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Malthouse bread

Mon, 8 September, 2014

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Some say 'malthouse', others - 'granary'. Bread made with wholemeal flour mixed with malted grains, basically, the flour 'with bits'. And the loaf is 'with bits'; tasty and healthy as any you might make at home.

Malthouse bread

What is malthouse flour?

Malthouse flour aka granary - and I'm not entirely sure whether there is ANY difference between the two terms - is bread flour with bits. It's mainly wheat with some rye flour added plus the bits: malted grain or grain flakes.

It's fantastically full of fibre but not so stodgy and dense so as to make you feel like you're eating a punishment sandwich.

How to make malthouse bread?

Malthouse bread is dead easy to make. It's the classic example of a product made with just a couple of simple ingredients, where the outcome is so much better than you might expect. Be precise about quantities, let the dough rise impressively and then it's your choice whether you shape it into a round boule and bake it in a Dutch oven, sourdough-style, or make an oblong shape and use a loaf tin.

Both work exceedingly well - the latter method is explained step by step in the malthouse sandwich loaf recipe. The one featured here was baked in a cast iron Le Creuset casserole dish about 20cm in diameter. I shape it and place it in a proving basket seam side up - that way there is no need to slash the top while you're transferring it into a red-hot dish as the dough will crack naturally along the seam lines.

Is malthouse the same as granary?

Both terms refer to flour with added malted wheat flakes (which, as above, I call 'bits' for simplicity). Malthouse is a generic term as produced by various British millers, while 'Granary' is a registered trademark of Hovis.

 

Tasty?

It is an incredibly tasty bread and it keeps very well; it toasts like a dream, too. I can safely say it's one of the best ever, simple yeasted breads.

Acknowledgement

I use Doves Farm Malthouse Bread flour but any malthouse - or granary if bought from Hovis - flour will be suitable. The recipe comes from the Shipton Mill website.


Malthouse bread

Servings: 1 loafTime: 2 hours 30 minutes
Tags: bread

INGREDIENTS

  • 300g malthouse flour
  • 200g strong white flour
  • 10g fresh yeast (or 1 teaspoon of fast action)
  • 8g salt
  • 342g (I kid you not, be this precise) lukewarm water


METHOD

1. In a bowl of a free standing mixer with a dough hook attachment mix the flours and the yeast. Add the salt, then water and mix (or knead by hand in a large bowl) until it’s smooth and stretchy and stops sticking to the bowl or your hands.

Malthouse dough proving

2. Leave covered for about an hour expecting it to double in size.

3. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, fold and stretch to form a tighter ball, dip it in wholemeal flour and place in a well floured proving basket or bowl lined with a cloth, seam side up. Put in a plastic bag inflated a bit so it doesn’t touch the dough (just blow into it and tie the end!) and leave for about 40 minutes. Halfway through that time start preheating a cast iron casserole dish or Dutch oven in the middle of the oven at 220C/425F/gas 7.

4. The dough should rise by about half. When ready, just plonk the dough from the proving basket swiftly as you can, put the lid on and into the oven.

5. Bake with the lid on for 20 minutes, and for another 20 minutes with the lid off. Remove the dish from the oven using oven gloves, turn the bread out carefully onto a wire rack and let it cool down for 30 minutes before slicing.


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Your comments

Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Barbara - yes I would double it as the malthouse flour is quite heavy.
5 years ago
Barbara
I routinely bake with about double this amount of flour, using similar proportions of the 2 flours. Usually use dried yeast. Question. I have fresh yeast, do I need to double the amount from your recipe for my amount of flour?
5 years ago
1 

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Hello! I'm Anna Gaze, the Cuisine Fiend. Welcome to my recipe collection.

I have lots of recipes for you to choose from: healthy or indulgent, easy or more challenging, quick or involved - but always tasty.


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