Millet, Rye and Beer Bread

I enjoy making my own bread with different flours and grains. This is a well-flavoured bread with a good texture.

Leftover beer adds a nice malty flavour to this bread. You could use rolled oats or barley flakes in place of the millet.

The great thing about making bread is you can avoid additives and control the salt level. It makes the kitchen smell wonderful too!

450 g strong white bread flour
50 g rye flour
25 g millet flakes
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
25 g butter
1 teaspoon rapid-action dried yeast
350 ml beer ( or water)

I used a bread maker so I just put all the ingredients in and set the basic dough programme.

You could use a mixer with a dough hook, or make the dough by hand.

After the dough has risen, tip out on to a floured board and punch down. Flatten into a rectangle, then roll up and form into a baton shape with the seam underneath. Put on a baking sheet and cover with a plastic bag (I supported the corners using spice jars, so the plastic didn't touch the dough). Leave to rise until doubled in size.

Dust the loaf with flour (I used millet flakes ground to powder in a blender). Slash the dough with a sharp knife, then leave for 10 minutes while pre-heating the oven to 220 deg C/ 200 deg fan/ gas Mark 7.

Bake the dough for 25-30 minutes until golden and hollow-sounding. Cool on a wire rack.