peasant bread

so, first of all, this recipe was inspired by this recipe which is REALLY GOOD. seriously. make it! 

i made it, and i really liked it! but, i like a bread with a little more heft. some oats, some seeds, some more whole-wheatiness. i used that recipe as my starting point, and tweaked it. honestly i think this is some of the best bread i have ever made... it's not as decadent as a creamy white bread, but ever since i first made it, it's been my everyday bread recipe. i make a batch at a time, and freeze 2 of the 3 loaves (i'm not a huge bread eater). 

it freezes really well, and makes a kickass sandwich. you should really go make it now. 

ingredients:

1 1/2 T yeast

1 1/2 T salt

3 c water

1 c rye flour

1 c c whole spelt or whole wheat flour

1/8 c ground flax seeds

1/2 c rolled oats

3-4.5 c white flour

mix water, salt, yeast. let it sit for a few minutes while you mix the flours. 

mix rye flour, spelt flour, ground flax seeds and oats. 

add water/yeast mixture to flours. i used my stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can mix it by hand with a large spoon as well. 

add more white flour as needed, 1/2 c at a time. once the dough is thick enough not to be sticky, knead with a dough hook in your stand mixer, or with your hands on a floured surface. knead about 5 minutes.

allow to rise 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. i spray the dough and bowl with spray olive oil to prevent sticking. 

dump dough onto floured surface, knead a few times, and break into 3 loaves. if you have a pizza stone and pizza peel, awesome - allow the loaves to rise on the pizza peel covered in cornmeal for 1 hour. 

make some fancy slices into the bread with a sharp knife, if you're feeling snazzy!

if you don't have a pizza peel and stone, coat a cookie sheet in cornstarch or flour, and allow the loaves to rise there. 


if you're using a pizza stone, preheat the oven for a least 20 minutes to give the stone time to heat. then, slide the loaves onto the stone to bake. 

 if you're using a cookie sheet, just preheat the oven for however long it takes, and stick the cookie sheet in.

either way, place a shallow dish with about 1 c hot water in the oven with the bread (add the dish with water in it when you add the bread).

bake at 450 25-30 mins, until the crust is very brown.