Loaf

One of life's pleasures is the aroma of freshly baked bread. Lately, I've been trying out different recipes and experimenting with different grains and flavours.

Wholemeal sunflower seed, honey and oat loaf.

1 sachet (7g) dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups plain or bread flour
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup rolled oats

Combine yeast, water and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Stand for about 10 minutes.

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. I use my Kenwood Chef with a dough hook. Stir in honey, milk and yeast mixture. Knead on low setting for about 20-30 minutes. At this stage, I would leave the machine and go on to do other important things like blowing raspberries with Lucas or playing trains with Lachie. When the dough is smooth and elastic, stir in sunflower seeds. Knead for a further 2-3 minutes.

Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and give the bowl a quick spray of cooking oil. Put dough back in the bowl and cover. Stand in a warm place until dough doubles in size. This usually takes an hour or so. I leave mine for 2 hours or sometimes more.

When dough has risen, take it out of the bowl and knead lightly on a floured surface. Roll out to a rectangle and roll up like a swiss roll. Place in a baking tin. Brush surface with milk and sprinkle with rolled oats. Cover and stand once again in a warm place for about 20 minutes.

Bake in moderately hot oven for 30 minutes. Mmmmm.....