Menu Close

Seed bread

Fairly quick seed loaf to bake as an alternative to store-bought bread.
Prep Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups white bread/strong flour
  • 2 ¼ tsp dry yeast (in South Africa, its usually 1 x 10g packet)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey (Vegan conversion: use maple syrup or treacle sugar)
  • 1 ½ tsp fine salt (I use Himalayan salt, but you can use whatever you like)
  • 2 cups tepid water
  • 2 tsp each of whatever seeds you like - sesame, sunflower, poppy, flaxseed, linseed

Method
 

  1. Mix 1 cup of water with the yeast and sugar and leave it to bloom (this is to check that the yeast is alive).
  2. Add everything else and mix with your hands or a mixer with the dough hook attachments.
  3. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes to allow the gluten to develop.
  4. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 mins. You can add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
  5. Oil a large bowl, add dough to the bowl and then flip it over so that the oiled side is up. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double it's size - about an hour. If your oven can be set to 40°C, then you can use this setting to prove your dough.
  6. When the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate it by pressing down the dough, then turn out on a floured surface.
  7. Grease a loaf tin (20cm x 11.5cm x 7cm or thereabouts).
  8. Roll out the dough into swiss roll style, starting with the shortest side. Pinch seams together and placed rolled dough seam-side sdown in the prepared loaf tin.
  9. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, sabout 30 minutes.
  10. Preheat over to 220°C.
  11. Before baking, brish the top of the loaf with water and sprinkle on some seeds (whatever combination you want).
  12. Bake for about 40 minutes. Check after 20 minutes and if the top is looking browned enough, then cover with foil for the remaining time.
  13. Remove the bread from the loaf tin and let it cool before trying that first slice!