The Barn's famous bread recipe

9th November, 2016

We've had lots of retreatants requesting the recipe for the bread that's made at The Barn Retreat Centre

So here it is! Get baking. Mindfully of course...

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Barn Breakfast Bread

This recipe can be used with 1/3 rye flour and 2/3 wholemeal flour.

For 7 loaves

Ingredients

2kg wholemeal flour

1 kg rye flour                                             

56g yeast

20g sugar

3 tsp molasses

4 tsp salt

2 handfuls sunflower seeds

2 handfuls pumpkin seeds

2.4 litres warm water (35-40 degrees)      

4 tbsp olive oil

Poppy seed, sesame seed and/or porridge oats for topping

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Method

• Lightly oil 7 x 1 lb loaf tins.

• Add the molasses to the yeast in a pyrex jug. Fill to the 1 pint mark with warm water. Put in the oven on the “S” setting. Leave until it froths up (not very long!).

• Place the flour, salt, sunflower and pumpkin seeds in large mixing bowl. Add the oil and rub together.

• Add the yeast mix and some of the water and mix the dough thoroughly for ten minutes. Use a spoon or spatula at first and then knead together with hands. Add some water or flour if it’s too dry or too sticky.

• Divide the dough into 800g portions and knead and shape each one.

• Place the shaped dough into the tin and make 3 diagonal cuts with a pair of scissors on each one (optional).

• Return the tins to the oven on 100^oC or gas mark 1/4 until they double in size (about 45 mins).

• Take tins out of the oven and put them on top. Turn up the thermostat to gas mark 6 or 180^oC. Cook for 35-40 minutes – 4 loaves in electric oven and 3 in the gas.

• Take out of oven. The loaf is cooked if the bottom sounds hollow when tapped after you take it out of the tin. If it’s not cooked, put it back in for a few more minutes.

• Put cooked loaves on metal racks to cool.

• Once cooled, bread can be frozen and used later.