This recipe is from the March ‘Baking Great Bread at Home’ post for my ‘Gaelic Celtic Bread Challenge.’ Gaelic Celtic Bread Challenge A ritual bread year, one loaf each month One loaf for each turning of the year, using modern methods to honor ancient ways.Each bake is inspired by: - An Irish mythological deity, spirit, or persona - A solar or lunar threshold - The agricultural and hearth traditions that shaped Irish foodways Bread is where grain, fire, water, and time meet, and that meeting lies at the heart of the Celtic year. #GaelicCelticChallenge My March bake honors the ‘Spring Equinox.’ Light and dark are balanced. Fields are being planted. Grain stores are low, and every handful of flour matters. This is not a feast month. It’s a promise month. This bake reflects seedtime thinking: - Porridge Barley (Barley flakes): ancient, resilient, and practical - Malted Barley syrup, a quiet nod to the returning sun - Rye to extend the life of scarce wheat - Buttermilk from the first spring churning. ‘Equinox Hearth Bread’ A yeast-based hearth loaf built on balance and restraint. Formula: Total dough: 835 g - Total flour: 426 g - Total hydration: 70% - 10% Barley flakes (43 g) - 10% Barley malt syrup (42 g) - 3% Olive oil (11 g) - 1.5% Instant yeast (6 g) - 2% salt (9 g) METHOD: Using Brod & Taylor proofing box @ 26°C (78°F) 1. Mix boiling water with barley flakes, barley malt extract, and olive oil. Rest for 30 min. 2. Mix all dry ingredients in mixer. Slowly add wet ingredients and mix for 2 min. on low. 3. Mix on setting 2 for 8 min. 4. Cover and proof for 60-90 min. until doubled. 5. Shape the dough and place in a well-oiled or parchment-lined cast iron loaf pan. 6. Cover and leave for 40-60 minutes, until 1 inch over rim. 7. Preheat oven to 246 C (475°F). 8. Egg wash, sprinkle with barley flakes and score 9. Reduce heat to 232°C (450°F) and bake for 20 minutes withcover; remove the cover, lower heat to 190°C (375°F) and bake for 20-25 minutes.