BBBuddies: Granary-Style Bread

A christening of sorts -- my first official bread in the new house turned out to be Granary-style bread from the Bread Baking Babes.  Tanna chose quite a challenge.  Because this bread requires a very special kind of flour, only found in England, all the bakers had to rely on their creativity to replicate this loaf. 

In the interest of speed and brevity (I need to post this immediately), I will just say that I auditioned two recipes, both requiring malted wheat flakes, which I ordered from King Arthur Flour.  It arrived in time, and I proceeded to bake my breads.

The first recipe is from The New Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  The dough is made a day in advance, then you can bake a loaf to order.

The second recipe is from King Arthur Flour's website.  I still haven't found my bread pans, so I improvised with foil.  Let me just say that a make-shift foil pan may be a good idea, but it's no match for the power of rising bread.  The result was only ok.  It lacked flavor.

My preference was the Artisan bread.  Definitely flavorful and easy to make. 

Now that I have the malted wheat flakes, I'll give this bread a try again.




English Granary Style Bread
Makes 4 loaves, slightly less than one pound pound each. Can easily be doubled or halved (store and use extra dough in the fridge for up to 10 days)

3 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon granulated yeast (or one packet)
1 tablespoon coarse salt (recipes tested with Morton’s Kosher)
1/4 cup malt powder
1 cup malted wheat flakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
cornmeal or parchment for the pizza peel

Cornstarch wash (blend 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch with a small amount of water using a fork; add 1/2 cup water and microwave or simmer till mixture appears glassy)
1 tablespoon cracked wheat, for sprinkling [optional]

Mix, store, and shape the dough according to the Master Recipe Instructions, but include the malt powder with the water, yeast and salt, then add all the flours and malted wheat flakes.  If you want a more open hole structure, consider the longer rest after shaping.

Place a metal broiler tray (no glass) near the bottom of the oven, and a baking stone near the center– and preheat to 400 degrees (about 20 to 30 minutes). Just before the loaf goes into the oven, brush with cornstarch wash and sprinkle with the cracked wheat if you’re using it. Slash a cross or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone, pour 1 cup hot tap water into the broiler tray, and bake for about 35 minutes. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in baking times
   .