Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Country loaf

As much as I love a freshly baked baguette, I love to make my own bread too. The process of making it just as enjoyable as eating it and nothing tops the smell of freshly baked bread in the house! One of my favorite recipes is this rustic country loaf, it is full of seeds, goodness and health.


You'll need 350gr flour (I often mix different kinds of flours. Here I used 150gr semi-wholemeal flour, 100 strong white bread flour and then some Semolina and Spelt flower)


..1 teaspoon salt..


..and 1 1/2 teaspoons soft blond sugar

Combine all in the mixing bowl of a Kitchenaid or similar mixer that has a dough hook.

Dissolve 1/2 cube fresh yeast


in 300ml luke warm water


and prepare a bowl full of mixed seeds (sunflower, pumkin, linseed, sesame etc...)


On a low speed (2 on Kitchenaid) pour slowly the yeast milk into the bowl with the flour, sugar and salt. Knead for a minute or so. Pour in the bowl of seeds. Continue to knead until a ball forms which clears the sides of the mixing bowl.


Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm and draught free environement. Let the dough rise (proof) for a minimum of an hour. Place a cast iron pot into the oven and preheat on the highest setting.


The dough will have risen to almost double it's size.


Take dough out of bowl and knead gently and briefly by hand to press the air out. Form another ball and place in a clean bowl, lined with a slightly moistened tea towel. Cover with cloth, as above and let rise for a second time, again for an hour minimum.


Again, it will have doubled in size.

Lift it carefully out as not to punch the air out of it and place into the (it is piping hot, be careful!) cast iron pot. Put the lid on, put the iron pot back into the hot oven. Turn the temperature down to 220 degrees celsius and and bake for around 45min.

Best to be enjoyed when still warm from the oven, with some salad, tapenade, cheese or salami.

Bon appétit!

Here toasted, rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with olive oil. Add extra thyme for a mediterranean flavour.

18 comments:

  1. Uuhmmm!!! It looks delicious!

    Warm regards,

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  2. Wow!! First off, this looks absolutely yummy ~ I can just smell the bread from my side of the world :) Thank you for sharing this recipe! I have yet to try out your other recipes, but the exciting news is, I'll be trying them out this weekend!! <3 xxx

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  3. Yum. Thanks for all the photos and directions.

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  4. matcanavez, DD and Bonjour Madame, thank you ladies! <3

    DD, good luck and let me know how it went! :)

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  5. There are not many things that can top the the smell of baking bread. Thank you dear MaiTai for your bread recipe.

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  6. I knew you'd enjoy this post andiamo! ;-) Thank you dear.

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  7. mhhhhhh.....merci beaucoup pour la recette. As I bought a kitchen aid machine 2 weeks ago (and have already baked a couple of breads), your receipe is very much welcomed :-) Love, love the idea of adding healthy seeds to give the bread a bit more "bite". Will for sure try over the weekend.

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  8. Thank you butterfly and congratulations on the KitchenAid! One of my best non H purchases for sure. Good luck with the recipe!

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  9. OK. That's it. I'm making my first load EVER this weekend! Thanks for the recipe...and the inspiration.

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  10. Great news emilyatheart, have fun! Wishing you a delicious outcome! :-)

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  11. Try again without the typo!!

    Wow!! Again on impulse I leant in to smell the bread through my screen!! I must try this, I do love baking and have a KitchenAid mixer. I'm sure this bread would work with soft cheese as well yummmm......!!
    jx

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  12. Thank you dear J! With the KitchenAid you are truly half way there, enjoy! And yes, soft cheese would be lovely with it :-)

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  13. Oh MaiTai this looks heavenly! Thank you for sharing your recipe now I can have a little piece of Provence here in my little corner of England! Merci beaucoup!

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  14. Thank you Scarf Addict! To increase the provençal flair, you could try substituting the seeds with rosemary, olives and a few raisins. I did it today and it was a fabulous taste, goes beautifully with some aged goat cheese...!!

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  15. Oh my, I wish we really did have such a thing as 'smell net'!!! I feel really hungry all of a sudden!

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  16. Yay, smell-net.. way to go!! We also need 'clink the glasses together' net, mwah! <3

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  17. Love Bolduc! This is my favorite design I can't get enough of. We are twilly twins MaiTai! Thanks for posting:)

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  18. Thank you lucky! Twilly twins, yay!!

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