ok here goes
take 400-420 ml of warm water in a jug
take 1 dessert spoon of milk powder (not necessary but it helps a crusty crust) put in bowl
add 4 dessert spoons of mixed seed (once again not necessary, this is for a multiseed loaf with lots of seed you can also use less or none) (I buy a bag of each of sunflower, pumpkin, poppy, linseed and any other seeds you want, then mix them in 2 ex coffee jars (I dont have a single jar big enough).
1 dessert spoon (level) of sugar is added to the jug of warm water.
2 dessert spoons of veg oil of choice is added to the bowl (put the dessert spoon to one side to mix the mix in the bowl later.
1 level teaspoon of salt is added to the bowl.
1/4 teaspoon of vitamin c powder is added to the bowl (this helps the wholemeal flower rise - not needed if you use all white)
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried yeast is added to the jug of warm water, and stirred (if you do this step last you only get one teaspoon dirty) leave the water / yeast / sugar a couple of minutes to get the yeast floating to the top (stir it before adding to the mix.
now add 2 cup measures of strong wholemeal bread flour and 2 cup measures of strong white bread flour to the bowl (while you are waiting for the yeast you can mix this roughly with the seeds oil and other bits)
when the yeast starts showing some activity, give it a stir and dump it in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients., use the dessert spoon to integrate the water into the mix, at some point it will start to clump, clean the dough off the spoon and now mix by hand (it may seem quite wet and sticky - this is correct) integrate all the dry flour from round the bowl and squash the dough into a ball, try and get all the loose bits incorporated.
now its time to flour a clean firm flat surface lightly and dump the ball of dough onto the clean floured surface (I use the glass cooker hob, cleaning / scraping it carefully so its spotless, but a good wooden pastry board works as long as you keep it floured.
now knead the ball of dough - this is basically squashing it and pushing away with the heel of your hand, bring your hand back, turning the dough through 90 degrees while doing so and repeat, do this until it is of an even texture, flouring your surface so it doesnt stick.
after 5-10 minutes you will see that the texture is quite even and while the dough is still quite sticky it doesnt seem to stick and separate bits off, it peels off evenly, now put back into the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and leave for 45 minutes to 1 hour until it is doubled in size (use a big bowl).
after 45 minutes (or an hour ) it will be doubled in size, give it a punch in the middle and you will see it deflate, now pop it back on your floured surface and knead it a few times more - slowly getting it the same length as your bread tin (or if you want just on a flat tray dont forget to smear a little oil in the bread tin paying attention to the corners, this will help getting the loaf out at the end) my bread tin is slightly big for this size loaf at 26 x 14 x 7 cm I dont get a very tall loaf.
anyway now you have it in the bread tin or on a flat tin, pop it in the oven (not turned on) uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour until it has doubled again, I pop a deep baking tray full of hot to boiling water in the bottom of the oven at the same time, this helps the bread to rise and will give a nice crusty loaf.
when it has doubled (or after 45 minutes if you are impatient) turn the oven on to 180 degrees (we have an electric fan oven) cook the bread for 35 minutes.
after 35 minutes, open the oven door (stand back and give the steam from the tray of water a chance to roll out and clear - otherwise its very hot if you are leaning over the door as you open it) take the loaf out. using 2 teatowels (one to gently hold the bread, the other for the tin) - turn the tin upside down, if everything has gone to plan you will have a loaf in one tea towelled hand and a hot tin in the other, if not you may need to run a blunt knife (pallet knife) down between the bread and the tin, to get it out.
tap the bottom of the loaf gently with your knuckle, it should sound hollow - this shows its cooked, if you want it extra crusty give it an extra 5 minutes cooking. place the loaf on a wire cooling rack (I cover it with a clean teatowel to keep the cats off - this can soften the crust slightly, if it is safe then leave it uncovered for a crustier crust.
There you go, that is my bread recipe, white bread is the same recipe minus the seeds and using all white flour, I even use the same recipe for pizza bases, no seeds, but added herbs and an extra spoon of oil.
Grendel
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June 19, 2009, 03:59