Malted Multigrain bread

When I browsed through the latest King Arthur Flour catalog, this bread caught my eye. Whole grain, great texture and likely great flavor (the picture in the catalog looks better!). Unfortunately, the recipe required so many ingredients I did not have at home, I had to improvise. This bread has a wonderful crust with a dense, chewy texture and full flavor.

2 1/4 cups warm water

1 cup multigrain flakes (Trader Joes brand)

1 TB diastatic malt powder

2 cups King Arthur Premium Whole Wheat Flour

2 cups King Arthur All-purpose flour

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

3 TB whole flax seeds (optional)

2 TB cumin seeds (optional)

1.5 ts sea salt

1 ts instant yeast

1 TB Baker's milk powder

In a bowl, mix the warm water and the multigrain flakes and the malt powder, and let soak for 15 min. In a second bowl, mix all the flours including the instant yeast and the milk powder. Pour the flours into the wet mix, and using a stand mixer with a kneading hook mix the bread dough for about 3-5 min. It should be a spongy, not too wet texture. 

Rest the dough covered with a dish towel at a warm place for about 3 hours.

Soak a clay baker for about 30min in warm/hot water. Dry the bottom part with a towel and lightly grease. Use the bread dough and form a long shaped bread that fits into the clay baker. Cover with ceran wrap, and let rise for another hour in a warm place.

Cover the baker with the top part, and place into a cold oven. Set temperature to 400F. Bake for 60 min covered, then remove the lid and bake another 10 min. A thermometer inserted into the loaf should read 205 F. Remove bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack.