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STRONG STONEGROUND WHOLEMEAL BREAD
Marriage’s Strong Stoneground Wholemeal flour
To produce Marriage’s Strong Stoneground Wholemeal flour, the wheat grain is ground the traditional way between two French burr stones to give a fine flour flecked with specks of bran. This is the ideal combination of taste and texture for bread. The dough can be kneaded by hand or you can use a large free-standing mixer, fitted with a dough hook – see below for details.
Makes 5 medium loaves OR 2 large plus 1 medium OR 2 large plus 6 rolls
- 1 x 1.5g bag Marriage’s Strong Stoneground Wholemeal flour
- 15g sea salt
- 30g organic unsalted butter, diced
- 2 x 7g sachets dried easy-blend yeast OR 30g fresh yeast (from the bakery counter of larger supermarkets with an in-store bakery)
- About 1 litre tepid water
Combine the flour and salt in a very large mixing bowl. Add the diced butter and rub in using the tips of your fingers until the mixture looks like sand. If using dried easy-blend yeast mix it in very thoroughly. If using fresh yeast, crumble it into a small bowl and mix with a quarter of the water. Then add to the remaining water.
Make a well in the flour mixture (or flour and dried yeast mixture). Add the water (or fresh yeast water mix) to the bowl and gradually work the flour into the liquid to make a soft but not sticky dough. If there are dry crumbs in the bottom of the bowl or the dough feels dry and stiff, work in a little extra water. Stoneground wholemeal flour takes a little while to absorb water and the dough will stiffen as you knead it so it shouldn’t be hard and crumbly at this stage.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead very thoroughly for 5 minutes or until very smooth and pliable. If using a large free-standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, divide the dough in two and knead each batch for 4 minutes on low speed.
Return the dough to the mixing bowl and slip into a large plastic bag or cover with a damp tea towel or plastic film. Leave in a warm spot until doubled in size – about 1 hour (it will take 2-3 hours in a cool room or overnight in the fridge).
Punch down the risen dough to deflate then turn out on to a floured work surface. Divide into 5 equal portions – use one for each 450g tin or 2 portions for each 900g tin. Gently knead the portions for a minute then shape to fit the prepared tins. For bread rolls divide one portion into 6 then shape into balls and arrange slightly apart on the prepared baking tray. Cover the dough filled tins or trays as before and leave in a warm place until doubled in size – about 1 hour, a bit less for rolls. Towards the end of the rising time heat the oven to 220°C, 430°F, Gas Mark 8.
Bake large loaves for about 35 minutes, medium ones for 25 minutes and rolls for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. The turned-out loaves should sound hollow when tapped underneath. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
