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Dark Rye Bread with Raisins, Sultanas and Seeds

Recipe for baking 2 Loaves in tins (1800g capacity) or 4 small shaped loaves.

This recipe uses 400g White Fermented Dough made the day before and left to rest in the fridge overnight.

I make around 900g of fermented dough and use it over a couple of days to bake various breads (and as a treat, ocasionally Pizza!).

INGREDIENTS for the White Fermented Dough

1 Packet dried yeast

500g Shipton Mill Organic Stoneground Flour

10g Salt

350g Water (at room temperature, around 22-25 degrees centigrade)

HOW TO MAKE THE FERMENT: Mix the yeast with the flour, add the salt, then the water and stir well until the dough begins to form in your bowl. Scoop it out onto your work surface and knead or fold it for around 10-15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. I use the Bertinet method of working the dough. Shape into a ball, put back into your lightly floured bowl and cover with a linen tea towel. Put in the fridge overnight.

INGREDIENTS for the Bread Dough

- 400g of White Fermented Dough

2 Packets dried yeast

800g Shipton Mill Organic Dark Rye Flour

200g Shipton Mill Organic Stoneground Flour

20g Salt (I use 'Arctic Sea Salt')

750g Water (at room temperature, around 22-25 degrees centigrade)

200g Raisins (I use organic de-seeded Muscat raisins mixed with sweeter seedless raisins)

100g Sultanas

50g Brown Linseed

50g Sunflower Seeds

(A total 400g of dried fruit and seeds.)

HOW TO MAKE THE DOUGH: Mix all of the ingredients in your bowl - except for the dried fruit and seeds. The mixture will be stickier than when making other kinds of bread dough, but this is OK. Scoop it out onto your work surface and knead or fold it for around 10-15 minutes. I use the Bertinet method of working the dough. Spread the dough and add the dried fruit and seeds. Work again to combine them and achieve a smooth dough. Shape into a ball, put back into your lightly floured bowl and cover with a linen tea towel. Rest for 1 hour at room temperature, around 22-25 degrees centigrade.

Use a scraper to ease the dough out of the bowl onto your lightly floured work surface (keeping smooth side down). Fold the dough and form into a ball before putting it back into your bowl. Cover and rest for another hour.

Use your scraper again to ease the dough out of the bowl onto your lightly floured work surface (keeping smooth side down). Fold the dough and divide into 2 pieces (around 1,285g x 2) for shaping and placing in tins (or divide into 642g x4 for smaller loaves).

Place the shaped loaves in (buttered or oiled) tins, cover and leave to prove for an hour and a half.

BAKING YOUR LOAVES: Heat the oven to 250 degrees centigrade, use a clean plant spray to squirt water into the oven to get a little steam and create a better crust, before quickly placing your loaves inside.

Bake for 5 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 210 degrees centigrade and bake for around 1 hour.

After baking, the loaves should have a hollow sound when you tap them.

Place on wire racks to cool completely before slicing.

The bread will have quite a solid, compact feel and take a bit of effort to slice. When you taste it, you will be rewarded with a satisfying chewy texture, a rye bread full of flavour.