Brown Rice Extraordinaire Recipes

BROWN RICE...THE FAST WAY!

Steps:

• Using a strainer, rinse the rice under cold water, then drain it completely. (Here's why.)
• In a saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice and stir. Continue to boil uncovered until tender, with the water bubbling rapidly, for 20 minutes. Start tasting at 18 to 20 minutes: if the rice is tender, remove the heat. If not, keep cooking 5 to 10 minutes more until the rice is tender. (All rice types and brands are slightly different, so you'll have to adjust according to the specific rice. Ours is usually done in around 18 to 25 minutes.)
• Pour the rice into a strainer, then return it to the pot. Cover the pot and allow the rice to steam for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the salt.

MASTER RECIPE: BROWN RICE

Steps:

• The Right Ratio: Trust us: Though it's printed on the package, the standard 2-to-1 ratio makes mushy rice. For long-grain brown rice, use 1 1/4 cups water to 1 cup rice. For short-grain, use 1 1/2 cups water.
• Quick Cooking Time: Bring rice, water, and salt (1/4 teaspoon per cup of rice) to a boil. Cover, and reduce to a slow, steady simmer. Many recipes call for 50 minutes, but we think 30 minutes is plenty. A wide, shallow pot with a tight-fitting lid ensures evenly cooked grains.
• Steam and Fluff: Let the cooked rice sit for 10 minutes, covered, to absorb maximum moisture; then remove the lid, and fluff the grains with a fork.

PERFECT BROWN RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water for 30 seconds. Drain.
• Combine the rice, salt and 2 cups water in a wide, medium saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

BROWN RICE EXTRAORDINAIRE

Steps:

• Rinse rice with cold water in bowl or strainer until no longer cloudy.
• Lightly oil a 2 liter casserole dish.
• Turn oven on to 400°F.
• Combine all but the last 4 ingredients in the dish.
• Cover, bake for 1 hour.
• Add olives, stir. Bake for 30 minutes more, covered.
• Let sit for 5 minutes, covered. Rice should be soft, water absorbed.
• Stir in parsley and mint. Add more salt if desired.
• Drizzle with the tbsp of oil and serve.
• Yummy!

MULTIGRAIN BREAD EXTRAORDINAIRE

Steps:

• On the day before making the bread, make the soaker. Combine the cornmeal, oats, and bran with the water in a small bowl. The water will just cover the grain, hydrating it slightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature overnight to initiate enzyme action.
• The next day, to make the dough, stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the soaker, rice, honey, buttermilk, and water. Stir (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients form a ball. Add a few drops of water if any of the flour remains separate.
• Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin to knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead for about 12 minutes (or mix for 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low speed), sprinkling in flour if needed to make a dough that is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. The individual ingredients will homogenize into the greater dough, disappearing to an extent, and the dough will smooth out and become slightly shiny. (If you are using an electric mixer, hand knead the dough for a minute or two at the end.) The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and press it by hand into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick, 6 inches wide, and 8 to 10 inches long. Form it into a loaf, as shown on page 81, or into another desired shape. Place the loaf into a lightly oiled 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, or onto a sheet pan lined with baking parchment if you are making rolls or freestanding loaves. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle on the poppy seeds. Mist again, this time with spray oil, and loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap or a towel.
• Proof for approximately 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size. If you are using a loaf pan, the dough should crest fully above the lip of the pan, doming about 1 inch above the pan at the center.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
• Bake for about 20 minutes. Small rolls probably will be finished at this point. For everything else, rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue baking for another 15 minutes for freestanding loaves and 20 to 40 minutes for loaf-pan bread. The bread should register at least 185° to 190°F in the center, be golden brown, and make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
• When the loaves are finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours, before slicing or serving.
• Enriched, standard dough; indirect method; commercial yeast
• Day 1: 5 minutes soaker
• Day 2: 10 to 15 minutes mixing; 3 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 20 to 60 minutes baking
• If you do not have wheat bran on hand, you can sift whole-wheat flour through a fine sieve and extract the bran. The flour that sifts through can be used in rye breads or in pain de campagne (or it can be stirred back into the whole-wheat flour).
• This formula uses such a small amount of cooked rice that it's hardly worth cooking it just for the bread (unless you are making a larger batch of bread than this version). I suggest making brown rice for a meal and holding some back for special uses like this bread. You can keep it refrigerated for up to 4 days (any longer and it develops enzyme characteristics detrimental to the dough development), or freeze it in small packets for use over the next 6 months. You can also substitute cooked white or wild rice, but brown rice blends in the best.
• You can leave out the milk altogether and replace it with an equal amount of water. The bread will be slightly chewier and lighter in appearance without milk, as the milk not only tenderizes and enriches the dough, but also adds a small amount of lactose sugar that helps caramelize the crust.
• Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire %
• (SOAKER)
• Cornmeal: 50%
• Rolled oats: 37.5%
• Wheat bran: 12.5%
• Water: 100%
• Total: 200%
• (DOUGH)
• Soaker: 29.6%
• High-gluten flour: 100%
• Brown sugar: 11.1%
• Salt: 2.8%
• Instant yeast: 2.4%
• Brown rice: 7.4%
• Honey: 7.4%
• Buttermilk: 29.6%
• Water: 44.4%
• Total: 234.7%

PERFECT BASIC BROWN RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the starch off the rice in a strainer under cold water for 30 seconds.
• Bring the water to a boil over high heat in a large pot that has a tight fitting lid.
• Add the rice, stir it just once, and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Pour the rice into a strainer over the sink and drain for 10 seconds.
• Return the rice to the same pot, off the heat.
• Cover immediately and set aside for 10 minutes (this is the steaming part).
• Uncover, fluff with a fork, and season with salt.