More Great Bread


I tried another recipe out of my well-used Baking Bread: Old and New Traditions by Beth Hensperger. This one was called Miller's Hearth Bread. It contains a variety of grains. If you have a hand grinder, the milled grains will make this bread even more satisfying.

Miller's Hearth Bread

1/4 C raw pearl barley
1/2 C raw brown rice
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C whole wheat flour or wheat berries
1 1/2 T active dry yeast
1/4 C brown sugar
2 1/4 C warm water
4 T melted butter
1 T salt
3 1/2 - 4 C bread flour (I used part ww pastry flour and part gold-n-white)
1/4 C cornmeal for dusting

* Grind barley, rice, oats, and wheat berries or ww flour in a grinder or food processor

* In a small bowl sprinkle yeast and a pinch of brown sugar over /2 C of the warm water. Stir until dissolved and let sit 10 minutes or until foamy.

* In a large bowl whisk remaining water, sugar, butter, salt, and whole-grain flor mixture. Beat until creamy then add the yeast mixture and 1 C of white lour. Beat again for another minute. Add remaining flour 1/2 C at a time.

* Turn the dough on a floured work surface and knead about 3 minutes. (I needed to add more flour, but be careful not to add too much).

* Place in a greased deep container and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

* Turn the dough on the work surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Form into round loaves and place on a cornmeal-covered peel for stone baking or cornmeal-covered baking sheet or form into rectangular loaves for 2 greased 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Cover loosely with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled again. About 45 minutes. About twenty minutes before the dough has doubled, preheat oven to 400 F and place stone in if using.

*With a serrated knife slash the tops decratively not more than 1/4 inch deep. Place bread in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until deep brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Remove from pans or stone and cool on racks. Enjoy.

I love the texture of a bubbly yeast mixture

I love this hand grinder. Moh picked it up at a flea market back in Sagle, ID. I use it for small batches of flour, but I've been too lazy to grind larger amounts of red wheat berries.