Unbolted Wheat Meal Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the batter
In a bowl, combine warm water and salt.
Stir in enough coarse wheat meal to form a thick batter.
Let it ferment at 80-90°F for 4-6 hours or overnight at 60°F.
Shape and bake
Add 2-3 quarts of warm water and more wheat meal to the batter.
Mold the dough and place it in pans.
Allow it to rise for about 1 hour before baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C).
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse wheat meal
- Forms the bulk of the dough and gives the loaf its structure and chewy texture.
- Warm water
- Hydrates the wheat meal so it forms a batter and dough that can ferment and rise.
- Coarse sea salt
- Controls fermentation and adds flavour to the dough.
The step that matters
Fermenting the batter. Fermentation needs a steady warm temperature for several hours; too cool slows the yeast and too hot can overwork it. Keeping the batter within the stated range helps it develop flavour and lift before baking.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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