| Daniel Coffey, one of our regular customers, shared his recipe for this light but healthy wholemeal loaf made from Wakelyns Stoneground Suffolk Flour, it's a great alternative to a heavier full wholemeal loaf. |
Daniel sent over a few pictures of his 50/50 Wakelyns loaf and we were so taken with them we asked him to send over the full recipe. Here's what he said:
While the Wakelyns Stoneground Suffolk flour does lend itself to a full, delicious 100% wholemeal loaf, some folks can find that a little stronger in flavour and denser than they are used to. This is a recipe for a half wholemeal, half white loaf that can even be used as a soft sandwich loaf if you add a little oil. It will have a good crust, a lovely wholemeal taste but will be somewhat lighter than an all-wholemeal loaf.
Remember that all-wholemeal loaves have less gluten than a similar all-white loaf so be prepared for a slightly saggy shape and don't let it over-rise at the proofing stage. It is perfectly acceptable to make this in a large loaf tin if you prefer. You could even make it into rolls.
Preparation time: 120 | Cooking time: 50 - 55 mins | Total time: 175 mins | Oven Temperature: 200C
Makes One Large Loaf
Bread Baking Tips
- TIP : If you make bread regularly, it can be beneficial to have a tool to control the humidity and rising temperatures. I use a folding proofer made by Brod and Taylor. It has a thermostat and water tray and is sold at Amazon. I use it at 27C for bread. Search for "Brod and Taylor folding proofer" for the details. It is great for natural yogurt making too in which case set the temperature to 41C.
- TIP : If you prefer the banneton round loaf look, consider getting a bread stone for your oven. While you can buy dedicated "pizza stones" from places like Lakeland, you can often get offcuts of natural stone worktops from kitchen counter makers. Measure the inside dimensions of your oven, deduct an inch from all four sides and go and see if you can get some stone worktop cut that size. Be sure to ask for it polished on the top surface but untreated (no waxes or sealant). Tip the proofed loaf out of your banneton onto a thin board and slip the loaf off onto the stone which you have pre-heated in your oven. It will assist with the "bounce" and give you a rounder loaf with a good bottom crust.
- TIP : Bread mixers are available in different "strengths". While a counter-top all-purpose mixer that can beat, whisk and also comes with a dough hook for occasional bread making will do fine for the occasional loaf, it may be advisable to invest in a heavier mixer specifically for bread making. For example. after wrecking two Kenwood Mixer gearboxes (due to the predominance of plastic parts), I switched to a Kitchenaid Heavy Duty mixer (not the general purpose Kitchenaid Artisan mixer). They are intended for commercial duty and are all-metal apart from the one safety nylon gear that is designed to shear if an obstruction falls into the bowl. They are well worth the extra expense plus they will ALSO do all the stuff that the smaller mixers will do. They just come in a smaller range of fancy colours!
|
Method
- [Optional] I started by pre-soaking the Wakelyns wholemeal flour overnight in the majority of the water to help the bran soften but this is optional.Combine the Wakelyns flour and 270 ml water in a medium bowl, cover and leave on a worktop overnight. It will make a sloppy batter due to the fact that it has most of the water from the complete recipe.
- In the morning, put the strong white flour (I used Shipton Mill Bakers No. 1 but any strong whiteflour for bread-making will do) in the bowl of your dough mixer and add the salt.
- If you are using fresh yeast, it will need to be rehydrated with the rest of the water for five minutes.
If you are using the very fine instant yeast sachets then just add the instant yeast and warm water to the strong white flour above.
Once the yeast has woken up and is properly dissolved in the water, add it to the bowl of your dough mixer.
- [Optional] At this point you can add a little light olive oil or melted butter for a softer "sandwich-style" loaf.
- Add the soaked Wakelyns flour to the mixer and combine thoroughly using the dough hook. You may need to scrape it down a couple of times to make sure it is well combined. Remember to check underneath the dough for any stray un-mixed flour that has not been combined yet.
- Once you are happy that the flour is well incorporated, leave it mixing for a good 10 to 15 minutes until it is smooth. At this stage it is acceptable to adjust the consistency with either a little more white flour if it is too wet or a tiny bit more warm water if it is too dry. All flours vary according to their age and how they have been stored so don't be concerned about having to adjust the recipe.
- Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl. Leave it in a warm place (c. 27C) until it has doubled in size. This should take anything up to an hour.
- Scrape the dough back down into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured worktop. At this point you can decide if it will be better as a tin loaf or as a ball in a basket. I use floured wooden bannetons for bread proofing but a tin is fine.
- Form the dough into either a ball or slightly elongated shape and pop it in your floured banneton or tin. You do not need to grease the tin unless it is of poor quality and previous loaves have stuck.
- Pre-heat your oven to 200 to 210C (adjust for fan-assisted ovens).
- Cover the dough again and return it to its warm place. This time allow it to rise until almost doubled in size. Do not let it over-rise as it will collapse easily.
- If using a banneton, turn the loaf out onto a baking tray and slash the top briskly with a sharp knife. Slide the tray gently into the oven. If using a tin, just put it straight into the oven.
- Cook the loaf at 200 to 210C for between 50 and 55 minutes, depending on the type of crust you prefer. For a thinner crust, use 200C and 50 minutes. For a darker, thicker crust, use 210C and 55 minutes.
- Once cooked, take out the loaf, tap it out of your loaf tin if you used one and place on a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy your Wakelyns loaf.
|
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Gabriel Titchiner
Author