Light brown floor bread with seeds

 I regularly bake this bread for ourselves, we love seeds in bread. With this bread I did not choose to soak the seeds first. Well, it is actually different. I keep forgetting that. I solved this by using more water in the dough and applying an autolysis. The seeds can then absorb water from the dough. In any case, I like more moisture in the dough. More moisture means a lighter bread and it also stays fresh longer. Water is the best natural bread improver. So the dough for this bread feels stickier. That in itself is not bad, there is nothing wrong with sticky dough, but for the not so experienced home baker, too sticky dough can be a bit too ambitious. Then start with 230 grams of water instead of 250 grams and do not add the extra 20 grams of water while kneading. The dough will then remain more manageable and will only stick a little.

Tip: grease your hands with a little bit of oil or use a little bit of flour and don't fret too much with the dough. Touch it briefly and in quick movements and use a dough cutter to lift and move the dough. To clarify, you can watch this video: it shows the difference in bulging of firmer and wetter dough.

Tip for novice home bakers: I mention rising times in the recipe below. They are an indication. I cannot predict / indicate exactly how long the dough will have to rise for you. Rising times depend on the amount of yeast used, the dough temperature and the ambient temperature at which the dough rises. Dough rises faster in a warmer environment. Check the dough regularly. Important: the dough is always leading and never exactly the times stated in recipes. If you let dough rise too long, it will collapse if you unload it from a proofing basket or if you put it in the oven.

Bake the bread long enough, especially if you use the total amount of water. If the bread is baked too short, the crust will become soft again in no time. In any case, the crust will always soften slightly once the bread has cooled down. Keep the bread in a paper or cotton bag, not plastic. If you have baked it in advance, you can place the bread in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for 6 minutes just before serving to let the crust get crispy again. This bread can be perfectly frozen. Let it thaw and "squeak" it in the oven before serving as described above.

The dough is placed in a rising basket for the second rise. Instead of a rising basket, you can also use a bread basket with a piece of fabric in it. In the method I refer to various videos on my YouTube channel to better explain the process.

The recipe starts with an autolysis: you mix flour, wholemeal flour, seeds and water briefly into a rough dough. You then leave this mixture covered for 30 - 45 minutes. The water can then be properly absorbed and the gluten network starts to form by itself. Only then do you add yeast, salt and oil.

The caraway seeds in the recipe are optional. I think it's a nice addition, but not everyone likes it.

The bread can be baked on a pizza / bread brick or in a pan. Both methods are described in the recipe. You may wonder a pan? Why in a pan? The answer is simple: you create an optimal environment for baking bread in a closed pan. The crust will be nice and thin and crispy, no hassle with a bowl of water to make steam and you don't need a pizza / bread brick. Because you first bake with the lid on the pan, steam is created in the pan, the crust formation is delayed, so that the dough can rise for longer. Towards the end of the baking time, remove the lid from the pan and let the bread continue to cook and brown. Even in an oven that doesn't bake very well or if you don't have a pizza / bread brick, the bread will have a nice thin and crispy crust. You don't have to use a special recipe, almost any floor bread can be baked in a pan. You can use any pan that can go in the oven. Make sure that the lid is also oven-safe. If you don't have a stone or pan, the bread can also be baked on a baking tray.

These breads are baked in a Rofco B40 oven

 

Light brown floor bread with seeds (1 loaf)

Dough:

250 grams of wheat flour

100 grams of whole wheat flour

12 grams of (blond) linseed

12 grams (toasted) white sesame seeds

12 grams of black sesame seeds

12 grams of sunflower seeds

12 grams of black poppy seeds

5 grams of caraway seeds (optional)

250 + 20 grams of water, 20 - 25 ºC

3.5 grams of instant yeast

6 grams of salt

10 grams of olive oil

Further:

sunflower or olive oil (to grease your hands)

proof basket (round or elongated)

rye flour or rice flour

pizza shovel or cutting board, lined with parchment paper

pizza / bread brick or oven-proof pan with lid

Autolysis: Mix wheat flour, wholemeal flour, the seeds and sunflower seeds and 250 grams of water in ± 1 minute to a rough dough. Cover the bowl and let this mixture rest for 30 - 45 minutes.

Kneading dough in a spiral kneader / planetary mixer / bread maker: Add the yeast, salt and olive oil and let the machine knead for ± 10 minutes until a smooth dough forms. At the end of the kneading time, add the remaining 20 grams of water in parts. The dough remains sticky, do not add flour or flour. The dough is well kneaded if you can pull a skin from it. In this video on my YouTube channel you can see how.

1st rising and folding: Form a ball of the dough and place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, turning 1 x so that all sides are covered with a little oil. Cover the bowl with a shower cap or bubble wrap and let it rise at room temperature. Fold (stretch & fold) the dough after 30 minutes and then let it rise further until it has approximately doubled in volume. Total rice time 60 - 90 minutes. On my YouTube channel you can peek at how stretch & fold works: video.

Shaping: Place the dough on a lightly floured work area and round it loosely. Cover the dough with a bowl or bubble wrap and let it rest for ± 20 minutes. To clarify, you can watch this video: it shows the difference in bulging of firmer and wetter dough.

Round the dough again, now firmer, for a round bread or form a batard (movie). The dough is properly tensioned if you push it with a finger and the dough immediately springs back. Sprinkle the dough with rye flour or rice flour and place the dough in a rice basket also sprinkled with rye flour or rice flour. Tip: Rice flour does not contain proteins / gluten and therefore does not stick to the dough. It is then easier to release the dough from the proofing basket after the 2nd proof.

2nd proof: Cover with a shower cap or bubble wrap and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, 60 - 75 minutes. The dough is good if you push it with a finger, the impression remains for a while and then slowly bounces back.

Preheating the oven: Preheat the oven to 240 C (top / bottom heat) 45 - 60 minutes before the bread goes into the oven. Heat a pizza / bread brick and a roasting tray or low baking tin or a heat-resistant pan + lid (place the pan on a grid or baking tray).

Baking on a stone: Place a sheet of parchment paper on a pizza shovel or cutting board. Carefully release the dough from the proofing basket onto the pizza shovel / cutting board. Cut the dough a few times with a sharp (serrated) knife or lame (movie). Slide the dough, paper and all, onto the hot stone. Pour ± 1 dl water into the heated roasting tray / baking tin (watch out for your hands!). Close the oven door immediately.

Bake the bread for 20 minutes, pull the baking paper out from under it and take the roasting tray out of the oven (be careful: there may still be hot water in it). If necessary, lower the temperature (if the crust is already very colored) to 220/200 ºC and bake the loaves for another 15 - 20 minutes until done and golden brown. Place the bread on a wire rack immediately after baking and let it cool down.

Baking in a pan: Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cutting board. Carefully pour the risen dough from the proofing basket onto the cutting board. Cut the dough with a lame or sharp knife (movie). Remove the hot pan from the oven and remove the lid. Using the baking paper, lift the dough into the hot pan. Put the lid back on the pan and put the pan back in the oven. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 220 ºC. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and let the bread brown and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes. Tip: I don't like a very dark crust myself. If you want the crust to be darker, then do not lower the temperature to 220 degrees.

 

The bakery formula:

71.4% wheat flour

28.6% whole wheat flour

3.4% linseed

3.4% roasted white sesame seeds

3.4% black sesame seeds

3.4% sunflower seeds

3.4% black poppy seeds

1.4% caraway seeds (optional)

71.4% + 5.7% water

1% instant yeast

1.7% salt

2.8% olive oil