Seeded Wholemeal Bread

This is pan bauletto (tin bread) made with 100% wholemeal flour and topped it with walnuts and sunflower seeds! 

---

Wholemeal bread is a really good source of fibre and helps digestion. It makes you feel fuller for longer as it releases the energy throughout the day. That’s why we think this is the perfect loaf to introduce into your diet! Plus, it has a crisp, crunchy crust with all the flavour of the wholewheat grain in the crumb, which makes it perfect in the morning or for a quick sandwich in the evening.

Makes 1 pan bauletto 

Ingredients

• ​400g of strong wholemeal flour + extra 
• 300g of water at room temperature
• 10g of salt 
• 120g of sourdough starter (or 2g of dried yeast if you don't have a sourdough starter)
• 50g of crushed walnuts 
• 50g of sunflower seeds

Method

1. To start pre-measured all of the ingredients. 
2. In a bowl, add the water and the sourdough starter or the dried yeast instead if you are not using a sourdough starter. With the help of a wooden spoon, mix well until all the the sourdough dissolves. Do the same if you are using dried yeast. 
3. Add half of the flour and mix until you form a very wet dough. Add the other half of the flour and always using the spoon mix well for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the salt and now knead the dough using your hand. With one hand hold the bowl and with the other knead for 7-8 minutes. If the dough is a little sticky do not add any extra flour. Instead, sprinkle a small amount of flour into your hand and continue kneading. 
5. After 7-8 minutes of kneading, cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 2 hours.
6. TIP. We suggest to keep the dough in a warm and wet environment for the best result. Usually in bakeries is often used a dough proofer which is a warming chamber used to encourages fermentation of dough by yeast through warm temperatures and controlled humidity. You can do the same at home leaving the dough inside your oven or microwave at 25-27°C with a cup full of hot boiling water inside to help to create humidity. Cover the dough at all time and once you put the cup of boiling water inside the oven or microwave do not open it until next step so you won't loose any of the humidity and warm temperature. Change the water in the cup with new boiling water every time you open the oven for the next step. 
7. Come back to the dough and complete one set of Stretch & Fold. To Stretch & Fold the dough, wet your hand with a little bit of water and grab the dough at one side, lift it up, and fold it over on top of itself. Fold the dough four/five times, moving clockwise from the top of the bowl. Now cover and rest once more for 2 hours.​
8. After the 2 hours of resting, on an open table sprinkle some flour the top of the dough and your work surface. Gently or you might deflate the dough turn the bowl upside down to release the dough onto the floured work surface.
9. Gently stretch the dough with your hand forming a rectangle (see the pictures at the end of the recipe). Sprinkle 2/3 of the seeds and crushed walnuts evenly and fold the dough back on itself.
10. Now with your hands or with the help of a scraper, form the dough into a round shape and let it rest on the work surface for 30 minutes.
11. In the meantime, line the tin with baking paper trimming the extra from the sides. For this recipe, we used a one pound tin (21cm long, 11cm wide and 7cm high).
12. After 30 minutes, form the dough into a long egg shape so that it can fit inside the tin. Transfer the dough into the tin with the seam side (where you've closed the dough) down. 
13. Lightly brush the top of the bread with a little bit of water, you can use your finger if you don't have a pastry brush. Top the bread with the remaining 1/3 of the seeds and crushed walnuts. Lightly press these into the bread so that they don't fall off during baking.
14. Cover the dough with a plastic bag and let it prove until it has almost doubled in size and the bread has spread inside the tin and has reached the top of the tin in height. This process can take from 2-5 hours, it all depends on the room temperature of your kitchen. (If you want to slow down the proving process, you can always move the dough into the fridge to allow you to bake the bread later in the day.)
15. Bake at 180°C (fan) on the middle shelf for 30 / 40 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Do not be afraid of the colour when baking bread, the pan bauletto needs a proper crust or the structure of the crumble will collapse. ​
16. Once the bread is out of the oven, let it cool down on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours or even better overnight before enjoying​

STEP 8-9 : Gently stretch the dough with your hand forming a rectangle

STEP 9 - Half of the walnuts and half of the seeds are evenly distributed on the stretched dough.

STEP 9 - Fold the dough back on itself.

STEP 10 : Form the dough into a round shape and let it rest on the work surface for 30 minutes.

STEP 11 : Line your tin with baking paper, trimming the extra from the sides.

STEP 12 : Form the dough into a long egg shape so that it can fit inside the tin.

Back to recipes