Honeyed wholemeal bread will keep well for couple of days in your bread bin, but can also be frozen - see Tips.

Here’s what you need

1kg Wholemeal flour
7g dried yeast
7g Himalayan Salt (or sea salt)
50g raw honey
630ml water (blood temperature)

Here’s what you do

1. Mix dry ingredients together in stand mixer on lowest setting with dough hook for 5 minutes.
2. Mix water and honey, stir until honey completely dissolved.
3. With the mixer still running at lowest speed gradually add the honeyed water. You may not need all of it, but you do want your dough to be sticky.
4. Continue to knead the dough on lowest mixer setting until soft and pliable - the dough should not break but stretch.
5. Remove bowl from mixer, shape dough into a ball-shape, replace dough-ball into the mixer bowl, cover with clean tea towel and leave in warm place for approximately 30-40 minutes for the yeast to work it’s magic. The dough is ready when roughly doubled in size.
6. Generously flour clean work surface and baking tray - this prevents bread sticking to tray during baking.
7. Remove dough from bowl, place on floured work surface and cut it in half.
8. Leaving one half to one side roll the dough into sausage shape (or any shape you fancy) and place on the floured tray.
9. Repeat with other half leaving a gap between the loaves.
10. Recover with tea towel and leave to prove in warm place for 50-60 minutes. It’s ready to bake when doubled in size. (As they rise the loaves will meet, this is normal)
11. After 20-30 minutes of proving time preheat your oven to 240C - best baked bread needs nice hot oven.
12. Just before placing bread in oven, use a very sharp knife to cut slits in the top - not only does it add a rustic artisan look to your homemade loaf, it helps the bread rise a little as its baking.
13. Place bread in oven and turn oven down to 220C.
14. Bake for 15 minutes, then quickly and carefully turn tray to allow loaves to brown evenly.
15. After 30 minutes check loaves are done by removing from oven and tapping the bottom of each the loaf, they should sound hollow. Place on a rack to cool. If your loaves don’t sound hollow, continue to bake and check at 5 minute intervals until you get that hollow sound. If necessary turn oven down to prevent over browning.

Tips:

HONEY - raw honey from you local beekeeper’s apiaries, like Shipton Mill flours, has a unique depth in flavour which supermarket products just can't compete with …. sustainable too!!! This recipe uses 5% honey to flour ratio to infuse and compliment the flour’s flavour, it can be adapted to suite individual tastes.

OATS / SEEDS / NUTS - this recipe also work well with addition of up to 100g of rolled oats, sunflower seeds or roughly chopped walnuts, etc.

BREAD-MACHINE - adjust water to flour ratio and load ingredients in accordance with your machines instructions.

FREEZING - when completely cold, this bread freezes well wrapped in grease proof paper. When you want to defrost, place your unwrapped loaf on cooling tray to thaw at room temperature. The tray allows air circulation around the loaf as it defrosts thus preventing a soggy bottom!!!