A Lean Hearth Grains Bread

While waiting for an idea akin to divine inspiration for a future loaf, I decided to filling the looming void in bread supplies with this lean Hearth Grains loaf.

I admit that after paying the fee for a small supply of the commodity from King Arthur Flour, I think that I can assemble a comparable mixture with locally available supplies. If I were a real baker, I'd have to consider the costs and frequency of utilization before starting that adventure. However, since I'm just a raggedy home baker, as long as there's room in the cupboards, fridges, and freezers where I can stash my purchases, out of sight means of out of mind and I can bake without feelings of guilt or foolhardiness.

The flavor of the bread is quite good with the crosshatched slashing pattern adding to the taste through carmelization of the crust. The next time I use this deep pattern, I hope to have proofed in my couche rather than the brotform.  Without scientific or even methodical documentation, I think that the couche leads to a more open crumb that is also more tender. The only drawback to the couche is that its sized for a higher production number than just one loaf. I need a smaller  couche.

Starter
150 g at 72% hydration, fed with 50% Wheat Montana Natural white, 50% WM Prairie Gold

Main Dough

260 g Dakota Maid Bread Flour
100 g WM Prairie Gold
252 g water at 85F
All of starter
50 g KAF Harvest Grains Blend
9 g kosher salt

The harbingers of winter's arrival are evident in the yard outside my window. Another frost came along this morning but it didn't seem to be deep enough to kill all the pollen and allergens. I walked outside to get the morning paper in my hiking shorts and didn't go into cardiac seizure so it wasn't that terrible at all. All the trees are shedding their leafs now, making more work for me with raking and an eventual cleaning of the gutters. The rose bushes are still possessive of their leafs for now. The plan for this afternoon is to clear out enough of the garden to locate my garlic bed. I have the wheat straw for mulch now so there are no more excuses for delay. Currently, my plan is to plant about 60 hard neck cloves, possibly more if I can't find an adequate number of soft neck cloves. Small cloves mean small bulbs so there's no point in wasting time or aggravating my lower back in planting them.

A few more juncos are showing up to feed off the seed dropped on the ground by the sparrows at the feeders. There haven't been any goldfinches in quite a while but they'll probably show up after I post this entry. I haven't seen very many hawks overhead lately but I suspect that they're looking for prey in the recently harvested fields in the area. Farmers are gathering the last of the soybean and corn crops still left undone.

Someone from Saudi Arabia stopped by here in the last few days to visit my obscure corner of the internet.

Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.