Josey Baker’s Adventure Bread
It gives me a little frowny face when people tell me that they can’t find good bread in America. But I’m turning that frown upside-down because the more I travel, the more good bread I see. And I love passing on the word because, really, everyone should have access to good bread – no matter where they are.
The San Francisco Bay Area has had a tradition of good bread for a while, from the golden loaves of airy Boudin San Francisco sourdough, to the earthy levain breads from Acme, Tartine, Jane the Bakery, b. pâtisserie, Della Fattoria, and all the other bakeries that are pulling terrific loaves out of the oven daily, in the area.
People in San Francisco are obsessed with good bread, and good food – a tradition which I am happy to report is still in evidence from all the great meals I’ve been having on this trip. And like France, and many other countries, bakeries are important to the community. One bakery that is extra-special to me is The Mill, which I discovered on my last trip. And one that I was anxious to revisit on this one.
It’s pretty clear when you walk into The Mill what a presence Josey Baker is in San Francisco. And his bakery has become an integral part of the soul of San Francisco. A recent fire brought the city together wish him the best as he rebuilt the bakery.
With the wide open kitchen, surrounded by co-workers making coffee for customers, slicing bread for the famous toast, and greasing pans for the next loaves of bread to go in the oven, Josey stands in the midst of it all, mixing, stirring, and kneading, stopping mid-movement to race to the ovens, pulling hefty, rectangular loaves out with a lengthy wooden peel.
It was a great welcome back to San Francisco to see him with his generous smile, clearly getting (and giving) great happiness from what he’s doing. And it’s my happy moment whenever I walk in and see him tending his bread.
Josey is so into what he’s doing, that he wrote a book to share what his knowledge of bread making. Josey Baker Bread coaxes you into the process, starting you off with a very simple bread that calls for yeast (whose recipe title is “Your First Loaf of Bread”), then progressively moves toward teaching you how to make bread with a starter, demystifying the process, laying it all out in his plain, all-cards-on-the-table language.
Because Josey believes that everyone should have good bread in their lives, even gluten-free people, he bakes up what he calls “Adventure Bread”, a compact loaf that’s hardy enough to get you through any adventure. It’s simple to make, requiring skills no more complicated than measuring or weighing ingredients, mixing them together, letting them sit together for a while, then baking them into a neat loaf.
It’s the kind of bread that I like. Packed with nuts and seeds, and good spread with a swipe of butter or nut paste, it’s hard not to love this bread. Just like it’s hard not to like Josey’s bakery, which is my first stop on any trip to San Francisco, especially for the lovely toast for breakfast, which has become a local favorite.
Adventure Bread
Dry ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (235g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (160g) sunflower seeds, hulled
- 1/2 cup (65g) pumpkin seeds, hulled
- 3/4 cup (90g) almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup (120g) flax seeds
- 1/3 cup (20g) psyllium seed husks, (see note)
- 3 tablespoons (25g) chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons (12g) fine sea salt
The wet stuff
- 2 tablespoons (40g) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (55g) olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups (600g) water
- Gather your foodstuffs. Toast the seeds. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Spread the sunflower and pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and toast until they start to brown, about 15 minutes, stirring halfway during baking.(David: The seeds may take less time to toast, so keep an eye on them.)
- Measure ingredients. Dump this stuff (all the dry ingredients) into big bowl. Then pour in the wet stuff.
- Mix it all up. Oil your loaf pan, and then mush up your “dough” real good with your strong hands or a big spoon. Take pride in your mush-job; this is all of the handling you’re doing to do with this “dough.” Once it’s mixed real good, scoop it into your oiled pan and smooth out the top so it looks nice. Then stick it in the fridge and leave it alone for at least a few hours, up to a whole day.
- Bake it. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400ºF (200ºC.) Remove the bread from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Bake the bread for about an hour or so, then take it out and gently remove the loaf from the pan. Let cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours (YES, two whole hours). Don’t rush it here folks, this bread is D*E*N*S*E, and if you don’t wait for it to cool, it really won’t be as yummy.
- Toast and eat. This bread is definitely best sliced nice and thin (around 1/2-inch, 12mm) and then toasted up and spread with whatever your heart desires. And don’t worry if you’re adventuring somewhere without toaster access (like a gorgeous river in the middle of nowhere), it will still be scrumptious, I promise.
Notes: Here are a few answers to questions that have been asked a few times:
– If you are making the bread for people who are gluten-free, be sure to use not only oats that are certified gluten-free, and make sure all the ingredients have been processed under gluten-free conditions.
– I don’t know about substitutions. Most recipe developers test things many times, with various ingredients in differing quantities before settling on what they feel is the best version of the recipe. Generally speaking, liquid sweeteners can be swapped out (such as honey for the maple syrup) and probably some other flaked grains could be used in place of the oats. But not having tried them, I can’t say for sure. But I think the bread is pretty versatile and lends itself to testing out variations, as Josey did from the original recipe.
– Josey’s recipe doesn’t say whether or not to cover it while it’s resting or being refrigerated. I don’t know if it’s important, but you could drape a kitchen towel over the top if you wish. It wouldn’t hurt.
