A Simple, Rustic Loaf
Using a sponge (starter) to create this bread increases its flavor and enhances its texture.
Sponge
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cool water
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) pumpernickel flour
Dough
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) Harvest Grains Blend or mixed seeds of your choice
To make the sponge: Mix the sponge ingredients together, and let rest at room temperature, covered, for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
To make the dough: Stir down the sponge, and add the salt and flour. Mix and knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Knead in the Harvest Grains Blend or your choice of seeds. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat its surface with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, and form it into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, or into an ovenproof crock. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450°F.
Gently but firmly slash the dough across the top, then spritz it with water. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until it's deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven and place it on a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing. Yield: 1 loaf.
Reviews
01/30/2009
I have made this bread more times than I care to count. My daughter refers to this a "the delicious bread." I elongate the loaf so that I can fit a whole slice into the toaster.
01/18/2009
This bread is really awesome. I got the harvest grain blend just to make this bread and I am glad I did. I even goofed by adding the grains at the time of kneading instead of after, it made no difference as far as I could tell. It came out light airy nice crispy crust and delicious. I did make a few changes, I cooked it on a pizza stone preheated for an hour and instead of spritzing with water, since I don't have a spritzer, I put a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven, it accomplishes the same thing.
01/12/2009
01/05/2009
First time trying whole grains, did not have KA blend so I substituted my own mix of unsalted raw sunflower seeds, unsalted pumpkin seeds, steal cut thick oats and wheat bran (all from the local grocer) Turned out great, good texture and taste. Fantastic toasted. Ordered KA harvest mix and will try again no doubt with simmilar results
02/22/2009
Somehow I seemed to have screwed this up. Th sponge was more like a dough and not stir-able. When I baked it, it turned out hard as a rock. The flour to liquid ratio seemed very dry to me. I don't know what I did wrong.
Peggy - I am sorry you were not successful this time around. I am
wondering if you are measuring your flour correctly. A cup of all
purpose flour should weigh about 4 oz. If you are using a measuring
cup, just sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup until it is
overflowing, then use a straight edge to shave off the excess. If your
dough still seems stiff when adding the second addition to your sponge,
feel free to add a little water before you begin to knead. Elisabeth @ KAF
03/25/2009
I let the sponge sit overnight, then dumped everything into the bread machine on dough cycle (Harvest Grains mix added during last 5 minutes). Shaped and let rise one hour, then baked as directed. Very impressed with the size/round shape of the loaf (didn't spread out too much) and this was the FIRST LOAF I've ever baked where the crust made little crackling/snapping sounds as it cooled. Wonderful crunchy crust, excellent flavor.
07/24/2009
I'm just curious if you can bake it in the bowl pictured? If so, do you sell the bowl?
You can bake it in that bowl but unfortunately we no longer sell it. Molly @ KAF
11/01/2009
Can I omit the pumpernickel flour flour? I don't see this flour anywhere in Malaysia Please send recipe questions to us directly: bakers@kingarthurflour.com In this recipe the rye adds a good bit of flavor. You might try substituting and equal amount of whole wheat flour. Frank @ KAF.
11/21/2009
I'm a beginner baker, but this bread was very easy to make and turned out great! Crunchy crust, inside was chewy (but not doughy). I substituted 1 Cup of Whole Wheat flour for one cup of the Unbleached White in the dough. I also allowed the sponge to rest overnight until it was filled with lots of little bubbles. The bread is very flavorful, hearty but not too dense.
01/18/2010
I think I found my go to bread recipe - low fat, no milk or sugar, high fiber and easy to make. I made the sponge one morning and baked the bread the next. I substituted whole ry flour for the pumpernickel, bread flour in the sponge, and white w w flour in the dough and sued my own mix of seeds from my pantry(flax seed, poppy seed, sesame seed, and sunflower seeds). I also halved the amount of salt since my sunflowers were salted. I know this hardly sound like the original but it worked out great. I also enjoy learning a technique and then improvising and this recipe lets me do that. Bravo KAF. this is a winner
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