It’s not my name – okay?! This recipe also comes from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. This is perfect baking weather – not too hot or too cold and not damp. We plowed through the Anadama bread that I made last week. It was wonderful for sandwiches but was particularly scrumptious, toasted and spread with unsalted butter and drizzled with honey. I will definitely be making that again, but I wanted to try something different that I could still use for sandwiches and looked no further than this multi-grain loaf. 

Years ago I had bought old-fashioned rolled steel bread pans and that’s what I used for this bread. It makes a wonderful crust and this time served to very briefly make me forget that it was 2016. It’s going to take an awful lot of bread baking to help me survive the next 4 years…

Multi-grain Bread Extraordinaire by Peter Reinhart from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Yield: One 2 pound loaf

Ingredients

For the Soaker

3 Tablespoons coarse cornmeal or polenta (you could substitute millet, quinoa or amaranth)

3 Tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tablespoons wheat bran

1/4 cup water, at room temperature

For the Dough

3 cups bread flour plus up to one cup more to add when kneading

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 Tablespoon instant dried yeast

3 Tablespoons cooked brown rice (I cooked up some brown rice, served some with dinner and froze 3 Tablespoon packets for future baking)

1.5 Tablespoons honey (or substitute Agave or other vegan sweetener, if so desired)

1/4 cup buttermilk (you can use any kind of “milk” and if you add 1 teaspoon of distilled vinegar to it and allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes, you will have a buttermilk substitute)

3/4 cup water, at room temperature

About 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Just before going to sleep the night before you bake the bread, prepare the soaker. Combine all of the soaker ingredients in a small bowl. The water will barely hydrate the grain. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to initiate the enzyme action.
2. The next day, stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, using the paddle attachment. Add the soaker, rice, honey, buttermilk and water. Stir until the ingredients start to form a ball. If using a mixer, do this on a low speed. If there is some flour remaining, add a few drops of water.
3. Either knead with the dough hook for 8 to 10 minutes, adding flour in small amounts until the dough is pliable but not sticky or knead by hand on a floured counter. I used my mixer but then still had to knead by hand, adding about 1/2 to 3/4 cup additional flour to get the dough the right consistency. The dough should be smooth and slightly shiny when it is ready. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the  bowl, rolling it all around in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow it to ferment for 90 minutes or until doubled. Mine took exactly 90 minutes.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and press it by hand into a rectangle that is about 6 inches wide and 8 to 10 inches long. Fold it into thirds and pinch together the seams and fold under the ends. Place this packet into your oiled 9 x 5 inch bread pan. Brush with tap water, sprinkle on your poppy seeds, if using, and then spray lightly with oil (or a spray like PAM). Lightly cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for up to 90 minutes or until the dough crests fully above the lip of the pan, doming about 1 inch above at the center. Don’t get hung up on the timing. Mine took just one hour to get there. Start heating your oven to 350 degrees F. after 30 minutes so it will be nice and hot by the time the dough was ready. 
5. I baked mine for a total of 58 minutes, but every oven is different. I baked it for 25 minutes and then turned it. After 50 minutes, it looked like it wasn’t quite brown enough for me so I turned it again and gave it 8 more minutes. When I rapped on the top of the bread and it sounded hollow, I knew it was done. Turn it out immediately onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. When it is totally cool, you can wrap it tightly in foil. The bread should also freeze well should you be making a bigger batch.