The Brick
when it needs mortar, not butter
Ok, so butter still works … after toasting.
The lesson in this loaf is this: don’t use a bread-mix as if it’s a single-grain flour. And that’s what I had purchased, “Bread and Bun Mix”. The poolish rose, but not to the extent of the Spelt and Barley Loaf it was baked with. And after the first rise it was sloppy and hard to handle. It barely rose at all during the final proof and bake. All in all, a disappointment. Back to single-grain flours.
Crumb-wise it makes for a very fragile slice, even at 1 cm thick. Toasting saves it … almost.
Ingredients
Poolish
250g “Bread and Bun Mix”
250g warm water
1.25g dried active yeast
Remainder
250g “Bread and Bun Mix”
230g barley flour
45g gluten flour
225g white spelt
450g warm water
10g salt
Method
Mix the poolish (flour, water, yeast) and allow to ferment.
Dilute the poolish with the remainder of the water.
Mix together the remaining flours and the salt.
Combine flours with poolish “solution”.
Form the dough and knead for a few minutes.
Allow to rise for about 3 hours.
Knock down, stretch and fold a few times, and place in a buttered bread tin.
Allow to rise of another 1 1/2 hours or so.
Slash the top with a lame (or try to)
Bake at 220 degrees C for about 45 minutes, the first 15 of which with steam.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from tin.
If you have been able to use or adapt this recipe, please consider donating to my favourite charity: Nireekshana Orphanage, Andhra Pradesh, India. Alternatively, assist with the goal of making the orphanage electrically self-sufficient. The cost of electricity is rising everywhere, including India.