Saturday 28 February 2009

The perfect loaf.

I love baking bread. The only problem is (or should I say was) that I am absolutely terrible at doing it. I only used whole grain flours. I think if I had given in and used a combination with white flour I would've gotten a better result but I just couldn't.

It wasn't until I gave up wheat a few weeks ago and started baking spelt bread that I finally got it right.
I chose this recipe out of all them because it was sugar-free (yes, I've given up sugar too).

The only thing I don't like about this recipe is I don't get to knead anything.





Original recipe here, only slightly modified below.


Three Minute Spelt Bread


Ingredients
750g Spelt Flour
15g Fast Action Yeast
75g Sunflower Seeds
75g Pumpkin Seeds
3/4tsp Sea Salt
750ml Warm Water
A couple of handfuls of oats, plus some for topping


Method
* Preheat oven to 200c, Gas Mark 6 (180c if using a fan oven).


1) Combine the dry ingredients in a very large mixing bowl. Add the water, mixing as you do so. You will be left with a very sticky, wet dough. It's best not to handle it by hand - use a wooden spoon or a spatula.





2) Mix well and turn into a greased loaf tin. Sprinkle oats over the top.





3) Bake for around 50 minutes. Please note this will probably depend on your oven so please keep an eye on it & check it towards the end of cooking time (though try to avoid opening the oven until you need to remove the loaf). The first time I made the bread I baked it for an hour as listed on the original recipe. It was far too long and I ended up with a very very crisp crust. 45 minutes seems to be perfect for my oven.





4) Remove from oven, cool, slice & enjoy!





The original recipe also mentioned that it is better left overnight in a cool place to rise before baking. I tried this the first time but I found that it rose and then collapsed again. I haven't tried it again since.
I only own one loaf tin so I increased the measurements by half to suit.

It tastes absolutely amazing with cheese! I can't get enough of it :)

4 comments:

  1. Mmm I love fresh baked bread, my weakness is cutting the end off when it's just out of the oven and having it with butter mmmmm!

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  2. Hi Aisha, Your loaf looks wonderful and no kneading, right? I think I'm going to try that one.Where do you buy your spelt flour from?

    Like you, I find the wholemeal loaves are too heavy and a 50/50 mix with white bread works better. When I am in America, I find the break making more difficult. The flour over there is different and I haven't yet managed to make a really decent loaf. Usually they are ok the day I bake them and rock hard and inedible the day after!
    Blessings, Star

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  3. Thank you!
    That's right, no kneading involved. You just mix it up and tip it into the loaf tin :)

    I try to get my spelt flour from a local mill, but failing that I buy Doves Farm Stoneground Spelt Flour, which you can usually get at supermarkets or health food shops.

    Strangely I read an article once about baking the perfect bread and it said that it was impossible in England! I did lose hope at that moment, but I refused to give up trying!

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  4. mmm, home-baked bread. i swear there is nothing better in the world.
    i made some naan breads recently. you should give it a go. loads of kneading!

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