B12 Bread

Bread is a great source of most B vitamins, but one it does not have, which is probably also the most important, is B12. The reason bread does not have B12 is that B12 can only be made by bacteria, so the yeast used to make bread means that bread does not contain any unless it is fortified with it. This strategy instead uses Propionibacterium from Swiss cheese to ferment the dough, and these bacteria are high B12 producers (Swiss cheese does not actually have much B12, however, because they require cobalt to make B12 and dairy is pretty low in cobalt while grains are high in cobalt). This bread also happens to be extremely delicious. This starter can also be used to make all kinds of bread such as those outlined in my general bread recipe. It makes the dough a bit wetter, so about 10 minutes extra cooking time should be added to those recipes if using the B12 method to ferment the dough. If Swiss cheese is not available, you can replace it with the culture used to make Swiss cheese which are Propionibacterium varieties available online. If you are not familiar with breadmaking, my general bread recipe has more detailed instructions about how to make it. B12 is typically only available in the diet through animal products or supplements, so this bread dough is a more convenient and less expensive option, not to mention more humane. If you do not want to use the egg you may omit it. The egg helps the bread loaf rise taller, but without the egg will still taste great and work beautifully, just producing a more squat loaf. This recipe also produces two loaves. Freeze one if you don’t eat them quickly, or halve the recipe. Alternatively, you can also bake normal bread and add a crushed supplement to it to get a convenient and digestible source of B12.

B12 Bread

5 cups spelt, einkorn, kamut, or emmer flour
2 cups hot tap water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Swiss cheese, smashed or crumbled
1 tsp dry active yeast (optional)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil (optional, for brushing)

In a very large bowl add only 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, then add the two cups of hot tap water and mix. Starting with hot water makes bread dough softer, but if it’s too hot it will coagulate and cook the flour. Hot tap water is typically the perfect temperature to use. Once it is mixed and cooled a bit, add the egg and the Swiss cheese (or Propionibacterium culture), then cover and allow to stand overnight (about 12 hours) in a very warm place. The dough should be robustly foamy by the time you continue. If it’s not foamy and bubbly it is not grown enough and needs to be in a more warm spot (propionibacterium love heat, so you could put near the vent on your stove or in sunlight coming in from a window to help it warm up). Propionibacterium also smells a little funny (it smells the way Swiss cheese tastes) so it should also have a slightly pungent aroma.

When the first ferment is done and the dough is very foamy, add the yeast and salt and combine, then add the remaining flour. You do not need the yeast to make this bread, but it will help the bread turn out more like regular bread in size and shape than with just the propionibacterium alone. It will take a bit to incorporate all the flour at this stage and will look dry until all the water is distributed, but the dough should be very slightly sticky once it is all combined. If it is too dry the dough will have a hard time rising in the oven. Cover again and allow to stand for another 2 hours.

After it has risen, briefly wet your fingers of your dominant hand, then grab the side of the dough and fold it into itself, turning the bowl and repeating this action along all sides of the dough, much like wrapping a present and sticking the corner into the middle. This stretches the gluten proteins and uses them to wrap the dough in a package of sorts. Cover again and let stand another 2 hours.

Repeat the folding action, then turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface (it should not be sticky, if it is, it needed more flour and you can add a little more). Divide the dough into two balls (a dough cutter is a nice tool for this, as well as for scraping the countertop clean when you’re done). Roll and shape each half into a boule or any other kind of bread shape (elongate a boule for more sandwich shaped loaf), then place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (bread will stick to the sheet without parchment even if you flour it). Or you can set into bread tins or a banneton. Cover with a clean dish towel and allow to rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 400˚ F (205˚ C) halfway through the last rise. When the dough is about 1.5 - 1.75 times risen (it may be kind of flat, which is fine, the egg will help it to rise taller during baking), score the top with a razor blade (optional) and bake for about 40 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown. You can brush the top of the dough with a little olive oil to give it a nice shine (the B12 bread has a more matte finish than other bread, so this step makes it look nicer).

This ferment takes longer to bake than using only normal yeast, so if it’s undercooked the center will be wet, but don’t burn the crust or it won’t taste great. Alternatively, for an even softer bread you can also add 1 stick (8 tbsp) of softened butter at the very first stage with the hot water and 2 cups flour for more of a brioche texture.