The Perfect Cobb Loaf Using 'Rock Star' flour

I've been a member of Bake with Jack's Homebaker's Club for some time now.  You would think I had nailed everything around breadmaking over the decades I have been baking, but still there is the element of learning, testing and tasting bread that enriches my life.

Sourdough takes three day for me, but when there is need for a loaf in say five or six hours, and you want just a good loaf, baking a Cobb Loaf fits the bill perfectly.  This is the second or perhaps the third time I have used YQ Wholegrain from Matthews Cotswold Flour, and this is definitely the 'Rock Star of Loaves' to have fresh and also makes excellent toast. 

 I tweaked Jack's recipe but followed his technique.

7g Fast Action Yeast

350g Room Temperature Water

375g Matthews Cotswold YQ wholewheat stoneground flour

150g Matthews Churchill White 

8g salt

1 dessert spoonful malted barley syrup

20g rapeseed oil

Following kneading of around ten minutes, two rises of 60 minutes, with a degas and made back into a ball for the second rise,  and a final rise of about an hour is about right for the lowish temperatures in the house this winter. 

The YQ flour is strong enough to make for good shapes along with the Churchill Bread Flour, and the flavour is excellent.

 "Matthews Stoneground YQ Wholegrain is a dark wholemeal flour, with a beautiful rich nutty taste. Perfect for sourdough breads, cakes, pastries and all-purpose baking. YQ ‘Yield & Quality’ is the rockstar of wheat populations. It is produced from a diverse, resilient populations of wheats. Use this flour in wholemeal recipes for it’s unique taste profile. These genetically diverse wheats are grown using a low input farming model which supports the regeneration of the soil, minimises use of chemicals and increases biodiversity. "