A simple yet extremely satisfying bit of baking. Plait the bread like you would hair, it’s super simple!
Ingredients
- 450-500g strong white flour
- 1/2 tsp salt l 1 7g packet easy blend yeast
- 1 tsp honey
- 300ml warm (not hot) water
- 1 tbsp olive oil or sunflower/rapeseed/flaxseed oil
- Large handful of mixed seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, linseed etc.)
Tip the flour, salt and yeast into a large bowl. Stir the honey into the warm water to dissolve then add to the flour mix. Stir with your hands or a wooden spoon to form a rough dough. Add the oil and knead it into the mix for a minute.
Slap the dough on to a lightly floured board and knead for ten minutes, until smooth and elastic. Don’t cheat at this point, otherwise the results won’t be so good.
Prove the dough: roll it into a ball and brush with a little oil. Put it into a bowl to rise; it should double in volume. Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave somewhere warm for an hour.
Knock it back: slap the dough back on to the board. Knead for two minutes then cut into three equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a 16 inch rope. Dampen a clean tea towel and roll each piece of dough in the tea towel before rolling in your seeds – it will help them stick. Once seeded pinch the top ends together on a lightly greased tray and plait away. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for a further 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
Share, tear and enjoy – it’s so tasty that it won’t last long.
- Sam Stern is a York cookery writer. He is the author of Too Good To Share.
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