This formulation is courtesy of Harry Peemoeller, senior instructor at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina, as presented at the International Symposium on Bread. Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills, explains poly-crop as the “perfect acre” in which a number of grasses (wheat, rye and oats) and other compatible plants grow together and are harvested in vertical layers as they ripen. The result: healthy soil, no need for crop rotation or chemical fertilizers, and the best tasting versions of these plants that nature can produce.
Total dough
700 grams poly-crop flour*
300 grams Sir Galahad all-purpose flour
800 grams water
2 grams yeast
20 grams salt
100 grams cracked rye (optional)
150 grams water for soaking
1 stage sourdough
350 grams poly-crop flour
280 grams water
3 grams sourdough culture
Temperature: 23-27° C or 74-80°F
Time: 12 hours
Soaker (optional)
100 grams cracked rye
150 grams water (boiling)
Soak overnight
Final dough
630 grams ripe full sour
350 grams poly-crop flour
300 grams Sir Galahad all-purpose flour
520 grams water
2 grams yeast
20 grams salt
250 grams soaker (optional)
Desired dough temperature: 75-77°F
Mixing: Mix by hand, adjust water as needed.
Bulk fermentation: 90 minutes. Stretch and fold every 15 minutes for a total of four to five times.
Divide and shape.
Final fermentation: 30-45 minutes
Bake at 480°F for about 40 minutes
Steam injection
*Winter poly-crop elements include Brittany buckwheat, Huguenot black oats, Sea Island white rice peas, Scots Bere barley, White Lammas wheat, African red grain sorghum, Sea Island benne, camelina, Sea Island guinea flint corn and Nostrale rice.
