Granary Cob

I like crusty and dense breads. I love dunking them in soups mopping the bowl clean, soaking every bit of the leftover soup. We usually have soup and bread every week and that mostly makes to our dinner. So it never gets a chance to make its way to the blog. This bread is one such crusty bread which I made to go with that night's tomato herb soup. I toasted it in some olive oil and seasoned it with crushed garlic. It was the perfect pairing for the soup.

I always like looking for discounted items be it wherever I go. Last time when I went to Barnes and Nobles, I was browsing through their bargained price books and I found this "The Best-Ever Book of BREAD" and I instantly grabbed it. It is a great book on breads and it really is a storehouse of information when it comes to breads. I am going to try atleast one bread from the book every month and this is the first one of the lot. It is made from whole wheat, has a good crust, is dense and goes perfect with soups.

From the book,

Cob is an old word meaning 'head'. If you make a slash across the top of the dough, the finished loaf, known as a Danish Cob will look like a larger roll. A Coburg cob has a cross cut in the top before baking.

~*What U Need*~ Whole wheat flour (Granary/malthouse flour) - 2 cups Salt - 1 tsp Instant yeast - 1.5 tsp Lukewarm water - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps Sugar - 1/2 tbsp For the topping Water - 1 tbsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Wheat flakes or rolled oats - to sprinkle How I Made it: Heat water till lukewarm, add the sugar and mix well. Add the yeast and allow to activate. Once frothy add the yeast mixture, salt and the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer and knead till smooth and elastic about 6-8 mins. Set in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled. Once doubled, turn it over to a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 mins. Shape into a round, plump ball and place in a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a cling film. Allow to rise for another 30-45 mins. Once rised, mix water and salt and brush over the bread, Sprinkle with the oats. Preheat oven to 450F. Bake for 15 mins, then reduce the oven temperature to 400F and bake for another 20 mins or until the loaf sounds hollow. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve with soups or jam/nutella/butter .

** My Notes:
** The original recipe calls for Granary flour but the book itself says you can substitute it with wholemeal flour.
** I didn't have wheat flakes so used rolled oats to sprinkle on the bread.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,
Signs off!!!