Prep Time : 15 Minutes | Cook Time : 60 Minutes | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Easy
You guys. You guys. Ever since Kerry made this bread the other week I’ve been obsessed! I think I totally missed a trick with no-knead bread because I just couldn’t get my head around how it could work and be any good. And it seemed to good to be true I guess. Well it IS TOTALLY A THING. That totally works. When I read a bit more about it, I learned that the high hydration (proportion of water) in this loaf is the key to it’s structure. So my food-science brain and my belly are both happy!
This insanely easy bread is 100% wholemeal so it’s packed with flavour and all the good stuff. And it also doesn’t crumble. At all. Which has always been my problem with wholemeal breads. It’s a dense, chewy flavourful bread that is perfect for toast. For all the ex-pat kiwi’s out there it’s like the best Vogels that you can’t get where you live… Just sayin’… I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit – adding molassses gives it a rich colour and deeper flavour. I’ve used the seeds I had around the house but any combo you like will be fabulous.
Dissolve the molasses in the warm water. Sprinkle over the yeast and leave for 10 minutes until it has all popped up to the surface and is getting a bit foamy.
Chuck everything else in.
Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough is even and the seeds are well distributed.
Line the loaf pan with baking paper. I believe my USA Pans Americoat loaf pan is the most non-stick thing I have ever seen but this bread will still stick to it so lining the pan is essential. Tip the dough in.
Smooth the top.
Pop it in a plastic bag to hold in the humidity and leave to rise in a warm spot. Depending on how warm your house is it can take a couple of hours. When the loaf has doubled in size, heat the oven to 200C (395F).
Bake the loaf for 1 hour. It will have a lovely dark crust all over.
Leave it to cool completely before slicing.
This is the perfect loaf to slice and keep in the freezer for every day. Toast is one of the greatest things that a slice of bread can aspire to and this dense seed-studded beauty is perfect for hearty toast.
This bread even had the Head of Tasting eating toast every day for a week and he isn’t a ‘bread person’. It requires so little effort and yields such a fabulous result that I really want you all to try it. If you love toast (and you should) then you will will love this bread. For reals.
No-Knead Seeded Wholemeal Bread
Prep Time : 15 mins | Cook Time : 60 mins | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Easy | Makes : 1 large loaf
Dense satisfying 100% wholemeal bread studded with tasty seeds.
Ingredients:
- 500 ml warm water
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons active dried yeast
- 3 and 1/4 cups (500 grams) wholemeal flour
- 2 teaspoons salt (I use fine pink Himalayan)
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup (40 grams) pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup (40 grams) linseed
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Bowl
- Large loaf pan, I used this one which is the perfect size
Directions:
Dissolve the molasses in the warm water.
Sprinkle over the yeast and leave for 10 minutes until it has all popped up to the surface and is getting a bit foamy.
Chuck everything else in.
Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough is even and the seeds are well distributed.
Line the loaf pan with baking paper. I believe USA Pans Americoat is the most non-stick thing I have ever seen but this bread will stick to it so lining the pan is essential. Tip the dough in.
Smooth the top.
Pop it in a plastic bag to hold in the humidity and leave to rise in a warm spot. Depending on how warm your house is it can take a couple of hours. When the loaf has doubled in size, heat the oven to 200C (395F).
Bake the loaf for 1 hour. It will have a lovely dark crust all over.
Leave it to cool completely before slicing.
Cook’s Notes:
- It is much preferred that you weigh ingredients for breads, even one as forgiving as this.
- You need one cup of seeds in total (around 150 grams), so mix together whatever you have on hand
- To make this loaf a sourdough you will need to experiment with the rising time. Thoroughly mix 50 grams of sourdough starter into the dough in place of the yeast. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen you may be able to leave the loaf overnight or it may take only a few hours to rise.
– This bread is perfect for freezing, slice into toast slices then seal in a zip lock bag. If kept out, it is at it’s best for the first two days –
Adapted from my dear friend Kerry’s mother in law Anne Daniel.
© 2016 The Winsome Baker. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
Fantastic recipe! Worked exactly as described. Our only problem: in a standard 2lb loaf tin, the exuberantly rising dough spilt over the sides before it was finished rising! We piled it back on top and baked it, and the loaf was dense, moist, chewy and very tasty – absolutely top notch, thanks!
Hi Sue – I’m so glad you liked it! My tin that i use for this is pretty spacious haha – just made it yesterday in fact!
I just checked the USA Pans large loaf tin – it measures 13″ x 4″ x 4″, whereas our standard UK loaf tin is 8.5″ x 4.5″ x 2″… quite a difference! Could we bake this in a cob shape on the baking sheet, or is the dough too runny?
Hi Sue – the one I used was the smaller pullman from USA pans – 9 by 4 by 4 – I didn’t realise that the link has been defaulting to the larger size! Because the mixture is more of a batter (as you have experienced) it will be too loose to be freeform on a tray as you suspect – because your loaf pan is shallower (the depth is the key to the extra volume) you could halve the recipe or bake it off in two pans (if you have two) and do them for about 45-50 minutes 😊
wow! so easy to make. nice and tasty
Glad you like it! It’s one of my faves too 😊
Hi Kearin,
Would it be okay to use the large USA Pullman pan with double recipe?
And as the large pan is longer but not wider or deeper, would the cooking time be the same as for the smaller loaf?
We can’t get Vogel’s seeded wholemeal here in UK at the moment, and your recipe looks like a life-saver!
With best regards, Alex.
Hey Alex – i think you should be right with the cooking time the same – I can’t remember off the top of my head what the difference in volume is between the small and large so you might find double is a bit much – just fill it to two thirds or so and if there is leftover just bake it in a little tin alongside for about 30 mins or so
Thx Kearin, I’ll let you know how it goes!