or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard bread flours – especially if you’re making wholemeal bread , which doesn’t always getting bigger as well as white bread.

To made this in a breadmaker , add all the ingredients to your breadmaker and follow the makers instructions.

A bread first rising can be done in the fridge overnight . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great limit , as you can start it night before , then clear it off the next day.