Homemade whole wheat bread with seeds

 

I have always been reluctant to make my own bread because it just seemed so difficult. But I gave it a go with a recipe from the Minimalist Baker, and it was okay actually. I did this bread several times now, and it works well and is yummy. So here is the (slightly adapted) recipe!

This homemade whole wheat bread with seeds is ready in about 3 hours and 45 minutes. The quantities here make 1 loaf.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of water + 1 cup
• 2 ¼ teaspoons of instant yeast (I store my instant yeast in a small glass jar in the freezer)
• ½ tablespoon of salt (I use Himalayan salt)
• 1 tablespoon of flax seeds
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey (I have not try yet with agave syrup)
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 ¾ cups of plain flour + 1 tablespoon + a little bit more
• Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons of rolled oats

Preparation

Heat 1 ½ cups of water to body temperature.

Get the instant yeast, salt, flax seeds, maple syrup or honey, and both flours measured and ready to be used.

In a large mixing bowl, add the warm water, yeast, salt, maple syrup or honey, flax seed, whole wheat flour and 1 ¾ cups of the plain flour. Using a large spoon, mix until it is not possible to stir any longer and all the dry ingredients are wet (picture 1).

In the mixing bowl, make with the hand a dough ball (it will be sticky), then sprinkle around it 1 tablespoon of flour, and roll the dough ball around the mixing bowl to catch the flour. When it is no longer sticky, lift the dough ball out, and lightly grease with olive oil the inside of the mixing bowl. Put back the dough ball, cover the mixing bowl with a clean tea towel, and let the dough rise in the fridge for 2 hours.

Remove from the fridge, and place the dough ball on a lightly floured clean surface. Make a pit in the dough with the fingers, add in the sunflower seeds and rolled oats (picture 2), and knead the dough until elastic, shaping it as a loaf.

Brush a standard loaf tin with olive oil, and place the dough loaf there with the seam facing down (picture 3). Scatter and brush a bit of flour on top of it. Loosely wrap the loaf tin with cling film, and set aside for 60 minutes to rise.

10-15 minutes before the end of the rising time, preheat the oven at 230 degrees Celsius, and place the oven grill rack in the middle of the oven and an oven tray on the lowest oven rack.

At the end of the rising time and when the oven is preheated: prepare 1 cup of hot tap water and set aside. Remove the cling film from the loaf tin, and make with a knife 3 diagonal cuts of 1.5 cm deep in the bread.

Place in the oven on the grill rack, and carefully pour the hot water into the oven tray, then close the oven door quickly.

Bake the bread for 25 minutes or so, until golden (picture 4).

Let cool the bread out of the loaf tin. When completely cooled, store in a plastic bag at room temperature and eat within few days.