Real Bread, Fresh Flour

I have been making bread by hand for years, however today I tried a new fresh flour.  I have been using fresh flour for a while as I wanted nice healthy homemade bread.  I shall use the words of the producers as to why I have searched to find a good local mill -

“You can increase the amount of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and natural fiber in your diet the natural way. Whole wheat flour begins to lose nutrients during the milling process. Modern commercial mills destroy many nutrients because of the high heat generated in the milling process….

…Most refined wheat products have chemicals and other unpronounceable additives that are unnatural and may damage your health.”

While I love a slice of fresh white bread, the chemicals added to prolong the shelf life leave me hunting for a healthier solution. I found http://www.imbhamsfarmgranary.com/  Who luckily have a stall at a local farmers market once a month.  I have been using their ‘Sussex Bread Flour’ and it is a nice loaf, however I have just made a loaf using the ‘Seeded Bread Flour’ and it is delicious!  So delicious, I decided to write this blog!

While the shelf life is not as long as shop bought flour, if I know I will have left over I keep it in the freezer and it lives a little longer (but this is rarely the case for us)!

Using a basic loaf recipe:

550g Seeded Bread Flour

7g quick Yeast

3g Ground Sea Salt

2tsp honey

40ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

300-350ml warm Water

I use a dough hook in my stand mixer for making bread dough. 

 

Mix all the ingredients together – adding the water a little at a time until all the flour is combined and starts to make a ball.  Mix for 7 minutes in the mixer or 10 minutes by hand.

Leave covered with a clean tea towel to rise for an hour.  Shape into rolls, loaf or plait.  Leave to prove for another hour.

Pre heat oven to 200°C (Fan assisted).
Bake for 30 minutes.

This is a delicious sweet and nutty loaf.  If I was baking it just for myself I would sprinkle some more seeds on top before baking – my kids however are not so keen and pick them off the top.  I have stopped wasting them and leave it bare!

 

As it was the first day back to school this morning after the Easter holidays, we were running rather late.  I forgot to take a picture of the full loaf (it was in fact sliced while still warm slathered in butter and shoved in the lunch boxes).