I love five-grain breads and have been making a lot of them lately two versions of which I've blogged about before (here and here). This particular one, a version made by Team USA during the 1999 Coup du Monde de la Boulangerie, immediately caught my attention because the generous coating of grains that surrounds the exterior of the loaf made it look so appetizing that my mouth immediately started to water. I knew just by seeing the pictures of the loaves that they would have incredible flavor especially the coated crust which I expected would turn delightfully crisp and nutty during the bake.
I certainly wasn't wrong with all of my assumptions about this bread. It tasted just as good as it looks and the textures of the grains from both the crust and crumb is such a delight on the palate as well. The crust was perfectly crunchy and the crumb was so moist and tender. I can even state that this, by far, is the tastiest Five-Grain bread I've ever made.
