One of my all time favorite bread recipes first appeared in Brother Juniper’s Bread book. It is the almost legendary “Struan Bread”, a slightly sweet, delightfully toothsome, hearty bread perfect with so many meals.

Some say ‘struan’ means a confluence of streams and in this case, a confluence of streams of grain. The original recipe is somewhat like this version:

Soaker (allow to sit at room temperature for 3-24 hours before adding to dough) 3 tablespoons polenta 3 tablespoons rolled oats 2 tablespoons wheat bran 1/4 cup water

Dough 3 cups unbleached bread flour 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon instant yeast 3 tablespoons cooked brown rice 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1/2 cup buttermilk 3/4 cup water

Reinhart has included this bread in various forms in many of his books and for Whole Grain Breads, he remakes it yet again using 100% whole wheat. It was with much anticipation that I made this bread again. I made it with brown rice, spelt, oats, polenta and honey using the soaker/ biga combination that seems to be Reinharts standard procedure in every recipe.

Be sure to get the book as it offers much more advice, photos and useful information than I can post here.


Multigrain Struan (makes 1 large loaf)

Soaker 56 grams whole wheat flour 170 grams cooked and uncooked grains (rice, quinoa, millet, polenta, etc.) 4 grams salt 170 grams milk or buttermilk. I used almond milk.

Biga 228 grams whole wheat flour 1 gram instant yeast 170 grams water

Final Dough Soaker + Biga 56 grams whole wheat flour 6 grams salt 2 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 56 grams honey or brown sugar 14 grams melted butter or oil extra whole wheat flour as needed

DAY ONE
Soaker: Mix all of the ingredients ingredients to make a thick oatmeal-like dough.
Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Biga: Mix all of the ingredients to form a ball of dough. Knead for a minute or two by hand until all flour is fully hydrated. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead again for 1 minute. Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

DAY TWO
Remove the biga and soaker from the refrigerator several hours before preparing the final dough.
Cut the biga into smaller pieces and combine with the soaker. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Knead by hand or machine for roughly 5 minutes until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Add additional flour or water to achieve the proper consistency (a slightly sticky dough that will hold its shape). I used about a cup and the dough was still pretty sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until 1 1/2 times its size, roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Shape the dough and place in oiled pans for the final rise.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 while the loaves are rising. I used a little egg white and oats for topping.

To bake, place the loaf in the preheated oven. After 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf 180 degrees and bake about 20 to 30 minutes until the loaf is deep brown, makes a hollow sound when tapped on, and when the internal temperature reads at least 205 degrees.
Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least one hour.