Description
One of the most common responses to a new bread is how it succeeds at making toast. This loaf is the Happy Monk take on Struan Bread, which one famous cookbook author says makes “the best toast in the world.” 1.
Sweetened with a bit of honey and brown sugar, it caramelizes quickly in the toaster. The soaked grains — cornmeal, brown rice, wheat bran and oats — hold moisture retained in the toaster and provide a luxurious texture in the mouth. The Happy Monk version uses a sourdough starter instead of instant yeast and adds whole spelt flour for an added layer of sweet, grassy flavour. Enjoy it with mayonnaise-based toasted sandwich fillings, such as egg salad, chicken salad and BLTs.
Harvest Bread is a celebration bread. It was served around the time of harvest. Well, it is harvest time somewhere in the world, so there is ample reason to celebrate with a loaf of this distinguished toastable loaf. To the staff of life!
Some vegans prefer not to eat honey, which this bread contains.
Peter Reinhart, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, p. 187. He’s tinkered with the formula over several cookbooks, but in this book, he calls it “Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire.”↩