Makes 1 large loaf
If you like hard-crusted, coarse-textured breads, go no further. This is the bread for you. It has a beautiful dark color, a rich flavor, and a combination of chewiness and crunch that few loaves can claim. However, you must give it ample time to rise before baking, or it will come out of the oven like a regular little brick.
• ½ cup whole wheat berries
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup dark beer, warmed
• 2 packages (2 Tbs.) dry yeast
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1½ cups white flour
• 1 Tbs. salt
• ½ tsp. fennel seeds, finely crushed in a mortar
• 2¾ to 3 cups stone-ground dark rye flour
1. Put the wheat berries and the water in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and leave the wheat berries to simmer very gently for about 2 or 3 hours, or until they are very tender and bursting open.
2. In a large bowl, combine the warm beer, the yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the molasses, and leave it for about 10 minutes, or until it foams up.
3. When the yeast mixture foams, stir in the remaining molasses and the white flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place for about 40 minutes to let this sponge rise. It should be bubbly and double in size.
4. Stir down the sponge and mix in the salt and fennel seeds. Gradually add the rye flour, stirring it in until the dough is too stiff to mix with a spoon. Sprinkle some of the rye flour onto a large, flat wooden surface and turn the dough out onto it. Sprinkle more rye flour over the dough and begin kneading. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, working in as much of the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking. When the dough is elastic, form it into a ball and put it in a buttered bowl, turning it over once so that it is coated with butter all over. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave it in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Punch down the dough, turn it out onto the floured board, and flatten it slightly. Drain the cooked wheat berries thoroughly, spread some of them on the flattened dough, fold the dough over, and start kneading them in. Continue flattening the dough, adding more wheat berries, and kneading until they are all incorporated into the dough.
6. Form the dough into a smooth, round ball, pinching the seams together securely, and place it, seam side down, on a buttered baking sheet. Brush the loaf lightly with butter, cut a shallow cross in the top with a sharp knife, cover it with a tea towel, and leave it in a warm, draft-free place to rise until it has nearly doubled in size.
7. Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake it for another 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
8. Brush the hot loaf again with butter, and let it cool. Slice the bread with a very sharp, serrated knife.
