PENELOPE'S WHOLEMEAL BREAD RECIPE

Makes One Loaf

This recipe turns out 1 good loaf in about 3 ½ hours. I start around 9am and it’s ready for lunch at 1:00pm (sometimes I begin it the night before, leaving the wet dough in a covered bowl, and have it out of the oven by 10:00 the next morning).

1. 400ml tepid water into a large bowl (bigger the better) 9:00am (start)
2. ¼ tsp honey – mix this into the water
3. 1 tsp Active yeast – sprinkle onto the top of the water, no need to stir
4. Leave the yeast for 10-20 minutes to bubble up a bit – go & do something else, have breakfast ...
5. 2 ¹/₃ cups wholemeal flour and 1 cup white flour - tip the flours into the yeast mix
6. ¼ cup olive oil – tip on top of flour (the oil makes a Vogel’s type moistness, more oil more Vogelish!)
7. 1 rounded tsp salt – on top of flour. Now mix altogether with good sturdy spoon. The dough should be quite moist. Some days I need to add another tablespoon of water – why I don’t know.
8. Cover the bowl loosely with a plastic supermarket bag and leave in a warm place to rise for about ½ an hour.
9. Wet your hands. Punch down and knead for only about 2-3 minutes.
10. Leave to rise again for about ½ an hour
11. Wet your hands again. Punch down again and knead for about 3-5 minutes or so. (Can do more if you feel like the exercise, it will develop the gluten better.)
12. Prepare a bread tin with baking paper.
13. Turn the tap on slow – leave the tap running. Wet your hands. Gather up the dough. Knead it and shape it into a rounded sausage shape. With a wet hand from the tap wet the top of the bread. Put it into the tin…
14. Decorate with seeds or sifted flour.
15. Preheat the oven to 180/190 ˚C.
16. Leave the dough to rise in the tin while the oven is heating- about 20mins.
17. Bake for 50-60 mins at 180/190 ˚C. Some ovens need slightly hotter temperatures & longer cooking time.
18. Take the loaf out of the tin and place on a rack to cool. Cover with a tea towel.
19. Cut when coolish - if you can wait 1:00pm (ready to eat)

Step 16

Step 19