Coffee, Cake, and Composition: Wholemeal Bread Loaf

If you have been wondering why I’ve been MIA this past week, it’s because I’ve been on holiday in Greece, eating and caffeinating myself to oblivion. I spent the warm and very sunny days strolling around Athens with friends, stepping outside to the nearby bakery to grab a fresh spinach or cheese pie, drinking my frappe on the balcony in the mornings…In short, I had an amazing time.

Despite the many road blockages due to the current strikes, I also managed to visit my grandmother in Lefkada. I went out in her garden and picked some ripe oranges, and even baked my previously blogged OrangePoundcake.

Whilst there, my grandmother told me many stories of her life in Lefkada…the moment Italian and German soldiers invaded the island during WWII…life during/after the war…her elaborate 6 day wedding…her relocation to the United States…I am considering compiling all her stories and publishing them as a series of sketches here on the blog (let me know if any of you would be interested in reading something like that).

Lefkada as the sun rises

Anyway, I made some fresh wholemeal bread, and thought I would share. This too is a recipe from hobbshousebakery; if you haven’t seen my previous post on bread making White Bread Loaf go check it out, as I won’t be going into quite as much detail this time.

Wholemeal Bread Loaf

Ingredients

560g Wholemeal Flour

10g Sea Salt

5g Dried Yeast (or 10g of fresh yeast)

300ml Lukewarm Water

20ml Olive Oil

Method

1. Weigh out your Flour, Salt, and Oil into a bowl.

2. Fill your measuring jug with lukewarm water until it hits the 300ml mark. Then add your 5g of yeast. Stir the yeast with a fork until it dissolves. Then empty your jug into your bowl and stir all the ingredients together (using your hand mixer or just your hands)

3. Knead the dough on a flat surface until it becomes smooth and elastic (about 20 minutes). When ready, place your dough back into your bowl and cover in cling film (I always place a dry towel over the cling film for some extra warmth). Leave it to rise in a warm and draft free area for about 1 hr, or until it grows twice its size

4. Punch down your dough and remove it from the bowl. Lightly dust your flat surface with flour and place your dough down. Shape your dough so it fits into your well-oiled loaf pan. Sprinkle a bit of flour over your loaf and then cover it with the same cling film. At this stage you should preheat your oven to 240C/465F. Place your dough on top of the stove for its second proofing (about 1 hr)

5. When the dough has doubled in size, remove cling film. Take a sharp knife and slash the top of your dough. Place a saucer filled with water in the bottom of your oven (the humidity will help create a perfect crust). Place your loaf in the middle rack of your oven and let bake for about 10 minutes. After the time has elapsed, lower the temperature of the oven to 210C/410F and continue to bake for another 30-40 minutes. The bottom of the loaf should be a golden brown colour, and when tapped, should sound hollow. Let cool on a cooling rack. Enjoy.

From left to right: yeasty water and oil/flour/salt, combined mixture, ready for the oven, bread is ready

I love eating bread with salad. So for lunch, I made myself a traditional Greek salad (I am not including amounts for these ingredients because it really depends on your taste)

Greek Salad

Ingredients
Black Pitted Olives
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Red Onion
Feta
Oregano/Salt/Pepper
Olive Oil

Method
1. Chop all/some of your vegetables and add them to a deep bowl. Add as much crumble feta as you desire. Sprinkle over olive oil and seasoning. Enjoy.