Trencher Bread

Ingredients

Leaven:
2 cups hops tea
2 cups German wheat beer (hefe weizen)
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup barley flour
Sponge:
1 cup German wheat beer (hefe weizen)
3 1/4 cups flour mixture (see Notes)
1/4 ounce active dry yeast proofed in 1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 cups room temperature water.

Instructions

To create Leaven, combine ingredients and let sit, uncovered, approx five days, until it begins to bubble.

Create a bread sponge by combining proofed Leaven with Sponge mixture. Mix to smooth consistency, cover and let sit about 11 hours.

Make the Dough. Punch down sponge and add 2 tsp salt to remaining flour mixture until dough comes together. Knead in any remaining flour mixture. Knead for 20 minutes. Set aside and allow to rise again until doubled. Punch it down and knead again.

Mold into loaves. Cover and allow to rise.

Place loaves on greased sheets and slash pattern into the top of loaf.+
Bake for 15 minutes in an oven heated to 400 degrees; lower temperature to 350 and bake for 15 more minutes; lower temperature again to 375 and bake for 10-20 minutes until it sounds hollow on the bottom.

Notes

Wheat, spelt, and rye flours were used in varying amounts; rye, rye/wheat, and whole wheat and 'white' wheat types.

For this recipe, in total, use a flour mixture of 7 cups spelt flour/whole wheat mixed with 8 cups. of stone-ground rye.

Tops of ready-to-bake loaves can be lightly slashed. Normally, bread stamps or signs of the cross were used to imprint the loaves.

For Trencher loaves, dough should be platter-shaped with the edges thicker, resembling an elongated stuffed crust pizza shell.