Multi Grain Bread (two loaves)
(4 ½ to 7 hours to prepare)

• 1 ½ cups warm water (around 110*)
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups sourdough starter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 cup multigrain mixture (combine millet, cracked wheat, rye, rolled oats etc.)
• ¼ cup seeds (sesame, flax or sunflower) optional
• 2-4 cups whole wheat bread flour

Stir 1 teaspoon maple syrup into warm water in bowl; mix in yeast until dissolved. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until it gets a little foamy. In a large bowl, mix together yeast mixture, sourdough starter, maple syrup, salt and unbleached flour. Beat together well with wooden spoon (100 stokes) to develop the gluten. Add multigrain and seed mixtures and two cups of whole wheat flour. Keep adding remaining flour until dough is just stiff enough to knead.

Turn dough out onto kneading board and knead aprox. 10 minutes, adding more whole wheat flour as needed to prevent sticking to the board. You don’t want to add more flour then necessary, as too much will create a heavy dough. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic and should bounce back when poked.

Form dough into smooth ball and place in an oiled bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place (73 to 90*) until doubled. At between 80 – 90* it will take around two hours to rise. At 73*, it will take 3-4 hours to double. The lower temperature and slower rise is better for developing the taste of the grains in the bread.

When doubled, punch down dough, turn out on board and divide in half. Form dough into loaf shapes and place into either oiled 9 x 5 inch loaf pans or place in floured rising basket or baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal or flour. For a nice topping, you can sprinkle cracked grains, rolled oats or seeds on the bread board and press and roll the top side of the formed loaves round in it until well coated, then place in the baking pans. Let rise untilalmost doubled(45 minutes to 2 hours)

Preheat oven to 425*. If bread is rising in basket, gently turn over onto floured baking sheet. Bake bread in 425* oven for aprox. 45-50 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Turn out of pan and let cool on cooling rack

Sourdough Starter

To make a sourdough starter, you can purchase a commercial sourdough starter powder and follow the directions on the package or make your own as follows.

Sourdough Starter:
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup unbleached flour
1 cup filtered or spring water
¼ teaspoon active dry yeast

Day 1: Combine flours, water and yeast in a ceramic or plastic bowl (don’t use metal.) Beat together well to make a thick batter. Scrap down sides, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at a moderate temperature (around 70*) for 24 hours.

Day 2:
Add ½ cup of whole wheat flour
½ cup unbleached flour
1 cup filtered of spring water

Mix together well, scrape down sides, cover with plastic and let stand at 70* for another 24 hours.

Days 3 and 4: Repeat same procedure as on Day 2, mixing in more flour and water and covering tightly to rise. By day 5, the starter should be ready. It will be bubbly and have a sour, yeasty smell. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sourdough starter, like any yeast dough, should not be eaten until fully baked in bread.

Care of Sourdough Starter: To make bread, you should have a total of at least 4 cups of starter. Divide it into portions, set aside two cups for making bread, and the rest store in a covered plastic container in the refrigerator for your next baking.

The day before baking add:
1 cup of water
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup unbleached bread flour

Mix together well and store in the refrigerator. It’s good to refresh the starter as above twice between baking to keep it lively and have enough on hand for baking bread.

If you do not bake once a week, you should still refresh it to keep up the quality. You can discard part of it and refresh the rest with the above ingredients and refresh once more the day before baking.