Seeded Wholemeal Loaf Recipes

WHOLE-WHEAT SEEDED LOAVES

Steps:

• Mix seeds and oats together with 180 grams of water in a medium mixing bowl; cover with plastic wrap and and let soak overnight in the refrigerator.
• Combine 170 grams bread flour or all-purpose flour, 170 grams lukewarm water, and yeast in bowl of a standing mixer and mix together until well combined. Cover with plastic and leave to ferment at room temperature for two hours or until it doubles in volume. Meanwhile, remove bowl with nuts and seeds from the refrigerator, drain and bring to room temperature.
• Add drained seeds, 250 grams whole-wheat flour and sea salt to the starter. Start mixing on medium speed. The dough should come together in the first minute. If it does not and you see dry ingredients in the bottom of the bowl, add about 1/4 cup of water. Mix dough for 5 minutes on medium speed, then turn the speed up to medium-high and mix 5 to 7 minutes more, or until dough is elastic.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
• Dust work surface lightly with flour and scrape out dough. Weigh dough and divide into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball or into oblong pointed loaves. (For oblong loaves, first shape into balls, cover with a towel or lightly with plastic and let rest for 15 minutes. Then press the dough out to a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Take the side closest to you and fold lengthwise halfway to the center of the loaf. Lightly press down to seal. Take the top flap and bring it toward you over the first fold to the middle of the loaf and lightly press down to seal. Flip over so seam is on the bottom and roll back and forth with both hands to form an oblong loaf with pointy ends. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot for one hour.)
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a pizza stone on the middle rack and a small sheet pan on bottom of the oven for 30 to 45 minutes. Have 1 cup water ready in a small cup or a glass. (If you have a large pizza stone, you can bake both loaves at once. If you have a standard home pizza stone, bake one loaf at a time and place the other loaf in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation.) Dust a pizza peel or flat baking sheet lightly with flour, semolina or cornmeal and place one loaf on top. Using a razor blade or a moistened bread knife, make a 1/2-inch deep horizontal cut down the middle of loaf from one end to the other, or if the loaves are round make 2 slashes across top. Slide loaf onto pizza stone and close oven door. Wait 30 seconds, then open oven door quickly and pour water onto the sheet pan on the bottom of the oven to create steam. After 5 minutes take the sheet pan out of the oven. Bake for a total of 30 to 35 minutes, until loaf is dark brown and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom. Transfer loaf to a wire rack to cool completely for 45 minutes. Repeat with other loaf.

SEEDED WHOLE GRAIN LOAF

Steps:

• In bread machine pan, place all the ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size if available. Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).

SEEDED WHOLEMEAL LOAF

Steps:

• Combine both flours in a large bowl with the yeast and 1 tsp fine salt. Mix the treacle with 250ml warm water until well combined. Stir into the flour to make a slightly sticky dough. If you need to add more water, splash it in 1 tbsp at a time.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 mins (or in a tabletop mixer for 5-7 mins). Your dough should be smooth and elastic when it's ready. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, flip the dough over to coat it in oil, then cover with a sheet of oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place until doubled in size - this will take about 1 hr (see note, below). Lightly oil a 900g loaf tin.
• Once doubled in size, knead the dough again for 3-5 mins to knock out the air bubbles - add most of the seeds and work these into the dough as you knead. Shape the dough into an oval roughly the same length as your tin. Place in the tin and leave to prove, covered with oiled cling film, for 30-45 mins until it has nearly doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Gently press a finger into the loaf to check if it has had enough proving time (see tip). When it's ready, glaze the top of the loaf with the egg yolk and sprinkle over the remaining seeds. Bake in the oven for 40-45 mins until golden brown - if you tip the loaf out of the tin and tap the bottom, it should sound hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 mins before slicing.

MULTI-SEED LOAF (BREAD MACHINE)

Steps:

• Add the ingredients into the bread-machine in the order they appear above, so water first and seeds last.(You can buy seed mixes but I make up my own by buying small bags of each seed and mixing roughly equal quantities of each together in a tupperware box).
• Put the machine on the normal white bread cycle. Make sure the dough looks smooth after the first mixing stage - if not add flour or water as required.
• Sit back and relax. In 3-4 hours (depending on your bread machine) you will have a delicious and healthy bread.

SEEDED SPELT BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Weigh out the spelt flour into the mixing bowl and add the salt and yeast without letting them touch each other in the bowl.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the softened butter along with the water and the mixed seeds.
• Bring the ingredients together until they're all combined, don't worry if the dough looks too sticky early on because it will continue to absorb water as it's kneaded.
• Knead the dough on an oiled surface for 12-15 minutes if you're kneading by hand or for 10 minutes if you're using a dough hook.
• Leave the dough to rise in a large mixing bowl until it's doubled in size, this will take at least an hour.