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Mary Berry’s Farmhouse Brown Seeded Loaf

Always a favourite, this farmhouse brown seeded loaf is one for your baking repertoire. The simple Mary Berry bread recipe is packed with texture and flavour.

From the book

Introduction

This textured loaf is packed with flavour and keeps well.

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Ingredients

40g (1½oz) linseed
150g (5oz) porridge oats
300ml (½ pint) boiling water
450g (1lb) strong white flour
100g (4oz) strong wholemeal flour
50g (2oz) sunflower seeds
1 level tsp salt
7g sachet fast-action yeast
About 350ml (12fl oz) warm water
To glaze:
A little milk, for glazing
A few extra porridge oats, to decorate

Method

Measure the linseed and porridge oats into a bowl, pour over the boiling water and mix. This can be done by hand or with an electric mixer. Leave to absorb for about 10 minutes and cool slightly.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and the warm water and mix to form a soft dough. Knead by hand on a floured work surface for about 5 minutes, or in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Put into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1-1½ hours.

Knead for a few minutes and shape into a round, or divide and shape into 2 round loaves. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Slip the baking tray into a large plastic bag, and leave to prove in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Brush the dough with milk and scatter with oats.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.

Reviews

3 out of 5 stars

3 Ratings

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3 Comments

    default user avatar Rodney Hall

    I love this recipe. I change the seeds depending on the season and sometimes add flavors. I usually check the internal temperature to make sure it’s 200 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes awhile since I typically do one boule instead of two small loaves.

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    default user avatar Rodney Hall

    It took me a few tries to get right but I love this loaf. I did have trouble getting the middle done and resorted to taking its temperature to around 200 F. This was mostly due to me making one large loaf instead of two small loaves. I also add spices or flavoring and change the seeds up.

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    default user avatar Caralyn Longhurst

    I am sorry to say that this was the worst loaf of bread I have ever made. The dough was extremely sticky, difficult to handle and almost impossible to knead, but I persisted as best I could.

    The finished loaf looked lovely. It passed the ‘hollow’ test but when I cut into it, I was horrified to find that just below the surface was a doughy mess. I tried to salvage it by returning it to the oven at a slightly lower heat for another 20 minutes. When I sliced it again – the doughy mess remained. I cut it in half lengthways and placed it back into the oven thinking that I could, at least use the butchered and dried loaf for croutons. Not even this succeeded and I was left to scoop out a clump of doughy sponge, leaving less than half an inch of edible stuff around the crust.

    Not only was this a disappointment, it was an expensive disappointment. I used the best organic ingredients, as I always do. I could tell from nibbling at the crusty bits that the loaf would have tasted delicious, had it been edible.

    I have been baking for many decades. I have made a fair few loaves of bread, mostly good. If this disaster was ‘user-error’, I cannot work out how I achieved such a massive fail.

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From the book: Mary Berry’s Baking Bible

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