Early Morning Baking

Yesterday was the Open Day at my school. Everything went well; I had about 7 kids come through to participate in the lesson and activities and many families came through to watch, look around the room and ask questions.

Although going to work on a Saturday is never desirable, it was good for one thing, it got me up and going much earlier than a usual Saturday. By noon, I was home and ready to get on with the day.

I made a quick lunch of guacamole and an English muffin with vegan almond herbed cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes.

 Lunch was light and fresh.

After lunch I laid down for a no-nap rest for about 20 minutes before going to the grocery store. The local store is closed for a week to renovate so I took the opportunity to go to the shop 1 town over.

Even though I went shopping, I wanted to use the grocery store closing as a motivation to be a bit more self-reliant so decided to bake my own bread.

I based my recipe off of a recipe found on the King Arthur website. I love King Arthur Flour products and their website it so informative. If only they would venture into Europe…

This hearty bread was made with whole wheat flour, olive oil, ground flax, sunflower seeds, fresh yeast, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, salt, water and golden syrup (a liquid sweetener similar to molasses.)

The dry ingredients.

About 3/4 of a block of fresh yeast, crumbled. I dissolved the yeast into the water before combining with the golden syrup and olive oil. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until a shaggy dough forms. I used the dough attachment to my hand mixer.

Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before kneading it.

  Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth. Be careful not to use too much extra flour while kneading or else the bread will be too dense and tough.

 Set the dough in a warm place for 2 hours to rise.

After the first rise is over, shape the dough into a log then place it into a lightly oiled bread pan. Allow the dough to rise for another 2 hours before baking the bread. 

Fresh bread with soy butter and watercress for breakfast.

 

I started making the dough around 4:00, kneaded the first rise at 6:30 and had planned on baking the bread after the second rise at 8:30.

Life got in the way and I went out for dinner and drinks with my friends rather than staying home, baking bread.

Fast forward to 2:00 am.

I arrived home to my much rested and risen whole wheat nut and seed bread.

By 2:45 my apartment smelled like an early morning bakery and the bread was finished baking.

Patiently, I waited for the bread to rest and slightly cool before chomping into it at 3:00 am.

Although the long rise may have prevented the bread from puffing up as much as I had hoped, coming home to freshly baked bread before bead sure makes for sweet dreams…

Whole Wheat Nut and Seed Bread

Based on a recipe by King Arthur Flour

Yields 1 loaf

• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. golden syrup (or honey, maple syrup, molasses)
• 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, chopped
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 block fresh yeast (or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast)

Method

1. Combine the flour, seeds, nuts and wheat gluten in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, dissolve the fresh yeast into the water then add in the golden syrup and olive oil.
2. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a shaggy dough. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes, then knead till fairly smooth.
3. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for about 2 hours, or until it’s puffy and nearly doubled in size.
4. Gently deflate the dough, shape it into a log, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" bread pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow it to rise for about 2 hours, till it’s crowned about 1" to 2" over the rim of the pan.
5. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil for the final 20 minutes of baking.

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