Farmer's bread

Not only to late for the Bread Baking Babes but for the Bread Baking Day 20 as well. But you've got to admit; if I'm doing anything I'm doing it allright, that includes being to late.

This time there is a plausible excuse; It wasn't unitil the end of May that I read about the new challenge on the weblog of Lien. Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen had the honour of announcing Bread Baking Day 20: multi grain bread. Baking multi grain bread is exciting and the results are always surprising.

This bread is made of spelt, wheat and corn and the soaker includes buckwheat. The buckwheat gives the bread a very special taste.


My Farmer's bread

Soaker
3 tbsp. broken wheat berries
1 tbsp wheat berries
1 tbsp. buckwheat
4 tbsp. hot water

Dough
200 gr. wholemeal spelt
50 gr. cornmeal
250 gr. bread flour (wheat)
1 tbsp. flax seed
10 gr. fresh yeast (or 5 gr. instant)
340 ml. water, lukewarm
10 gr. salt

Make the soaker app. 8 hours ahead by combining the ingredients and leaving them (covered) for one night.

The next morning: combine in a big bowl the spelt, cornmeal, bread flour and flax seed. Crumble the yeast above the flour mixture with the tip of your fingers.Add the water and knead it just long enough so there are no dry ingredients any more. Leave it covered for 25 minutes for the autolyse. At this point the dough is very sticky and it may look too soft but wait until you've add the salt. The salt will make the dough more firm.

Add the salt and the soaker to the dough. Knead the dough for 7 minutes. Leave it in a well oiled container and leave it 50 to 60 minutes to rise. Give it a double businessletter turn and place it in the container again for 50 to 60 minutes. Repeat the double businessletterturn and leave it till doubled in size.

Place the dough on an oiled working surface and handle it carefully. Don't slam the air out of it but press it softly into a rectangle and form it into an oval bread or a banneton. You can put the dough in the Clay pot (Romertopf) of on a baking sheet for the last proof until almost doubled in size. In the meanwhile preheat the oven till 480 dgr. F. (250 dgr. C.).

Slash the dough as you're used to and bake it in the oven until well coloured. After 10 minutes, lower the heat till 425 dgr. F.(220 dgr. C.). and bake the bread for another 30 minutes.