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Wholemeal enriched with rye and boosted by a sourdough starter

Wholemeal enhanced with rye, boosted by sourdough starter.

Ingredients

800g Organic 100% Wholemeal Flour (205)
100g Organic Dark Rye Flour (603)
100g Seeded White Organic Flour
20g fine salt
600 ml warm water
I tbsp Olive Oil
10g active dried yeast
2 Ladles of Wheat Sourdough starter

To be added before putting into the oven
Poppy Seeds
Sesame seeds

Preparation method

Stage 1

Put 800g Organic Wholemeal Flour in the mixing bowl of a food mixer, and then add the Organic Dark Rye flour the Seeded White Organic Flour and the salt, and then mix together by hand or with a wooden spoon.

Add the olive oil plus the two ladles full of the active sourdough starter mix. It may be helpful if the sourdough starter has been allowed to come to room temperature.

In a separate bowl stir a teaspoon of sugar into 600 ml of warm water and then stir in the dried yeast powder and wait until it becomes visibly active.

Mix the yeasty water with the mixture of flour in the bowl and use a wooden spoon to mix things together and to make sure that some of the liquid reaches the bottom of the bowl before switching on the mixer. Then using a dough hook, mix the ingredients together at a low speed for about 5 or 6 minutes.

Turn the dough out on to an oiled baking board/work surface. Put a little olive oil on your hands and after a little more kneading, shape the dough into a round before putting it into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film (or a stretchy plastic cover) and leave the dough to double in size. In a warm-ish kitchen this will probably take about 45 minutes.

Stage 2

Grease two medium size loaf tins with some olive oil.

After proving the dough, turn it out onto your work surface, gently deflate the dough before dividing it into two. Shape each half of the dough into a long-ish rectangle. Then fold over one third forward towards the centre and then fold the other end of the rectangle back towards you over the rest of the dough. Then working from the top, roll the dough up tightly back towards you and mould it into a loaf shape with the seam at the bottom. Place the loaves in the greased loaf tins.

Brush the tops of the loaves with a little milk and scatter some poppy seeds and sesame seeds over the top, and then gently press the seeds into the top of the dough.

Cover the filled loaf tins with a plastic bag and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 250C. Place a baking tray/roasting tin in place before turning the oven on.

Stage 3

Five minutes before putting the loaves in the oven, pour some boiling water into the baking tray/roasting tin which you’d placed in the bottom of the oven. Be careful not to get scalded by the steam!

Before putting the bread in the oven, it is good to slash the top of the loaves gently with a sharp knife or razor blade. You may want to spray a little water on the top of the loaves at this point too.

If possible, as you’re putting the bread into the oven, quickly spray some more water into the oven, to help create the steamy atmosphere which will help the loaves to rise during the first 10 minutes of the bake.

Stage 4 Baking

• Bake at 250C for 10 minutes.

• Turn oven down to 200C and allow to bake for another 30-35 minutes.

• Check if it’s baked all the way through by turning the loaf out of the tin and tapping the bottom of the loaf to see if it sounds hollow. If it still sounds a bit ‘soft’ then put back into the oven for another 3-4 minutes.

• Leave to cool on a rack cover it with a clean linen cloth and then wait until the loaf has cooled before seeking to cut it and eat it.