Another great recipe I am copying off Annabel Langbein’s programme, The Free Range Cook. Today I am trying out her super easy, no proofing needed, Wholemeal Pumpkin and Sunflower Seed bread.
I watch a lot of late night tv, quite often falling asleep with the remote still in hand, with cooking shows softly running on screen. There seriously isn’t very much on the network at that hour apart from TeleShopping, reruns of crime scene shows and of course the 24Kitchen cooking channel. Sometimes I pay attention, and sometimes they all simply merge into white noise in the background … but this episode I was paying attention especially when she said this bread almost never goes wrong. I was a touch skeptical coz I have made bread that claimed the same and they did go wrong. Horribly wrong. The one bread recipe I successfully made once that required no kneading whatsoever was the one demoed by the one and only chef John of Foodwishes (of course) with his no-knead ciabatta bread. That one worked a treat!
I tend to prefer heavier breads with a nice spongy texture to them while R. prefers rustic French-style breads with a crispy crust. Crusty loaves and me don’t seem to gel well; they give me mouth ulcers coz the hard crust injures the roof of my mouth all the time. Anyone else experience this … or am I full of it? Anyway, when Annabel Langbein said her recipe produces a dense bread structure with a nice crust, my ears pricked up and I had a pen and paper ready.
Wholemeal Pumpkin & Sunflower Seed Loaf. (makes 2 loaves)
4 tsp honey
7 tsp yeast
4 cups warm water
400 g wholemeal flour
400 g strong flour (high protein flour)
3 tsp of salt
2 cups sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Preheat the oven to 80°C. Line two bread pans with oil or shortening
Dissolve the honey in the water, then add all the yeast. Cover the bowl and allow fermentation to take place. Leave it aside for about 20 – 30 mins until the mixture turns frothy.
Remove the cover and whisk to distribute everything evenly. Then dump in all the flour, salt and seeds … stir with a wooden spoon. You should end up with a very loose and wet dough.
Divide the dough evenly between the two tins and smooth out the top. Cut three gashes into the dough to allow it to rise evenly in the oven without splitting.
Sprinkle the top with extra seeds and then bake the loaves for 20 mins. They will rise considerably at this point.
After 20 mins, increase the temperature to 220°C and bake for a further 30 – 40 mins until cooked through. I tend to bake bread on a lower shelf just to ensure the crust does not brown too quickly. I also spritzed the inside of the oven with some water before beginning the second bake at a higher temperature to get some humidity in there.
After 40 mins, remove them immediately from the tins and allow to cool on wire racks.
When eaten warm with butter, these bread loaves were simply delicious! R. had almost polished off the first loaf all by himself for lunch … and this is a guy who doesn’t usually reach for brown breads very often. He also polished off a large chunk of the butter, mind, but he said he enjoyed the bread very much and that I should consider baking breads at home more often (yeah, right!). Breads here in our local supermarkets are good enough for daily consumption … besides, sometimes I don’t really want a heavy slice of bread … sometimes all I want is a nice soft roll.
Shall I call this one a success? I think so. It’s really good bread and the crust is really pleasant with the crunch from all the seeds. A slight aftertaste of honey in the background lends it a subtle sweetness, yet it doesn’t over power any of the flavours. Bread in our house is typically used for making sandwiches but I would not hesitate to serve up this bread with dinner on its own. Brilliant, I now have a new bread recipe that is for keeps. Hurrah! Gaining confidence in pastry AND bread-making all in the same month … this is a win for me. And thank you once again to Annabel Langbein for such brilliant recipes on her show.
~ Enjoy! ~
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