Morning Glory Muffins
Fresh Fruit Coffee Cake
New Flaky Pie Dough
Macrina’s Tuxedo Cake
Chocolate Walnut Tart
Ribollita with Seasoned Croutons
Sesame Millet Bread
Blackburn Wheat Bread

Since the first edition of this book was released in 2003, I’ve kept a list of the requests we’ve received for new recipes. And now, with this new chapter, I have been given an opportunity to fulfill a few of those requests. To begin with, I offer you Morning Glory Muffins. This muffin, bursting with fresh apples, carrots, and pineapple, has become our most popular. We also serve a different variety of Fresh Fruit Coffee Cake every day, showcasing seasonal fresh fruit. The recipe presented here is easy to prepare and is perfect for weekend brunch.

Everyone I know loves chocolate cake, and we are always creating new varieties for the menu at Macrina. One of the first cakes we ever offered, our Tuxedo Cake, has become our most popular and has earned a place of honor on the cover of this book. We create different versions of this cake throughout the year and the recipe here, lightened by whipped cream and ripe raspberries, is one of my personal favorites.

Every year, in preparation for the holiday season, our pastry cooks create special new desserts to feature in our list of offerings. Some are made only once, and others become annual crowd pleasers. The Chocolate Walnut Tart falls into this second category. This rich and decadent dessert can be made in less than an hour and is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.

My baking philosophy has always been to stay true to a recipe’s origins, and I stand firmly behind that goal. But, obviously, it is also important to consider food allergies and nutritional value when deciding what food to put on our tables. With that in mind, I accepted the challenge of developing more recipes that took into account gluten intolerance, the dangers of trans fats, and the popularity of a vegan diet. In this new chapter you will find recipes for our new gluten-free Sesame Millet Bread and the vegan Blackburn Wheat Bread. Both are recent additions to our retail shelves. I have also updated our popular Flaky Pie Dough recipe, replacing old-fashioned vegetable shortening with a newly available variety of palm fruit shortening, which contains no trans fats and yields wonderful results.

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

This is by far our most popular muffin, and customers have been requesting the recipe for years. I prefer fresh pineapple when possible, but the unsweetened, canned variety works just fine.

Makes 12 muffins

½ cup seedless raisins
⅓ cup walnut halves
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoons cinnamon
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 medium carrot, grated
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
¾ cup chopped pineapple
3 eggs
¼ cup canola oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
⅓ cup coarse raw sugar

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the insides of a muffin tin with canola oil.

• Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let sit for 10 minutes while raisins plump, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. Set aside. Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then chop coarsely and set aside.

• Sift flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix gently with a wooden spoon and set aside. In a separate medium bowl, combine raisins, walnuts, carrot, apple, pineapple, eggs, canola oil, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and coconut, and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add dry ingredients and continue stirring just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. It’s important not to overmix.

• Scoop batter into oiled muffin tin, filling the cups to the top. Sprinkle coarse raw sugar on tops of muffins and bake on the center rack of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. The finished muffins will be deep brown. Let cool for 20 minutes, then slide a fork down the side of each muffin and gently lift it from the pan.

FRESH FRUIT COFFEE CAKE

This is what weekend mornings are made for. Shuffle into the kitchen in your pajamas and mix up this recipe while the coffee brews. Pop the pan in the oven, pour a cup of java, grab the paper from the front porch, and crawl back into bed until the aroma of fresh coffee cake draws you back into the kitchen. Need I say more? To make the best possible cake, use fresh fruit picked at the height of its growing season.

Makes 1 bundt cake

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups ripe fruit (whole berries or fruit cut into ½-inch pieces)
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1½ cups buttermilk
Edible flowers and powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a 12-cup bundt pan.

• Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and toss with your hands to combine. Remove ¼ cup of the flour mixture and set bowl aside.

• In a separate medium bowl, combine fruit and the reserved ¼ cup of flour mixture. Toss until fruit is evenly coated, and set aside. Tossing the fruit in flour helps keep it from sinking to the bottom of the coffee cake—a true disaster!

• Combine butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment for 5 to 8 minutes on medium speed. The mixture will become smooth and pale in color. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure the first egg is fully mixed into the batter before adding the other. After the second egg is incorporated, add vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds to make sure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

• Alternately add small amounts of flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, mixing with a wooden spoon just until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Gently fold in the flour-coated fruit, making sure the fruit is evenly distributed through the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared bundt pan, filling two-thirds of the pan.

• Bake on the center rack of the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Check the center of the coffee cake with a skewer. It will come out clean when the cake is done. Let cool in pan for 45 minutes.

• Loosen the sides of the cake with a sharp knife. Place a serving plate, upside down, on top of the cooled bundt pan and invert the pan to remove the cake.

• This delicious coffee cake is perfect just the way it is, but I like to jazz up the presentation with a few fresh, edible flowers and a dusting of powdered sugar.

NEW FLAKY PIE DOUGH

Nonhydrogenated shortenings, like the one used in this recipe, tend to soften quicker than traditional vegetable shortenings do when they reach room temperature. Therefore, it is important to always work with this pie dough while it is cold. If the dough reaches room temperature, it will become difficult to handle and will fall apart. Unlike our original Flaky Pie Dough recipe (page 127), this dough is best prepared in a stand mixer. If mixing by hand, it will take considerably longer to cut all of the butter into the flour.

Makes enough dough for 2 double-crusted (9-inch) pies, or 2 (10-inch) rustic galettes or tarts

5¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
14 ounces (3½ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ¼-inch pieces
¾ cup palm fruit shortening, chilled*
1 cup ice water
✻ available in specialty shops and some supermarkets

• Combine flour and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add half of the butter and, using the paddle attachment, pulse a few times by quickly turning the mixer on and off. (This is a way of gradually cutting the butter into the flour without sending the flour skyward.) Add remaining butter and continue pulsing until the mixture is coarse and crumbly, 2 to 3 minutes.

• Break up shortening and add it in small pieces. Pulse until dough is crumbly again. Add ice water all at once and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, just until water is incorporated.

• Dust your hands with flour and pull dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface (chilled marble is ideal). Divide dough into 2 pieces and pat into blocks. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Since this recipe makes enough dough for 2 pies, I like to double-wrap one and freeze it for future baking.

• For further handling and baking instructions, please see the original Flaky Pie Dough recipe.

Creating Our New Flaky Pie Dough

I have been a member of the Seattle chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier (an international organization of women working in the food industry) for many years, and have found it to be a wonderful source of mentorship, camaraderie, and resource sharing. Recently I attended a Les Dames-sponsored program featuring authors Kim Severson and Cindy Burke, who wrote The Trans Fats Solution. Like all of us, I had been hearing a lot about the dangers of trans fats in the news. But it wasn’t until I attended this lecture that I truly understood the need for alternatives to hydrogenated shortening and fats.

Macrina’s original recipe for Flaky Pie Dough (see page 127) uses a combination of butter and vegetable shortening, which I believe creates the best texture and flavor. I was hoping to eliminate the vegetable shortening without compromising the quality. First, I went to our supplier, Seattle’s Glory Bee Foods, in search of an alternative to vegetable shortening. Glory Bee offers a wide variety of organic flours, nuts, and other baking ingredients, and as it turned out, they had a new product called organic palm fruit shortening. They suggested I give it a try.

Palm fruit shortening is processed using only steam, high temperatures, and a mechanical press. No chemicals are used in the process. It is naturally solid at room temperature and needs no refrigeration. It is lower in saturated fat than butter and is free of cholesterol and trans fatty acids. Palm fruit shortening should not be confused with palm kernel oil, which is high in saturated fats and should be avoided. I was thrilled to find this healthy alternative.

Our bakers and I experimented and found that the palm fruit shortening worked well in our cookies and biscotti. But the big test was incorporating it into our pie dough. We discovered that palm fruit shortening does bake differently than the hydrogenated shortening I was accustomed to, in that it holds more moisture while baking. To compensate, we ended up reducing the amount of shortening used in the recipe and increasing the amount of butter. This healthier version of our original recipe yields nice results. Just as chefs have a responsibility to support sustainable resources such as agriculture, bakers need to incorporate advances in nutritional awareness whenever possible.

MACRINA’S TUXEDO CAKE

From birthdays to wedding celebrations, this elegant cake is one of our most popular special-occasion cakes. The combination of fresh raspberries and Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream offers a perfect balance to the rich Chocolate Ganache. When fresh raspberries are out of season, try substituting a layer of quality raspberry preserves.

Makes 1 (9-inch) layer cake

1 cup dark cocoa powder
2 cups boiling water
2½ cups cake flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Syrup (page 112)
Chocolate Ganache, at room temperature (recipe follows)
Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream (page 106)
2 cups (1 pint) fresh raspberries
White Chocolate Frosting, at room temperature (page 117)
Edible flowers and granulated sugar, for garnish (optional)

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare 2 (9 x 3-inch) cake pans by brushing the insides with oil and lining the bottoms with 10-inch circles of parchment paper. Set aside.

• Sift cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Carefully pour in boiling water and mix with a whisk until cocoa is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

• Into a separate medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Toss with your hands to combine, and set aside.

• Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and mix for about 5 minutes to cream the butter. The mixture will become smooth and pale in color. Start adding eggs, one at a time, taking care to mix in each addition fully before adding the next. After the last egg is incorporated, add vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.

• Add about one-sixth of the wet cocoa mixture and one-sixth of the dry ingredients to the bowl, and pulse a few times by quickly turning the mixer on and off just until combined. Repeat 5 times, until all ingredients are incorporated, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula between additions.

• Divide batter equally between the prepared pans and place them on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until deep brown. Test center with a skewer to make sure it’s done. It will come out clean when the cake is finished. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.

• Invert the cooled cakes to remove them from the pans. If they stick, run a sharp knife around the sides of the cakes to release them from the pans. Peel the parchment paper off the bottoms of the cakes. To ensure an elegant, level cake, use a sharp bread knife to carefully cut the domed tops off of the cakes. (Discard pieces or save for snacking.) Next, gently cut each cake horizontally into 2 equal layers, creating a total of 4 layers from the 2 cakes. Place one layer on a serving plate or cardboard cake circle and brush it with a little Vanilla Syrup. Spread half of the Chocolate Ganache evenly over the layer, about ¼-inch thick. Top with another cake layer and brush with Vanilla Syrup. Spread Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream evenly over the layer and sprinkle raspberries on top, reserving a few for garnish. Top with another cake layer, brush again with Vanilla Syrup, and spread on the remaining ganache. Add the final cake layer. Place a dollop of White Chocolate Frosting on top of the cake and spread it ⅛-inch thick, spreading any excess frosting down the sides. Spread a little more frosting on the sides until the entire cake has what bakers call a crumb coat—a thin underlayer of frosting that keeps crumbs out of the final layer of frosting. Chill cake in refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. The remaining frosting can stay at room temperature while the cake chills.

• Remove the cake from the refrigerator and, using an offset spatula, add a final, smooth layer of frosting. I like to finish this cake with sugar-dusted berries and flowers, which are easy to prepare. (Simply brush the berries or fresh flowers with a little beaten egg white and dust with granulated sugar. Then let them dry on a wire rack.) Store the finished cake in your refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cake is best enjoyed at room temperature, so remove it from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before serving.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Makes enough to fill 1 (9-inch) layer cake

2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or chips)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or chips)

• Pour cream into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. As soon as it begins to boil, turn off the heat and add chocolate. Mix constantly with a whisk until chocolate is melted. Using a rubber spatula, transfer ganache into a small bowl and set aside to cool. This ganache can be made in advance and stored for up to 1 week in your refrigerator, but it will need to reach room temperature to be spreadable.

CHOCOLATE WALNUT TART

I’ve been fine-tuning this recipe over the years, making little changes here and there, and have finally arrived at what I feel is a superb version. It’s delicious and easy to prepare at the last minute, especially if you have an unbaked tart shell ready to go in the freezer.

Makes 1 (10-inch) tart

1 cup walnut halves
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
2 egg yolks
1 egg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 pre-baked (10-inch) tart shell, made with Flaky Pie Dough (page 127)
or New Flaky Pie Dough (page 262)
⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream (page 106)

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool and set aside.

• Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, egg yolks, egg, salt, vanilla extract, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Mix with a whisk until ingredients are combined, and set aside.

• Place cooled, pre-baked tart shell on a rimmed baking sheet. Scatter walnuts and chocolate chips evenly in tart shell, then pour in sugar mixture. Use a rubber spatula to scrape remaining batter from the bowl, and gently spread mixture evenly over walnuts and chocolate. The tart shell should be filled to just below the top. Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The top of the tart will be golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 to 20 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan. Serve each warm slice with a spoonful of Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream.

RIBOLLITA WITH SEASONED CROUTONS

This marriage of vegetable soup and yesterday’s bread is a classic Tuscan combination. One of our chefs, Brandon Wicks, makes the dish into a meal by adding savory sausage and chicken.

Makes 4 servings

½ cup dried cannelloni beans
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage links (chicken or pork)
4 thin slices pancetta (about 3 ounces), diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium fennel bulb, cut into large dice
3 celery ribs, diced
1 medium parsnip, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
4 Roma tomatoes, cored and diced
½ small head green cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast
¾ cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups Seasoned Croutons (recipe follows)
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

• Soak beans in water overnight.

• Drain beans and set aside.

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage links and cook until all sides are browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then cut links into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

• Combine remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and pancetta in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot. Cook over medium heat until fat is rendered and pancetta is golden brown. Do not pour off the rendered fat. Add onion, carrot, fennel, celery, and parsnip. Cover the pot and sweat the vegetables over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add garlic, tomatoes, cabbage, rosemary, and thyme, and cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes.

• Add soaked beans, sausage, stock, chicken breast, red wine, and sherry vinegar, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, until beans are fully cooked, adding more stock or water as needed. If foam gathers on the surface of the soup, remove it with a spoon. Remove chicken breast from soup and set aside until it is cool enough to touch. Shred cooled chicken with your hands and return pieces to soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

• Divide croutons among 4 soup bowls, reserving about ½ cup. Ladle soup over croutons and garnish each serving with a drizzle of good olive oil, some Italian parsley, and the reserved croutons.

SEASONED CROUTONS

We use a lot of these savory croutons at our cafes. They’re perfect for topping soups and salads, and can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 3 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely diced
3 cups white bread cubes (about ½ loaf), cut into ½-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and garlic and continue cooking just until garlic is heated through, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

• Place bread cubes in a medium bowl. Pour in butter mixture and toss until bread cubes are evenly coated. Transfer cubes to rimmed baking sheet and spread evenly. Using a rubber spatula, scrape any remaining butter from the bowl and scatter over the bread cubes. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.

• Bake on the center rack of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until croutons are golden brown. Let cool and enjoy.

Gluten-Free Baking

Customers started requesting a gluten-free loaf shortly after we opened our doors, and I am pleased to say we are finally offering one. We created our new Sesame Millet Bread (page 271) in response to the increasing awareness of gluten intolerance. Many people, as a result of allergies or chronic exposure, can no longer digest products that contain gluten. Very few commercially produced alternative products are available, so most individuals resort to baking at home.

My first task was researching and finding sources for alternative ingredients to the flours usually used at the bakery. I consulted with other bakers and read as much literature as I could find on the topic. It turns out there are more and more options for gluten-free baking, and many of the necessary ingredients are readily available at health food stores or the bulk section of your local supermarket.

One ingredient in our wheat-free loaf is millet, which is actually the seed of a tall grass. Ground into fine flour, it has great nutritional value and a sweet, nutty taste that doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of the loaf. Millet flour goes bitter with time, so it’s best to use the freshest available. Other ingredients to have on hand include tapioca flour, corn flour (not to be confused with semolina flour, which actually contains gluten), and garbanzo bean flour (also known as chick pea flour).

The challenge with this sort of baking is that the lack of gluten can result in very dense breads that don’t rise well. You know the loaves I’m talking about—dense as bricks and just about as much fun to eat. One way to improve the texture of these loaves is to include an ingredient called xanthan gum. It is produced in a lab and effectively replaces the gluten in a recipe, allowing your loaves to rise. Xanthan gum is expensive, but a little goes a long way—so one package will last through many days of baking.

Here in Seattle, I was able to get almost everything I needed at my local Whole Foods store. Another great resource is bobsredmill.com, where customers can mail-order a wide range of baking supplies. Sources like these have helped gluten-free baking come a long way, and I hope to offer more new items in the future.

SESAME MILLET BREAD

This dense loaf is similar in appearance to quick breads, but it carries the same texture as classic, hearty, rustic loaves. I chose millet for its nutritional value and its likeness to sweet wheat flour. This bread is great for sandwiches. See Gluten-Free Baking (page 270) for more information on gluten-free alternatives.

Makes 1 (9 x 5-inch) loaf

¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup millet
2 cups warm filtered water
2½ teaspoons dried yeast
⅓ cup canola oil
1¼ cups millet flour
1 cup corn flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1¼ cups tapioca flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Spray bottle of water

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the inside of a 9 x 5 x 4-inch loaf pan with canola oil.

• Combine ½ teaspoon of sesame seeds and ½ teaspoon of millet in a small bowl and set aside. Spread remaining sesame seeds and millet on a rimmed baking sheet and place on center rack of oven. Toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

• Place warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Mix with a whisk to dissolve the yeast. (If mixing by hand, combine warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and mix with a whisk.) Let rest for 5 minutes. The yeast will bloom and the mixture will look foamy. Add canola oil. Using the hook attachment, mix on low speed for 30 seconds. (If mixing by hand, add oil and mix with a whisk to combine.) Add the toasted sesame seeds and millet, millet flour, corn flour, garbanzo bean flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, and salt. Mix on low speed for 1 minute to combine ingredients. Increase speed to medium and mix for another 3 minutes. (If mixing by hand, add seeds, millet, flours, xanthan gum, and salt and mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are combined, several minutes). At this point the mixture will be quite moist and will look more like batter than traditional bread dough.

• Scoop the batter into the loaf pan with a rubber spatula. Using the rubber spatula, press down on the batter to make sure it extends to all corners of the pan, then smooth out the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof in a warm room, 70 to 75°F, for 1 hour. Dough will rise to slightly above the top of the pan.

• While loaf is proofing, preheat oven to 375°F.

• Remove plastic and lightly mist top of loaf with a spray bottle of water. Sprinkle remaining sesame seeds and millet evenly on top. Place pan on the center rack of the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour. The top and sides of the finished loaf will be golden brown. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the sides of the loaf to release it from the pan. Invert the pan to remove the loaf, then continue cooling on a wire rack.

BLACKBURN WHEAT BREAD

This slightly sweet whole-grain loaf was inspired by Macrina staff member Chris Blackburn, who eats an exclusively vegan diet. He suggested sweetening the bread with agave syrup, instead of the more commonly used honey, to make it acceptable for vegans. See Gluten-Free Baking (page 270) for more information on gluten-free and vegan alternatives.

Makes 1 (9 x 5-inch) braided loaf

⅓ cup flax seed
⅓ cup millet
2 cups warm filtered water
2½ teaspoons dried yeast
½ cup agave syrup sweetener*
⅓ cup canola oil
3¼ cups coarse whole-wheat flour
½ cup millet flour
½ cup barley flour
1 cup tapioca flour
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
Spray bottle of water
^✻available in specialty shops and some supermarkets

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Measure out 1 teaspoon of flax seed and set aside for sprinkling on top of the loaf.

• Spread millet on a rimmed baking sheet and place on center rack of oven. Toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer millet into a small bowl. Cover with ½ cup of warm water and let sit, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Set aside. Do not pour off water.

• Place remaining 1½ cups warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Mix with a whisk to dissolve the yeast. (If mixing by hand, combine warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and mix with a whisk.) Let rest for 5 minutes. The yeast will bloom and the mixture will look foamy. Add the rest of the flax seed, soaked millet (with water), agave syrup sweetener, canola oil, whole-wheat flour, millet flour, barley flour, tapioca flour, and kosher salt. Using the hook attachment, mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes to combine ingredients. Increase speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. (If mixing by hand, add flax seed, soaked millet, agave syrup sweetener, canola oil, flours, and kosher salt and mix with a wooden spoon until ingredients are combined. Knead with your hands for 10 to 12 minutes.) Dough will be wet at first but will eventually form a ball, pulling away from the base of the bowl. Finished dough will have a satiny finish and bounce back quickly when poked with a finger.

• Transfer dough to an oiled, medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set bowl in a warm room, 70 to 75°F, and let rise for 1 hour. Dough will almost double in size.

• Brush the inside of a 9 x 5 x 4-inch loaf pan with canola oil.

• Pull dough from the bowl onto a floured surface and pat it into a rectangle with your hands. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope approximately 10 inches long. Line the strands up side by side and, starting at one end, braid the pieces (see photos in Raisin Brioche Twist recipe, page 44). Pinch the ends together to form a seal and fold the ends underneath.

• Lift the braid into the loaf pan and gently press down on the dough to make sure it extends to all corners of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof in a warm room for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Dough will rise to just above the top of the pan.

• While loaf is proofing, preheat oven to 350°F.

• Remove plastic and lightly mist top of loaf with a spray bottle of water. Sprinkle remaining teaspoon of flax seed evenly over the top. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour. The top and sides of the finished loaf will be deep golden brown. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the sides of the loaf to release it from the pan. Invert the pan to remove the loaf, then continue cooling on a wire rack.