Lunch: Ballymaloe Brown Bread

Recipe by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno This no-knead, one-rise bread was introduced by Doris Grant in her book Your Daily Bread. This recipe is an improved version devised by Myrtle Allen, founder of the now legendary Ballymaloe House hotel and cook

Ingredients

3 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1 1/4 cups (400ml) water
1 teaspoon molasses
3 1/2 cups (500g) whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Grease an 8in x 2 1/2in (20cm x 10cm x 6cm) loaf pan and warm it in a preheated oven 250 ¿F/120 ¿C, for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the yeast into 2/3 cup (150ml) of the water in a bowl. Leave for 5 minutes; stir to dissolve. Add the molasses. Leave for 10 minutes, until frothy. Add the remaining water and stir.
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast. Stir in the flour to form a thick batter.
Use your hands to mix the batter gently in the bowl for 1 minute, until it begins to leave the sides of the bowl clean and forms a soft, sticky dough.
Place the dough in the prepared pan and cover with a dish towel. Proof until the dough is 1/2in (1 cm) above the top of the pan, about 25-30 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven at 425 ¿F/220 ¿C for 30 minutes, then lower the oven to 400 ¿F/200 ¿C and bake for 15 minutes.
Turn the loaf out of the pan and onto a baking sheet. Return the bread, bottom side up, to the oven. Bake for a further 10 minutes, until golden and hollow sounding when tapped underneath. Let cool on a wire rack.
Proofing: 25-30 minutes. Oven temperature: 425 ¿F/220 ¿C. Baking: 55 minutes Yeast alternative: 1oz (30g) cake yeast