Baking Bread on a Rainy Day

Baking is not my strong suit, especially baking things that require rising and yeast. But I thought, while I have the time and patience away from the city, let me try again to make bread. It's been rainy and dank here, so it was the perfect day to try it out. I used cake yeast this time, having had little luck with the powdered yeast the last few times I tried. It seemed to help.

Buttermilk Honey Wheat Bread

2 ½ tsp (one third of a package) of fresh/cake yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp honey
1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil
1 ½ cups buttermilk

Gently heat the buttermilk and the honey in a saucepan over a low flame. Do not boil. Add the yeast when the buttermilk has reached room temperature. Add the rest of the ingredients. The dough will be really sticky, but try to knead it for a bit. Place the dough in a greased bread pan and let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size, whichever is longer. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 25 minutes, or until bottom sounds hollow when tapped.


We served the bread alongside roasted chicken (which was brined and smothered in parsley and yucatan spice rub) and roasted for a long time at a high temperature with shallots, carrots, and beets. It was delicious and soaked up the juice perfectly.