Seed Loaf

After bookmarking it more than a year ago, last weekend I finally got round to making Karin's Saatenbrot.  It turned out really good and was made extra special by the freshly ground bread spices which I roasted and ground up.  Not everyone in the family liked it, though.  They thought it too heavy and too strongly flavoured.  I had also baked them too dark (should have taken the baking stone out of the oven but didn't think of it) and consequently at least one of the loaves got slightly burned which gave it a hint of bitter.  I love bitter so that was fine with me but didn't sit so well with everyone else. :)

So I set about thinking how I could still keep the spirit of the bread, but lighten things up a little and make it my own. 

Essentially, I cut down on the rye, halved the seeds (I didn't have hemp so I used sunflower instead) and added a tangzhong.  All these elements combined to make a light seed loaf, with a soft, moist crumb but with a firm bite provided by the seeds.  It makes excellent sandwiches but really comes into its own when toasted and lightly buttered.  The seeds get an even nuttier flavour.  

Rye Preferment

• 25g mature whole wheat starter
• 100g rye
• 100g water

I made the preferment, the soaker and the tangzhong in the morning.

Soaker

• 100g whole wheat flour
• 30g flaxseed
• 2g salt
• 130g water

TangZhong

• 40g bread flour
• 200g water

To make the tangzhong, mix 40g of flour with 200g of water until lump free.  Over a low heat bring the mixture up to 65 degrees C whisking all the while.  It will start to look like glue. Remove from heat immediately and keep whisking for another minute or two.  Allow to cool to room temp and refrigerate until needed.

Final Dough

• all the preferment, soaker and tangzhong
• 210g bread flour
• 30g sesame seed
• 30g sunflower seed
• 2.5g instant yeast
• 7g salt
• 2g bread spices*

*  I used this recipe which I found on the internet to make the bread spices.  It consisted of:

• 2½ tsp of caraway seeds
• 2 tsp of fennel
• 1 tsp of anise
• ½ tsp of coriander seeds

 I mixed up the final dough in the afternoon when the rye preferment had peaked.  The dough was really sticky at first and I had to knead for about 10 - 12 minutes by hand until it got to the point where it stopped sticking to my hands and the counter.  That was somewhere between 600 and 800 slap and folds (Bertinet style).  Eventually I even managed to pull a decent windowpane from it.  I let it relax for about 20 to 30 minutes and then shaped it and put it in the loaf tin.  I was going to bake when it had proofed fully but had to go out for four hours so it got refrigerated and was baked later that evening.  I forgot to take it out of the loaf tin half way through the bake and it was only taken out for the final ten minutes.  This accounts for the somewhat pale sides as opposed to the nicely browned top.  

Here's another shot of the loaf from a slightly different angle and the clouds playing funny with the light.  Unfortunately I cut the loaf before I considered taking pictures of it so I don't have any of the uncut loaf.