Granary flour is a proprietary product from an English company called Hovis, not available in US stores. The formula in the bread I've made here is an attempt to recreate the multi-grain combination in the Hovis flour.
The mixture of the grains creates a very slightly sweet and malty flavor in the bread. The dark pieces that you see in these slices are the malted wheat flakes, which I ordered from King Arthur Flour. To create the flakes, wheat is allowed to sprout to sweeten it, and then it is dried and flattened. They look and behave a lot like rolled oats.
When this bread is baking, your house will be filled with a wonderful cinnamon-y cardamom-y aroma. In fact, if you're trying to sell your house, I recommend having a loaf of this bread in the oven.
This bread is wonderful sliced with butter. It's not too strong in flavor, and has some texture and crunch from the wheat flakes. It also makes delicious French toast. There is only a hint of sweetness in this bread, so it also balances well with flavorful cheeses and charcuterie.
This month, the #BreadBakers are baking breads with natural sweeteners, the theme chosen by this month's host, Mayuri of the wonderful blog, Mayuri's Jikoni. Along with the naturally sweetened wheat flakes, I also added barley malt syrup, a natural sweetener that is about as half as sweet as honey or sugar.
After the recipe, check out what the rest of the #BreadBakers baked with natural sweeteners.
English Granary-Style No Knead Bread
Makes two slightly less than one pound loavesIngredients
375 grams lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)
5 grams instant yeast
12 grams kosher salt
1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
60 grams malted wheat flakes
65 grams whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
355 grams bread flour
Instructions
- In a four quart container or bowl, mix the dough ingredients with a spoon or your wet hands until everything is incorporated.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours. Place the container in the refrigerator, and let rise overnight, up to 24 hours.
- Remove the dough from the container and divide it into two equal pieces. Form the pieces into balls, and place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for about 80 minutes at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F with a baking stone on the center rack.
- Place a broiler tray on the rack below.
- When the loaves are ready, slash them with a sharp serrated knife and place the baking sheet on top of the baking stone. Add one cup of boiling water to the broiler pan (cover your oven window with a towel while adding the water to the pan). Close the oven door. Alternatively, you can bake the loaves in preheated Dutch ovens as in this recipe.
- Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes. They should reach an internal temperature of about 200 degrees F. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Recipe adapted from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day
Here are the rest of the breads!
- Blackberries and Honey Bread by Kidsandchic
- Cheddar Honey Flowers by Ambrosia
- Date Sweetened Banana Bread by Herbivore Cucina
- Grape Bread by The Bread She Bakes
- Honey Almond Banana Muffins by Baking Yummies
- Honey Cider Quick Loaf by Food Lust People Love
- Honey Pineapple Pull-Apart Rolls by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Mangalore Buns by Sneha's Recipe
- Pain au Levian avec Banane by What Smells So Good?
- Tangerine Honey White Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
This bread is one of my favorites, so flavorful. I even ordered granary flour from Hovis (and bought an official vintage Hovis bread pan off UK eBay—what can I say, it's a sickness) and thought this bread was way better. Yours is gorgeous, as always!
ReplyDeleteI am intimately familiar with that sickness Robin. Thanks so much for the sweet words.
DeleteSuch a wonderful bread using wheat flour and barley malt syrup. Loved the pictures of the perfect crumb you got there!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Smruti!
DeleteWhat a beautiful bread that is. I've been looking for malted wheat flakes in stores, so now I know where to find them. KAF is such a great source 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks Pavani! I'm pretty sure there are bread geeks out there who will sprout their own wheat, dry it, and roll it, but that's not me. Thank goodness for KAF!
DeleteThanks for posting this, it looks so good and the crumb with the malted wheat flakes looks gorgeous! I bet it tastes amazing and you have proven that you don't even need any fruit or natural sweetener in the more traditional sense to produce a sweet-tasting loaf of bread. Pam - The Bread She Bakes
ReplyDeleteThanks Pam! I thought this would be perfect for this challenge!
DeleteI have never heard of malted wheat flakes until now but I am very intrigued and can't wait to try it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Wendy! I've never met a bread ingredient I didn't want to buy =)
DeleteThis bread looks absolutely perfect and sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteHello Karen, What a pretty bread! Would love to try it out here if I am able to get all the ingredients. Can imagine the heavenly aroma while it is baking!
ReplyDeleteThe wheat flakes do require some patience in finding for sure! Thanks so much.
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DeleteLooks perfect! Is the barley malt syrup used just as a sweetener?
ReplyDeleteYes, it is meos. You could probably use honey, or non diastic malt powder instead.
DeleteI can only hope that it was faintly sweet.... ;-)
ReplyDeletevery interesting ingredient these flakes... I am tempted...
I resisted forever... and then finally gave in!
DeleteA fabulous bread, I loved it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rocio!
DeleteYou always come up with a beautiful loaf of bread Karen :)
ReplyDeleteAwww. Thanks Deepti!
DeleteI love the Hovis Granary Bread. Yours looks so so so tempting and beautiful. A great bake Karen, as always.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mayuri! Love that you know this bread!
DeleteI originally read this as "granny" lol. This grammy needs to try granary bread soon! (And get new glasses) ha!
ReplyDeleteHa ha Cindy. I'm a grammy too =)
DeleteI've never noticed that type of flour in the UK grocery stores but now I have a new ingredient to try on my next trip to my in-laws' house. Your bread is as gorgeous as always!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea either! Let me know if you try it.
DeleteHi Karen, cinnamon and cardamom? this bread sounds fabulous you are the best when it comes to baking bread!!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this flour but love the flavor and crust of the bread.
ReplyDeleteyou do know you can buy the flour online??
ReplyDeleteYes.
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