Caramelized Onion Wild Rice Bread

Some of you may have noticed that I had some Biga left after making the Potato Rosemary Bread. What did I do with it? I seized the opportunity to play around with dough in the kitchen and came up with this lovely bread. I was very happy with the results. Chewy crust and fairly open crumb with little pockets of caramelized onion throughout and toothsome bits of wild and brown rice popping up here and there. It would be perfect for sandwiches of leftover turkey or grilled veggies. It also stands alone quite well.

This will make 3 9x5" loaf pans of bread. I did experiment with free form loaves, and they will work, but I found the loaf pan bread to be the most pleasing..... On with the recipe!

Caramelized Onion Wild Rice Bread:

11 ounces of Biga, cut into pieces and allowed to sit out covered at room temperature for about an hour.
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup water
2 cups cooked wild rice/brown rice blend (I just used a half and half mixture of wild rice to brown rice and cooked 1 cup of this mixture in 2 cups of water for about 45 minutes)
1 1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
5-6 cups unbleached bread flour or high gluten flour if you can find some.
1 1/2 Tbsp salt (I used sea salt..kosher or table salt would work fine I'm sure)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 medium yellow or white onions julienned and caramelized in 2 Tbsp butter.
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-In a mixing bowl with a dough hook on low speed mix together the Biga, buttermilk, water, rice and yeast until a slightly blended together.
-Add the flour, salt and brown sugar, and mix on low until the dough just starts to come together.
-Add the caramelized onions, mix on low until they are incorporated, then switch the speed to medium (if mixing by hand...once the dough comes together in the bowl, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes) and mix for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the dough is very elastic and smooth (with the exception of the rice and onion bits). Add more flour during the kneading process if the dough is too slack.
-Shape the dough into a ball and let it ferment in an oiled bowl for about one hour (because of the sugar in this dough, it is a fast mover) or until doubled.


-Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into three even sections. Shape the dough into logs that will fit the length of your 9x5" pans, spray the pans with pan spray and place the dough inside. Spray the tops of the loaves with pan spray and cover in plastic for about 45 minute to 1 hour or until just about doubled.
-Have oven preheating to 350f during the last half hour of the rise. You want a lower temperature for this bread because the sugars and onions will cause the crust to brown faster and darker.
-Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the bread is done.
-Turn out of the pans and cool on a rack.
-Slice and enjoy! Yummy!