Pumpkin and Spice

 I miss baking. I miss the feel of soft, smooth dough pressed beneath my palm, and the ache in my arm from whisking a custard. I love the mechanical whir of the floor mixer, and the satisfaction of having a recipe turn out perfectly.There's a satisfaction to the physicality of the job, too- coming home with an aching back and tired feet, and knuckles dry and cracking from being in flour all day. I miss that at my current job- I mean, cake decorating is all well and good, but it's very assembly line. The cakes are premade, the icings are premade... I just put them together.

My last day off, I had an overwhelming urge to bake something. I don't bake at home as often as I would like, mostly because I work all day, go to the gym afterwards, and am tired when I finally get home. Cooking dinner is generally the extent of my ambition. After that, I just wanna relax and maybe watch some Lost. (OMG! Final season of Lost!)

But, it was my day off, and it seems like ages since I've baked anything other than cookies. Given the luxury of time, I decided that baking a loaf of bread was just the baking-therapy I needed.

One of my favorite things about bread is how alive it is. The dough is elastic and soft, radiating warmth. It breathes and grows. It is resilient, and yet also fragile- it can be punched and kneaded and stretched and pulled, but it can die, too, and then your bread will never happen. I always feel a weird fondness for the loaves of bread I make- a proud maternal affection for my squishy little bread-babies. Does it make me crazy? Probably.

Anyway, I decided to bake wheat focaccia. Whole wheat bread is difficult to make at home, since gluten production is near-impossible with whole wheat flour, and your dough never really develops enough stretch, so this is not whole-wheat focaccia. It, does however, use whole wheat flour and wheat germ, giving it that lovely wheat-y nuttiness. It's delicious warm, right out of the oven- crisp skinned and sprinkled with salt, chewy and earthy tasting.

We enjoyed it with a simple dinner- rustic Italian sausage from a local gourmet shop, sharp aged cheddar, nutty asiago cheese, and juicy slices of mangos, oranges and crisp apples. Paired with the warm focaccia and a bottle of gewürztraminer, it was a perfect meal.

If you've never made a yeast bread, this is a perfect starting loaf- it's basically foolproof. If you don't want to buy whole wheat flour or wheat germ, you can use all white bread flour. (Though the wheat germ makes an ideal addition to smoothies and yogurt.) You will need bread flour though- all purpose flour doesn't have enough gluten. I promise you though- once you see how easy and satisfying making this focaccia is, you'll be making more bread.

I like to use instant yeast (sometimes called "Rapid Rise" or bread machine yeast) because I feel like it rises better, plus you can skip the step where you soak the yeast to perk it up. This makes it super simple to mix up the bread- whisk together the flours and wheat germ, the yeast, the sugar and the salt. Put them in your mixer bowl, add the warm water and the olive oil. Then, just knead them with your dough hook. Plonk the dough into a bowl brushed with olive oil, cover it with a towel and let it sit in a warm spot for an hour. Dump the dough out, press it down and cover it and let it rest for 10min. Then, just press it into a oiled sheet with your fingers, bake and eat! It's really very easy.

Wheat Focaccia
(makes one loaf, about 11x17)

• 2 1/2t instant yeast (1 packet)
• 1c whole wheat flour (plus more if needed)
• 1/2c wheat germ
• 1 1/2c bread flour
• 2t sugar
• 2t kosher salt
• 1 1/2c warm water (90-100F)
• 2T extra virgin olive oil

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk (by hand) the flours, wheat germ, yeast, sugar and salt. Fasten the bowl into your mixer, fitted with the dough hook.  Add the water and oil, and mix on low until the ingredients start to form a dough. Turn the mixer off (that's important!) and poke the dough- it should be moist and slightly sticky, but not gummy, nor should it be too dry and firm. If it's too moist, add a tablespoon or so of flour. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon or so of water. (Keep in mind that the wheat flour will absorb a lot of moisture while rising, so maybe err a bit on the side of too moist.)
Turn the mixer up to your middle speed and knead for 6-7 minutes, until it doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl and slaps a bit. (‘Cause I'm a weirdo I refer to this as the dough being "slappy". Good bread dough should be slappy.)
Lightly oil a glass or metal bowl and place the dough in it. Lightly cover with a tea towel or foil. Set in a warm spot and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Using your fingers, press the dough down lightly, then pull up into a ball. Cover again and allow to rest for 10min. Meanwhile, lightly oil a jelly-roll pan with olive oil. Once the dough has rested, place the dough on the pan, and with your hands, stretch and press to fit the pan. Cover again and allow to rise for another 30min. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400F.
Brush the dough lightly with olive oil, and use your fingers to dimple the surface of the dough. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and bake for 15min, or until golden. Cut into wedges and serve warm. (This is bread that is best the day it's baked.)