Caramelized Onion Bread with Buckwheat and White Rye

I am so excited about this Caramelized Onion Bread with Buckwheat and White Rye. Why?

1. I had white rye in my freezer. Who has white rye in their freezer for that moment when they need to make a bread with white rye? Me! The great ingredient hoarder. 
2. Look at those amazing holes in the slices of bread! Aren't they gorgeous?
3. Caramelized onions. This bread is infused with a subtle caramelized onion flavor that adds just the perfect sweetness to the bread. 
4. I ground my own buckwheat flour... in a spice grinder!
5. I was introduced to an incredible new bread book, Bien Cuit. 
6. This bread is soooooo delicious!! Seriously! 
7. Look at those amazing holes with those bits of caramelized onions!!

This recipe was selected by Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups for the eight year anniversary of the Bread Baking Babes, a group of women who virtually get together on a monthly basis to bake a new (to us) loaf of bread. These women are amazing, and I'm honored to be a part of the group. 

This bread requires some planning in advance. It can be made over two or three days, depending on your schedule.

Three Day Sample Schedule: Mix the starter at 9 pm. Mix the final dough at 9 a.m the next day and complete the stretch and fold and shaping by around 3 pm the next day. Bake the loaves early in the morning of the third day.

Two Day Sample Schedule: Mix the starter first thing in the morning, no later than 6 am. Mix the final dough at 6 pm, and shape and refrigerate the loaves around 10 pm. Bake the loaves the next day, between 10 am and 4 pm.

The caramelized onions take a long time to make, but it is totally worth it. Plus, you end up with a little dish of onion flavored ghee. So good.

I totally fall for bread books that tell a story about how the author became a bread baker, and this book does not disappoint. The story of Zachary Golper's journey captured me. There is something about artisan bread bakers finding themselves through working with various demanding master bakers.

I'm pretty sure that the other reason that this bread tastes so amazing is the buckwheat flour. It adds a different flavor that definitely works with the sweet onions.

Caramelized Onion Bread

Adapted from Bien Cuit by Zachary Golper

Caramelized Onions

4 ounces unsalted butter

1 large sweet onion, diced into 1/4 inch pieces

1. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Skim off the foam on top and discard. 
2. Add the onion pieces and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. Stir the mixture. 
3. Cook for an additional 15 minutes over low, and stir again. The onions should start to brown. 
4. Over the next 30 to 60 minutes, cook the onions until the mixture develops a deep caramel color. 
5. Strain the onions in a sieve, saving and refrigerating the onion flavored butter. 
6. Set aside the caramelized onions for the bread.

Starter

125 grams white rye flour

generous pinch of instant yeast

125 grams of cool water

1. Mix the ingredients by hand in a small bowl until all of the flour is incorporated. 
2. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment for 12 hours.

Final dough

425 grams bread flour

75 grams buckwheat flour (I ground buckwheat groats in a spice grinder. A food processor or blender would also work)

15 grams fine sea salt

1 gram instant yeast (I used Red Star Platinum)

350 grams cool water

50 grams honey

25 grams room temperature unsalted butter

All of the caramelized onions

Dusting mixture of 50 percent wheat and rice flour

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, and yeast. 
2. Pour about 1/3 of the water into the bowl of starter and stir. Pour the starter and the rest of the water into an extra large bowl. Add the honey. Mix with a dough whisk or wooden spoon. 
3. Add the flour mixture to the bowl in stages, mixing as you go. Switch to a bowl scraper when the dough whisk or spoon no longer work. The dough should be fairly sticky.
4. Stretch and fold the dough a few times until the dough develops some "strength" and resists stretching. 
5. Form the dough into a ball and place it into an oiled bowl. Cover and let it rest at room temperature for 45 minutes. 
6. Stretch and fold the dough from all four "sides" and place it back into the bowl. Cover and let it rest for 45 minutes.
7. Gently press the dough out into a large rectangle and spread with the softened butter. Sprinkle with the caramelized onions. Fold the dough over itself several times to incorporate the butter and onions. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes. 
8. Stretch and fold the dough from all four "sides" and place it back into the bowl. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. 
9. Cut the dough into two pieces and shape into ovals. Let rest for 10 minutes, and reshape into tighter ovals. 
10. Dust a couche or towels with a mixture of wheat and rice flour. Place the towel/couch in a quarter sheet pan and create a support wall for the dough to prop it up. Transfer the dough to the linen. Cover the shaped loaves with a flour dusted towel and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours. 
11. Place a baking stone in your oven with a cast iron pan underneath and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
12. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a peel. Transfer the loaves to the parchment and straighten them with your fingers. Score the loaves lengthwise with a lame. 
13. Transfer the loaves to the stone, dump about 3 cups of ice cubes into the cast iron pan, shut the oven door, and bake for about 25 minutes, until the loaves reach an internal temperature of about 200 degrees F. 
14. Let cool completely before slicing. 

Check out Tanna's post for how to participate as a Buddy.

Happy Anniversary Babes! The babes are:

Aparna, My Diverse Kitchen
Cathy, Bread Experience: Caramelized Onion Spelt Bread Buckwheat Loaf
Heather, All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
Ilva, Ilva Baretta Photography
Judy, Judy’s Gross Eats: Anniversary Onion Bread
Jamie, Life’s a Feast
Karen, Bake My Day: Bread Baking Babes: Cutting edge bread for our 8th Anniversary!!
Karen K, Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Caramelized Onion Bread with Buckwheat and White Rye
Katie, Thyme for Cooking
Kelly, A Messy Kitchen: Caramelized Onion Bread – My first post as an official Bread Baking Babe!
Lien, Notitie van Lien: Bread Baking Babes 8th anniversary!
Pat (aka Elle), Feeding My Enthusiasms: Well Done
Tanna, My Kitchen in Half Cups: Eight Years ~ BBB Caramelized Onion Bread(kitchen of the month)

Welcome to Kelly, the newest Babe!