Chewy, Grain-Rich Beer Bread

Another throw-'em-together bread. Amounts are approximate (as you'll see, this is a tilde-heavy description). I started with the following:

~ 1/2 bottle Black Toad Dark Ale
~ 3/4 c King Arthur Harvest Grains Blend
~ 1/2 c Country Choice Multi Grain hot breakfast cereal

Left it to soak ~30 minutes, then added

2 c AP flour
2 tsp yeast

Mixed well, then kneaded in ~ 2 tsp salt. Let it rise a little, stretch-and-fold, and then left it to rise for ~2 hours.

The dough is a dense dough, so it needed to be handled lightly. I shaped a basic batard and let it proof on parchment for ~1 1/2 hours. Baked at ~400 for ~35.

There was a bit of spring, but not a great deal as 1) I didn't bake on a stone and 2) it's a dense bread. But it came out wonderfully -- chewy, flavorful. I'm a fan.

Chewy, grain-rich ... mmm

Seeded Bread

After a series of fairly unsuccessful breads made according to formula, I've gone back to a good old-fashioned "throw ingredients in the bowl" type sourdough (kitchen sourdough?). This one has AP flour, rye flour, whole wheat flour, a small portion of multigrain breakfast cereal, honey, olive oil, and salt.

Average method: mix flours and water, let sit (autolyse) about 30 minutes. Combine w/ fed sourdough starter, honey, a touch of oil, salt. Let rise ~8 hours. Shape into boules; rest; shape into batards. Proof ~2 hours. In this case, I moistened the proofed loaves slightly and spread on King Arthur's seed mix before slashing. The pattern calls for each new cut to be started in the middle of the previous cut. Steam pan in oven, and then an overall bake of ~35 minutes.

In this case, it's neither art nor science -- it's habit. But pretty good results.