Wholemeal Bread

It's really great for once to post a recipe that I make every single week come rain or shine.   I use a whole 3lb/ 1.5K bag of wholemeal flour to make 3 loaves that feed the 2 of us for the duration. I always put two in the freezer and leave one out for immediate use.
 I have to say that this is so easy,  I mix the dough in my Kenwood Chef mixer first thing in the morning and leave to prove for around 2 hours which time I've walked the dogs or vacuumed the house, or whatever nasty chore awaits me.  After it's doubled in size I take it out, bash the hell out of it, portion it into three 3 equal pieces and place into greased tins for around another hour or so... enough time to pop to the supermarket, have a friend round for coffee and a natter or have a potter in the garden.
Baked in a hot oven for exactly 30 minutes and the bread is ready. 

OK  the ingredients

3lb Wholemeal flour ( I like to use the one above or Waitrose Canadian) but this recipe works well with most bread flours including white

3 Teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Rapeseed Oil ( vegetable oil will do)
2 Teaspoons Sugar (any)
5 Teaspoons  Dried Yeast... I use Allison's Easy Bake which can be mixed into the flour at the start but follow instructions for normal dried yeast... if you have fresh yeast or your own 'brew' then even better.
1 Litre/1¾ Pints water at body heat
A few Oats to top (optional)

I make my bread using a Kenwood Chef which is large mixer, you can alternatively make this by hand  
grease 3 2lb loaf tins or you can  hand form your own loaves on 3 baking trays

Instructions,

remove 2 or 3 tbsps of your flour and set aside for later

Place the oil into the bottom of your mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar. salt and yeast and mix together using your dough hook attachment.  ( if not using a mixer do this by hand). Add all the water.
Set the mixer to it's slowest setting and start to combine, stopping the machine and scraping the sides occasionally.  It will gradually form a solid but slightly sticky ball around the hook.  Make sure that all the flour has been taken up by the hook and just leave this mixing for around 7 minutes. The dough should now feel quite elastic and very pliable.

If making by hand then you will need to kneed the dough for at least 10 minutes ( a great way to work out any frustrations )  the dough should start to feel very pliable, it is then ready for the next stage. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl

Right, now it's time for the first prove.  I just cover the mixing bowl with a large plastic bag
(usually one of those large white pedal bin liners) .  Leave in a warm place, the airing cupboard is perfect, I leave mine on the side of my Rayburn stove...  if you want to bake within a few hours or leave somewhere cooler overnight ( my front porch is the perfect place to slow prove bread).  

When the dough has doubled in size it's time for the good bit.   Empty it out on a floured (using the reserved flour) work surface and bash the hell out of it ...I want to use a smiley emocion here LOL.
Cut into 3 equal sized pieces, shape and form it and place into your prepared tins.  Or shape as you will, cobs, rolls, etc etc and place on oiled trays.

I place my 3 tins of dough on my tea tray and cover again with the large plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour or so while I go off  to clean the damn bathroom or sort out the laundry.

As soon as the bread nears the top of the tins it's time to put your oven on. I set mine to exactly 200 c /400F.  I know lots of recipes suggest a higher temperature but this seems to be the very best heat for this particular bread.  You can add a sprinkle of oats at this stage if you want to.     I like to add a small tray of water to the very bottom of the oven at this stage.  The steam it creates makes all the difference to the crust of the loaf.

Place the bread in the centre of the oven and bake for exactly 30 minutes. The bread should be golden brown and nicely risen. Take out one loaf to test.  Slide it from it's tin and tap the base of it, it should sound hollow.  Just leave it for a couple more minutes if it isn't.

Remove from the tins immediately and leave to cool on a cooling tray.

When it's cold you can bag it up and place any spares in the freezer.  It will keep well in there for at least a month or so.

     
     

    Wholemeal Goji Berry Bread find the recipe here Wholemeal Goji Berry & Mixed Seed & Honey Bread

                                               White bread using the same method 

  

Malted Walnut Bread

This is my favourite bread to serve with cheese or soup. I make it with both blitzed walnuts to
give it a real bitter/sweet nuttiness and chopped walnuts for a good crunch. Slightly sweet with the addition of malt extract but it truly enhances this lovely bread.

Recipe.

500g of strong wholemeal bread flour. I used Duchy Estate (I sure the Prince of Wales will be pleased)
a 7g sachet of dried fast acting yeast
1 heaped tbsp malt extract
100g of walnuts blitzed to a rough 'flour'
50g walnuts roughly chopped
1 heaped tsp salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil (or olive oil)
350ml warm water

either make in your mixer with a dough hook or by hand

Warm the  your mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, yeast, and oil, quickly mix together
Add the malt extract to the warm water to dissolve it and pour most of it into the flour mix.
Mix to a sticky pliable dough adding a little more water if needed.
Either knead in your mixer for around 7 mins or by hand for approx 12.
Now add the blitzed walnuts and mix in well, then the chopped walnuts.
adding the nuts any earlier will produce a greasy bitter finish to your bread.
cover the bowl with greased cling film and leave in a warm place to prove for around an hour or until doubled in size.
Return to your work top and knock the dough back
Roll and shape into a long baguette.
place on a floured oven tray, cover with greased cling and leave to rise for approx 30-40mins.
Once well risen slash a few slits through it with a very sharp blade.
Sprinkle over with a little more flour
Bake in a preheated oven 200c/400f/gas 6 for 10 mins
Turn down the oven to 190c/ 375f /gas 5 for around another 20 minutes or until when the base loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Leave to cool
Freezes well for around a month or store in an airtight container for 3/4 days maximum.

Goji Berry, Mixed Seed, Honey, Wholemeal Bread

Goji Berry, Mixed Seed. Honey Wholemeal Bread

What could beat the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through your kitchen.
This is such a wonderful recipe. The basic bread recipe has been lifted from Rachel Allen's 'Food for Living' cookbook. It's such a versatile recipe that can be personalised by adding your own combination of flavours either sweet or savoury.
Now Goji Berries are supposed to be a wonder food so while trying to eat more healthily I bought the berry & seed mix in Waitrose planning to sprinkle them on my bowl of porridge but instead I added them to this lovely loaf. One word of warning though if you're going to try this recipe out, the berries will burn if left on top of the bread while baking. I had to pick the burnt offerings off. Just incorporate them into the dough. I sprinkled on a few extra towards to end of cooking which makes it such a pretty loaf to look at.

Here's some facts about Goji Berries the new superfood from an excerpt from the Tibetan Goji Berry Company

Of the many varieties of Lycium, the Tibetan Lycium berry has earned the respect of the great Physicians of Tibet over these many centuries and has been coined with the name ‘Goji’. It grows in remote unpolluted hills and valleys of Tibet and Mongolia, in soil so rich in nutrients that the berries are exploding with this special nutrient dense vitality. Here are just a few ways Goji supports a healthy life.

• Protects the liver — less fatigue
• Helps eyesight – supports kidney function
• Increases metabolic activity — burns fat and aids digestion
• Boosts immune function – Lymphocytes, Interleukin 2, Immunoglobulin
• Improves circulation — supports distribution of nutrients and quality energy levels
• Improves sexual function and fertility — boosts libido and energy
• Promotes longevity — brings life support to the blood and all internal organs
• Rich in phytonutrients, antioxidants, particularly carotenoids such as beta-carotene and zeaxanthin.
• Test studies are showing that Goji berries may prevent the growth of cancer cells, reduce blood glucose, and lower cholesterol levels.
• Goji has unique bioactive polysaccharides (LBP) — key markers for building immune response.

The recipe:- this will make two large loaves.

120g around 4oz mixed seeds and Goji berries (the seeds were pumpkin, sunflower & sesame)
600g /1lb 7oz strong white bread flour
300g/11oz Wholemeal bread flour
2 tsp salt
100g/4oz softened butter
3tbsp honey
3tsp of dried yeast or 40g/1 &3/4oz fresh yeast
450ml/16fl oz warm water

Method.

Mix together the warm water, honey & yeast in a small jug. Leave for 5 minutes until it starts to froth
Place the two flours, the salt & the softened butter in the bowl of your mixer and mix to combine the butter.( or do by hand if preferred) Add most of the berries and seeds reserving a few to sprinkle on top later on
Make a well in the centre & add the yeast liquid
Knead with the mixer for around 5/6 minutes or for around 10 minutes by hand
By this time the dough should be springy and smooth
Pop into a large greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours or until doubled in size.
Knock the dough back and leaveit to relax on the floured surface, covered with a tea towel for around 5 minutes
Cut the dough in half and shape into 2 large balls. Flatten them down to about  4cm/1and a half inches thick. Place on floured baking sheets.
Make a few slashes in the top, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm spot for around 45 mins or until doubled in size yet again.

Set the oven to 200c/400f/gas 6 & place a small baking tray filled with boiling water at the bottom of the oven to create lots of steam.

Brush a little milk over the loaves and sprinkle them with some seeds reserving the Goji Berries until 5 minutes before the end of baking time, They burn very easily.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

The dough can be made into around 20 rolls, just reduce to baking time to 10-15 minutes.

In her recipe Rachel suggests other additions and variations such as Cheddar cheese, caramelised onion & cheese, cinnamon & raisin, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes. I'm sure that you can think of something equally gorgeous to personalise this delicious bread.