Brown Bread (Grant Loaf)

Makes 3 loaves

Recipe Type: Bread

Author: Karen Christensen (with thanks to Doris Grant)

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 3 loaves

The famous “Grant loaf” created during World War II to enable English cooks to make a healthy, wholesome loaf with local wheat, instead of wheat imported from the United States. This bread is a staple at our house – excellent as toast. One of our favorite winter snacks is toast with sardines with strong tea, a meal that makes me think of the opening chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Ingredients

3 pounds whole-wheat flour (the coarser the better, and it can be a soft wheat – not hard-wheat bread flour – my favorite in the United States comes from Hodgson Mills and is sold in our local supermarkets)
3 teaspoons or packets of instant yeast (I buy this in bulk at Locke, Stock, and Barrel in Great Barrington)
2 T salt (I use kosher salt)
1-2 T molasses