Multigrain Loaf (By the Canadian Living Test Kitchen)

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 4 cups multigrain whole wheat bread flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons buckwheat honey (Reg. liquid honey, just as good)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Starter

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup multigrain whole wheat bread flour

Topping

• 1/2 teaspoon multigrain whole wheat bread flour

Directions

1. 1

   Preparation:

2. 2

   Starter: In large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, stirring until mixture is consistency of thick pancake batter, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand in warm place until bubbly and puffy, and wheaty aroma develops, 8 to 12 hours.

3. 3

   Stir in 3-1/4 cups (800 mL) of the flour, warm water, honey and salt to make soft sticky dough.

4. 4

   Turn out onto generously floured surface; knead, dusting with as much of the remaining flour as necessary to prevent sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into ball; place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover dough with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

5. 5

   Grease 9- x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan; set aside.

6. 6

   Punch down dough. Shape into ball; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Press into 11- x 8-inch (28 x 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at short end, roll up into cylinder; pinch along bottom and ends to seal. Fit, seam side down, into prepared pan. Cover with clean tea towel and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

7. 7

   Topping: Dust top of loaf with flour. Slash top lengthwise down centre, starting and ending about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from edges of pan. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until instant-read thermometer registers 215°F (102°C) and loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.

8. 8

   Additional Information

9. 9

   Variations

10. 10

    Unbleached White Loaf:

11. 11

    Replace multigrain bread flour with unbleached white bread flour. Replace buckwheat honey with mild liquid honey.

12. 12

    Whole Wheat Loaf:

13. 13

    Replace multigrain bread flour with whole wheat bread flour.