Ballymaloe - the no knead Irish Brown Bread

I quite like the kneading process in bread making. All that pull, stretch action is quite therapeutic and besides that sense of achievement when you knock the loaf out of a tin and slice to find it as good if not better than the store bought ones. I however loved the look of the Ballymaloe bread.  I wish I could use the whole wheat flour that we would get from the mill but settled for the packaged whole wheat flour that we use for rotis. The bread , the recipe is from David Lebovitz, was invented to simplify the process of bread making . This is indeed a simple, easy recipe for anyone to gain confidence in baking breads and using yeast.

By using the packaged wheat flour, the texture Lebovitz explains can change.  The dough as he said was not coarse, but a little sticky.  And I did have a problem in getting the baking parchment off the baked bread as we remove it from the tin half way through the baking process.  The baking with the loaf out of the tin gives it a crispy exterior.  

                ( The bread knife in the picture is over 50 years old :-)  )

I halved the following recipe - my comments in italics

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour-stone ground - 400 g  (I used the packaged wheat flour)
All purpose flour - 50 g
Salt - 1 tsp
Tepid water - 150 ml + 275 ml (you may need more when you use ordinary wheat flour)
Dark molasses - 1 tbsp or 1 tsp treacle ( I used treacle)
Fresh yeast - 30 g ( I used dry yeast - 2 1/2 tsp - that is approximately half the quantity)

Mix the flours with salt in a bowl
Pour 150 ml into a small bowl and stir in the molasses, and then add the yeast, stirring a few time.
Let it stand till it foams - 10 mins or less depending on the warmth of the kitchen

Pour the yeast mixture and the remaining 275 ml water into the flour.  Do not stir till all the water is added or it will form lumps.
Stir till a batter is formed ( like an oatmeal consistency)
It may need a little more water if the dough is too stiff - that is if you have used the packaged wheat flour
However if you have used whole wheat flour like I have the dough will be sticky and rather wet.
Let it stand about 10 minutes
Grease well a 9" loaf tin and line the bottom with parchment paper
Scrape the dough into the prepared tin.
Smooth the top with a spatula or if sticky moisten the hand and pat the top
Cover over lightly with a kitchen towel.
Let it rise till it has almost reached the top of the pan ( about 20 minutes)

Just before that preheat the oven to around 230C
Bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, decrease the heat to 200C
Run a knife around the outside of the bread to release it from the tin, tip it out of the pan
Remove the parchment paper
Place the loaf upside down directly on the baking rack and bake for another 15 minutes or till done.
The bread is done when you tap the bottom and it sounds hollow.

Cool on the rack totally, before you slice

The bread can be eaten fresh.  Or toasted. With butter, jam and cheese.  It even tasted better a day later.