While living in Britain I acquired an abiding love for granary bread. So I whipped this bread up as soon as I found the recipe, substituting an equal amount of wheat germ and whole wheat flour for the nine-grain mix (I had the malted wheat flakes from KAF, but no mix). I used my Lodge dutch oven for the baking. The result was decidedly wonderful, but still not quite there. The crumb was too chewy, almost gummy. I baked the bread to an internal 204 degrees; should I have baked it for longer? Should I try reducing the water next time? I also suspect that the granary breads in Britain have nothing "whole" but the flakes. What amount (by weight), should I sub white flour for the whole grain mix? One last point: some have commented that the bread doesn't have quite the flavor punch they were hoping for. I think this style of baking uses less salt than most of us were used to. The answer is easy and to my mind preferable: use a salted butter or good quality finishing salt just before you eat a slice. The tiniest addition of salt at the point of eating will cause the other flavors to "pop".
Your dough may have been under-proofed or too wet. Using white flour in place of the nine grain blend will significantly alter the flavor and texture of the loaf, but if you are going to make a replacement, I would use equal amount. ~Amy
August 3, 2012 at 8:57am