While I was working from the Netherlands during last couple of weeks, I got addicted to eating rustic granary bread loaf sandwiches with variety of Dutch cheeses. A simple yet hearty bread and cheese sandwich with some greens thrown in used to be my favorite and staple lunch option. The complex flavors of different kinds of flours and sourdough breads just always worked for me. I remember one of our client lunch conversations where someone asked me how I was coping up with the Dutch culture. And I just pointed that person to the sandwich which I was willfully enjoying. And then he mentioned that if I was enjoying having a cold sandwich on a cold rainy day, then I was definitely working up well to know the Dutch culture. But he didn’t knew that I was really enjoying having those sandwiches everyday. Everyday, I’d pick a different kind of crusty bread loaf out of a giant bread basket at office lunch spread and make a sandwich out of it with some cheese, greens and cold cuts. And somewhere I knew that as soon as I get back to India, I’d bake one of those kind. So before coming back, I went to nearby grocery shop and picked this giant bag of Rye flour, without even worrying that I might have to pay for extra baggage at airport. And not to anyone’s surprise, I ended up buying extra luggage as well, as I had done enough prop shopping from some of the great flea markets I visited there. You’d get to see those props soon in my forth coming photos. Alright, getting back to the bread, I baked this country rye loaf today morning, for which I proofed the dough in the fridge last night, so that I could taste this earthy crusty bread in the breakfast. The bread had some quite a strong resemblance to the flavors which I got to experience in the Netherlands. Especially, the crust, which reminded me of that pile of crusty loaves. The rye flour mixed with wholemeal flour gave the bread a rounded and earthy flavor. And, the bread is extremely simple to bake, that it feels like a breeze.
- 250 gm plain flour
- 100 gm rye flour
- 100 gm wholemeal flour
- 1 sachet active dry yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 70 gm honey
- 320 ml milk, at lukewarm temperature
- 100 gm mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseeds)
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- oil to grease the pan and bowl
- flour to dust
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with dough attachment, add flours, yeast, salt, mixed seeds. Whiz to mix well. Add warm milk and honey and knead the dough at medium speed for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pliable.
- Take the dough out of food processor and form into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, covered with cling wrap. Let the dough proof overnight in the fridge. If baking the bread on the same day, proof for 2 hours in warm place, until the dough gets doubled in size.
- Next morning, take the dough out of fridge, and let it come to room temperature. Shape the dough into an oval and place in the lightly oiled loaf pan. Sprinkle, poppy seeds, rolled oats and some dry plain flour. Slash the dough with blade along the length of the loaf. Cover with damp cloth and let rise in a warm place, for about an hour, until doubled in size.
- Heat the oven at 200 degree C. Place a roasting tray with some boiling water in it on the lower rack of oven. Place the loaf pan on the middle rack. Bake for about 50 minutes, until a golden crust forms and the bread sounds hollow when tapped at the bottom.
- Take the bread out of loaf pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack, before slicing. Enjoy with some salted butter.