Wholemeal Bread
The main point of making bread is the delight of getting your hands into the
lump of dough to knead it rhythmically into the light texture that is the
essence of bread. Few activities are so satisfying! In addition, you can create
varieties of bread that are unobtainable in any other way. I give below two versions
(one quick, one leisurely) for the strong-flavoured, substantial bread that we live on.
Both incorporate seeds. The linseed (flax seeds) are soaked in cold water,
when their outer coating softens and they stick well to the top of the loaf
before baking. This way they taste good and crunchy, while if you bake them
inside the bread they�re like chips of wood. You don�t get their essential oils
this way � but you get far more of that by eating oily fish anyway.
I use butter for greasing the bread tins, because the grease always burns
slightly, and burned butter tastes nice, whereas burnt oil doesn�t.
Kneading consists of stretching the dough, pressing your knuckles into it to
make deep indentations, and then folding it in half so that the air is trapped
inside � repeated 30 times or so, turning the dough through 90 degrees each
time so that it is stretched in different directions.
For both recipes, the quantity of water will depend on your flour: add enough
to make the dough soft and pliable, but so much that it sticks to everything!
The quantities given below work for Waitrose's organic strong flour brands (UK).
The temperature of the warm water needs to be just short of uncomfortable to the hand.
Quick bread
This uses dried yeast, one rise, and no fancy bits.
Ingredients
| 1.5kg | Strong wholemeal flour |
| 1.5 - 2 tsp(8g) | Salt |
| 2 tbs (50ml) | vegetable oil (I use rapeseed) |
| 2 sachets (14g) | Quick acting dried yeast |
| 1 1/3 tbs (40g) | Sunflower seeds |
| 1 tbs (20g) | Sesame seeds |
| 3 tsp (15g) | Linseeds |
| approx 1l | Warm water |
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 230C. Mix the flour, salt, oil and yeast together in a large
bowl. Roast the sunflower seeds and sesame seeds together in a heavy dry iron
pan until golden brown and add to the flour mixture. Put the linseeds into a
cup or bowl and cover well with water to soak them.
Add the water to the mixture, mix roughly with a wooden spoon, turn it out onto
a clean surface and get it together with your hands, then knead as described above.
Grease 3 loaf tins, divide the dough into 3 lumps and press them into the tins.
Leave until risen to a bit more than twice its volume. Then drain the
linseed and spread it evenly over the top of the loaves (I use a fork for
spreading and separating the seeds). Bake 25-30 mins, turn out of the tins
(the bread should be brown and crusty all round), and leave on a rack to cool.
Leisurely bread
This uses fresh yeast (which we are now able to get from Polish shops - ask for
drożdże) which gives a better rise and flavour, two rises, a bit of
white flour which improves the texture,
and crushes the sesame seeds to bring out the flavour.
Ingredients
| 50g | Fresh yeast |
| 1/2 tsp(3g) | Sugar |
| 150ml + 530ml | Warm water (in two lots) |
| 250g | Strong white flour |
| 1kg | Strong wholemeal flour |
| 1.5 tsp(8g) | Salt |
| 2 tbs (50ml) | vegetable oil (I use rapeseed) |
| 1 1/3 tbs (40g) | Sunflower seeds |
| 1.5 tbs (30g) | Sesame seeds |
| 3 tsp (15g) | Linseeds |
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 230C. Measure out the white flour. Mix the yeast and sugar
with a little of the 150ml
batch of water in a small bowl until smooth, then stir in all the rest of this batch of water.
Scatter a handful of the white
flour over it - enough to cover the surface. Cover with a plate and leave to stand
in a warm place until there
is plenty of froth over the surface (but before it all overflows!).
Meanwhile put the rest of the white flour in a large bowl and add the brown flour.
Roast the sunflower seeds in a heavy dry iron pan until golden brown
and add to the flour mixture.
Roast the sesame seeds similarly, then put them into a mortar (if you have one)
with a desertspoonful of flour and lightly crush together with a pestle to release the aromatic
oil. Add this too the flour with the salt and oil, and
mix briefly.
Put the linseeds into a cup or bowl and cover well with water to soak them.
When the yeast mixture is frothy add it to the other ingredients in the bowl.
Add the 530ml batch of water to the mixture, mix roughly with a wooden spoon,
turn it out onto a clean surface and get it together with your hands, then knead as described
above. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until it increases about fivefold
in volume (about 2/3 as big again in dimensions).
Tip the dough out of the bowl, fold it in half a few times to bring it back to
a bit more than the original size.
Grease 3 loaf tins, divide the dough into 3 lumps and press them into the tins.
Leave until risen to a bit twice its volume.
Then drain the linseed and spread it evenly over the top of the loaves
(I use a fork for spreading and separating the seeds).
Bake 25-30 mins, turn out of the tins (the bread should be brown and crusty
all round), and leave on a rack to cool.