Health Bread. So Easy.

The husband requested kippers for breakfast this weekend.  A request I’ve converted to a late brunch having always had a problem with protein in the morning.  However, excited as ever to have a random food request, I managed to root out some rather lovely looking kippers in the freezer section of the supermarket and baked some healthy bread in preparation - my recollection of Scottish holidays is that you serve kippers with brown bread? 

Either way this bread is completely delicious and looks rather lovely thanks to the stripes of seeds on top (the hubbie suggested I call it four seed-sons bread…).  As with all homemade bread it won’t keep doughy-fresh for days.  I tend to keep it in an airtight container out of the fridge for two days and serve it un-toasted, then I move it to the fridge and toast slices from the fridge until it’s used up.

Ingredients

300 g brown bread flour

200 g white bread flour

25 g wheat bran

 1 tsp salt

30 g sunflower seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

30 g pumpkin seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

30 g poppy seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

30 g sesame seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

10 g sachet instant yeast

1 dessertspoon runny honey

400-450 ml warm water

1 egg white

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl then add the water a little a time.  You may need a little more or a little less water.  When the dough comes together use your hands to gather it up and knead on a lightly floured surface until it forms a smooth dough. 

2. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film, leave to rise in a warm  place for an hour or until doubled in size.

3. Preheat the oven to as hot as it will go and grease and flour a loaf tin.

4. Knock the dough back down to size and shape into a log and pop in the prepared tin, cover again and allow to rise in a warm place. 

5. Brush the loaf with the egg white and sprinkle over the seeds in stripes, using a piece of card or similar to make the sharp divide.

6. Pop in the oven, spraying some water in the oven to create some steam to help the crust along, and bake for 40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. 

7. Remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

 So very tasty.