The Master of the Five Grains

Title.....terrible reference to an 80's fantasy novel and Megadeth.............nothing to do with bread.

Ok, I am going to post another bread I made using the famous sourdough starter. I am putting a hold on the sausage making for a time, until I can eat through the back log of wieners in the freezer. With Summer here and a recently aquired BBQ, I am sure I will prevail over the abundance of ground pork occupying the icebox. So onwards and upwards with another session of leavening.

Todays feature bread will be a German style 5 grain loaf. Germans and Austrians are pretty nuts about their whole grains and seeds. I don't think you could pass off what we call store bought bread in either of those countries very easily. Gooey, chewy, soft plastic bread is not going to cut it with the Germanic type. Whole grain, hearty bread is the fast track to any Bavarian or Tyrolean you might hold dear to your heart. This particular recipe has five grains: Rye, Brown Rice, Corn, Oats and Flax. Two seeds in this dough are more important than the others. The flax seeds come from the linen plant and are full of linoleic enzymes which are very good for digestion. The other important grain is the cooked rice. It will help the final bread retain some precious moisture and keep the bread from turning into a brick. Make sure you cook the rice thoroughly, even slightly past done, to ensure the bread isn't hard on the teeth.

Grain Elevator Music: Electric Wizard, Black Masses (2010)

5 Kernbrot

Firm Starter (made a day in advance)
-1 Cup Unbleached Bread Flour
-1 1/4 Cup Sourdough Starter

Combine flour and starter, form into a firm dough and let sit in a covered bowl for 3-4 hours in cool place. Refrigerate overnight

Dough
-Firm Starter from day before
-4 2/3 Cups Unbleached Bread Flour
-1 Cup Coarse Rye Flour
-1/2 Cup Cooked Brown Rice (You can substitute with Rice Flour, but the bread will be less moist)
-1/3 Cup Polenta
-1/3 Cup Rolled Oats
-1/4 Ground Flax Seeds
-2 1/2 Tsp. Salt
-1 Tbs. Honey
-2 1/2 Cups Cold Water
-3 Tbs. Whole Flax Seeds (optional to sprinkle on surface before baking)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and knead for 15 minutes till you form a smooth surfaced dough. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and let stand in a cool place for 4-5 hours to ferment. Refrigerate overnight. Remove the bowl from fridge the following day and allow the dough to warm for at least an hour before using it. Divide the dough into 2-3 pieces and form into bread shapes. Place the loaves into breadforms or on a slightly floured board and cover with a plastic bag. Allow 3-4 hour proofing in a warm place then refrigerate overnight. Remove bread from fridge at least 1 hour before baking. Pre-heat oven to 475 F. and place an empty baking pan on the shelf below your baking stone. Turn the risen loaves out onto a floured bakers peel and slash the surface of the bread. I forgot to do this....but now is when you can brush the surface with water and sprinkle on some flax seeds. Slide the loaves into the oven and throw 1 cup of warm water into the baking pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 475, the turn down the oven to 450 F and bake for another 25-35 minutes until the crust is dark brown and hollow sounding when thumped.

This sourdough starter keeps on producing very flavorful breads with near perfect air pockets in the crumb. This bread is perfect with just butter, as well as most tart jams and marmalades.