At least that’s what Peter Reinhart called this bread in his book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I wanted to make a multigrain bread that is similar to the Winter’s Best kind we get from the store.  We liked its heavy, dense and grainy taste.  With my new pullman pans newly washed and ready to be used, I chose this recipe to test.  It took two days to make, but well worth the wait and effort.  The bread has a slight sweet taste which I liked (my husband was not so excited about it) and a bit fluffy even when let to rise and baked in the pullman covered.  I guess I was expecting it to be a bit denser.  I am doing another test today, this time adding more grains.  In the meantime, here is the result of my first try.

As adapted from Reinhart’s recipe in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, this makes a 2 lb loaf.

Soaker:

• 3 tbs coarse cornmeal or quinoa
• 3 tbs rolled oats or wheat flakes
• 2 tbs wheat bran
• 1/4 cup water room temperature

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight to initiate enzyme action.

Dough

• 3 cups unbleached bread flour or high gluten flour
• 3 tbs brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbs instant yeast
• 3 tbs cooked brown rice or wild rice
• 1 1/2 tbs honey
• 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk (water is fine too but bread will be chewier)
• 3/4 cup water at room temperature

Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add the soaker, rice, honey, milk and water.  Stir until ingredients form a ball.  Continue adding a few drops of water if there are any flour that remains separate.

Sprinkle flour on workspace. Transfer the dough and begin to knead for about 12 minutes, adding flour if needed to make a dough that is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for about 90 minutes or until double in size.  I find it more convenient to use a dough bucket so I can see when it has doubled.

Remove dough from bowl and form into a loaf. Place in lightly oiled pullman pan (or loaf pan). Spray the top with oil, cover and let rest for 90 minutes or until doubled.  I let mine rise until it touched the cover and fills the pullman pan.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake with cover for 20 minutes, then rotate 180 degrees and continue baking for another 20 to 40 minutes until the bread temperature registers at least 190F in the center, golden brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped at the bottom. In my oven (also at 6000 altitude), this process took a good 50 minutes. My oven’s temperature is not so reliable even with a thermometer inside.

Remove immediately from pan when done and cool on rack for at least an hour before slicing.

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