#20 - Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire - And It Is!

Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire is a version of Peter Reinhart's signature bread, known as Struan. I had read about Struan in his first book, Brother Juniper's Bread Book: Slow Rose as Metaphor and was intrigued, so I made it. It was just okay. Now several years later, when I read about Struan again in another of Peter's books, Bread upon the Waters, I was eager to give it another go. Included in the collection in The Bread Baker's Apprentice, this bread is his latest incarnation of that signature bread, which PR states from countless testimonials from customers makes "the best toast in the world."

If you have read other entries in this blog, you know that toast is of utmost importance in my life, so I was eager to begin. I followed the recipe to the letter beginning first with the soaker:

Cornmeal, Oats, Wheat Bran, and Water

Adding the next ingredients:

Flour, Brown Sugar, Salt, and Yeast

Combining the soaker to the mixture:

Soaker Added to Mixture Above with the Addition of Cooked Brown Rice, Honey, & Buttermilk

Kneading in my trusty Kitchen Aid:

Preliminary Kneading in the Mixer

I finished the kneading by hand. This is where the artistry comes in:

Kneaded Dough: Notice the Texture

I left it to rise:

After the First Rise

De-gassed it:

De-gassed Dough

Left it to rise again:

After Second Rise

Shaped it into a boule:

Shaped Dough, Ready for the Oven

Baked it to a little more than 190 degrees:

In the Oven: Look at that Rise!

Cut into it after the requisite 30 minute tortuous wait:

Great Texture - Great Crumb

Voila!:

A Truly Extraordinary Bread Lives up to Its Name

And I am happy to report that those early customers of Peter's at Brother Juniper's Bakery in Sonoma, CA, were right. This does make extraordinary toast!