This grits bread uses cooked, leftover stone ground grits as the base for a flavorful and soft sandwich bread with incredible keeping qualities. It toasts beautifully and is soft enough for kids to enjoy while still standing up to hearty sandwich fixin's.
NOTE: Instructions for including an overnight rise as well as for making burger buns or dinner rolls are in the Notes section.
10oz1 level cup cooked stone ground grits, coldmeasure 10 oz AFTER cooking and cooling the grits
2teaspoonskosher saltI use Morton's
1ozhoney or sorghum syrup
1ozbacon fat or soft butter
4ozwhole milk
13.5ozall purpose or bread flour
1 ½teaspoonsinstant yeast
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in your mixer bowl in the order given.
Fit your mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed until all the ingredients have been incorporated and you have a shaggy dough.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead for 10-12 minutes, until all the dough gathers in a ball around the dough hook. NOTE: Please watch the video to see in real time what the dough looks like while kneading. It will help you resist the urge to add more flour.
Once the dough is smooth, shiny, and nicely stretchy, oil your hands and form the dough into a ball. Plop it back in the mixer bowl, spray lightly with oil or pan spray, and cover it with a lint-free towel or plastic wrap.
Allow to rise in a cozy place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. I like to put a mug of boiling water in the microwave, place the covered dough next to it, and shut the door.
Plop your dough onto a clean surface. Press out all the gas bubbles you can and then fold the dough a couple of times just to redistribute the yeast.
Pat the dough into a rectangle about 6" wide and 14" long. You don't have to measure, honest.
Starting at a short end, roll up the rectangle of dough tightly, like a jelly roll. At this point the dough cylinder will be about 9" long because it will stretch out as you roll it up.
Tuck the ends of the roll down towards your work surface and then place the roll of dough into a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan, again pointing the ends of the log down towards the bottom of the loaf pan.
Spray with pan spray and let rise until it is about 1" over the top of the pan, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
When the loaf is nicely risen, make a 1/2" slash with a sharp knife right down the center of the loaf.
Bake until nicely golden brown with an internal temperature of between 195F and 200F. If the loaf seems to be browning more than you would like before it's ready, loosely tent with foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking.
If desired, brush the top of the loaf with melted butter as soon as it comes out of the oven. This will keep the crust from getting crispy as it cools.
Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
To Make Burger Buns
Make the dough following the above instructions, 1-6.
After you press out the gases, divide into 7-8 equal sized portions. For accuracy, I always weigh my entire amount of dough and divide by the weight I want my buns to be. The ones in these photos, I scaled out at 3.6 ounces each, and I made 8. You can also scale out to just over 4 ounces apiece and end up with 7 buns that are the perfect size for a large burger.
Place the portioned dough on a parchment lined tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 45 minutes. This will make the dough easier to work with as it is pretty soft.
Remove the tray from the fridge, form each piece of dough into a smooth ball and then, with cupped hands, scoot them around on the counter, using the friction between the dough and the work surface to pull the surface tight so you have a nice, smooth ball. I have a video showing how to shape burger buns if you'd like to see it in action.
Place 4 burger buns each (or 4 and 3) on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Allow the buns to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
If you'd like, you can egg wash the buns and then sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. I used smoked salt and smoked pepper on mine.
Bake on 2 separate racks, for about 20 minutes, rotating the pans and switching shelves halfway through the baking time. The buns should be a light golden brown and the internal temperature should be between 195-200F.
Remove to cool on the pans for 10 minutes and then remove to racks to cool completely.
To Include an Overnight Rise
For a Loaf of Bread
Once you shape and pan the dough, spray the top with pan spray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the pan from the fridge the next day. It will probably have visibly risen, even in the fridge.
Allow to sit in a cozy place until the dough is peeking over the top of the pan by about an inch or so.
Make the slash down the center, and bake as directed.
For the Buns
Follow the main instructions through step 4.
Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, press out any gases that have formed, scale your dough, and continue with the burger bun variation, by scaling and shaping your buns.
Spray with pan spray and allow to rise in a cozy place for about 45 minutes.