Bulgur Wheat Bread

Before moving my KitchenAid mixer and other baking appliances to our new home, I found some time (in between filling the moving boxes) to bake a bread to participate to the 20th Bread Baking Day.

This time the host of this blog event is Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen. I hope this bread will fit into her theme 'multigrain', because it holds only 4 sorts of grain and not 9,10,11 or even 12 (I saw a recipe that calls for 12) different sorts of grain.


75 gram bulgur or cracked wheat
120 gram boiling water

280 gram warm water (100 °F/37 °C)
1.1/2 ts. instant dry yeast
210 gram whole-wheat flour
210 gram bread flour
50 gram rolled oats
2 tbs. cornmeal
2 tbs. maple syrup
1.1/2 ts. bread salt
2 tbs. unsalted butter

1 egg and 1 tbs water for egg wash

Place the bulgur in a bowl. Add the boiling water and let stand (covered) for 1 hour to soften. In the mixing bowl sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and stir briefly to dissolve. Add all the remaining ingredients, including the bulgur, to the bowl. Place the dough hook and mix on first speed until the ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Turn to second speed and mix the dough for another 4-5 minutes until smooth and elastic. If the dough is too soft and sticky, mix in more flour and if too stiff or dry, mix in more water. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough ferment for 40 minutes, fold the dough, and let it ferment another 40 minutes until it has doubled in size. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Punch it carefully down en shape it into a round or oval loaf. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with some cornmeal. Place the loaf on the parchment paper and cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let it rise for 45-60 minutes until it has almost doubled in size. Preheat the oven and a baking stone to 425 °F/220 °C. Mix the egg with the water and glaze the loaf with it, slash it once or several times, just before putting it into the oven. Pre-steam the oven, place the bread with the parchment paper onto the baking stone, and steam again. Bake the loaf 15 minutes at 425 °F/ 220 °C, reduce the temperature to 375 °F/190 °C and continue baking for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, test it for doneness by thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), and cool it on rack before slicing.