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Recipe: bread

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Ingredients

  • 300 g all-purpose (wheat) flour
  • 400 g multi-grain (wheat, rye) flour
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ¼ cup of flax and sunflower seeds
  • 680 ml water
  • optional: cooking oil, e.g., canola oil

Tools

  • scale
  • measuring spoons (1 tsp; ¼ cup)
  • 2 bowl
  • stand mixer
  • loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 cu in)
  • optional: parchment paper

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Procedure

Preparation times

  1. 15 min (setting up both bowls)
  2. 6~8 hrs (waiting: flour soaking)
  3. 15 min (mixing both bowls)
  4. 2~3 hrs (waiting: dough rising)
  5. 60 ± 15 min (baking)

Step 1: setting up bowls (15 minutes)

Combine the following items in the first bowl and blend them thoroughly:

  • 150 g of all-purpose flour
  • 150 g of multi-grain flower
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 300 ml of water

Combine the following items in the second bowl and blend them thoroughly:

  • 200 g of all-purpose flour
  • 200 g of multi-grain flower
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ¼ cup of a mix of flax and sunflower seeds
  • 380 ml of water

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Cover both bowls and leave the first bowl in a warm place.

Step 2: soaking the flour and seeds (6~8 hrs)

In the second step, the flour and seeds soak for a couple of hours. Technically, this step can be skipped, but there is an increased risk of getting a lumpy dough. Also, the flour should not soak for more than 24 hours to avoid unwanted yeast-production in the second bowl.

Step 3: mixing both bowls (15 min)

  1. Mix the content of the two bowls together and blend it thoroughly.
  2. In the meantime, prepare the loaf pan and preheat the oven to the lowest possible temperature (usually 170 F).
  3. Pour the blended dough in the loaf pen and put the loaf pen in the oven.
  4. Turn off the preheated stove.

Re 2.: I recommend lining the loaf pan with parchment paper and coating the remaining exposed insides with oil and flour. This prevents the bread from sticking to the load pan and protects the pan as well. (In my experience, even non-stick pans lose their non-stick ability quickly, and lining / coating the pan extends its lifetime.)

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Re 3.: I recommend putting some aluminum foil under the loaf pan in case the rising dough spills over. This makes cleaning up much easier.

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Re 4.: Don't forget to turn off the preheated stove!

Step 4: waiting for the dough to rise (1~3 hrs)

How long this step takes depends on the oven-temperature and the type of the yeast. Monitor the dough every 15 ~ 20 minutes. Once it has raised to roughly 1 cm below the rim of the loaf pan, proceed to the final step.

Getting the timing right in this step requires some experience. Make sure to check the dough frequently to prevent it from spilling over. If it should spill over, proceed to the final step right away. If the dough spilled onto one of the heating elements or the bottom of the stove, clean up the spill first! Spills on the aluminum foil can be left there for now. Do not remove the aluminum foil yet!

Step 5: baking (60 ± 15 min)

  1. Set the stove to 450 F.
  2. Remove the bread loaf after 45 to 75 minutes, depending on the desired color of the bread.

Re 1.: It is not necessary to remove to loaf pan from the stove. Leaving it in simply means that the dough might rise another cm and that baking might take a few minutes longer, depending on the heat-up-speed of the stove.

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