Soya and linseed loaf

[Dan Lepard]

Soya and linseed loaf

You'll love this one. This easy sandwich bread will stay extra soft and moist for days after baking, thanks to the soya milk, and has the added boost of omega-3 oil together with lots of extra protein and oat fibre.

50g rolled oats
50g golden linseed
275ml lukewarm soya milk
1 1/2 tsp easy-blend yeast
325g strong white bread flour
50g wholemeal or rye flour
1 1/2 tsp fine salt
Olive or sunflower oil

Place the rolled oats and linseed in a large mixing bowl, stir in 100ml boiling water and leave for 30 minutes to soften. Add the warm soya milk and yeast and mix well. Measure the two flours and salt, add to the soya mixture then stir everything together into a big soft and sticky dough. Cover and leave 10 minutes, then knead on a lightly oiled worktop for about 10 seconds then cover and leave 10 minutes. Repeat this knead-and-rest sequence twice more at 10 minute intervals then leave covered for 30 min. Brush the inside of a deep 19cm long loaf tin or similar with oil. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 2cm thick, roll it up tightly and squash it seam-side down into the tin. Cover the loaf with a cloth and leave about 1 1/2 hours somewhere warmish until doubled. Heat the oven to 220°C (190°C fan), slash the top and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven and tin, and leave to cool on a wire rack.

[phil200]

Hi,

Has anyone else made this loaf yet ? I'm just wondering how you found the dough as I thought it was incredibly sticky.

I stuck to the exact recipe and resisted the temptation to add extra flour. The loaf turned out excellent even if some dough was left stuck to the bowl, spoon, worktop, hands, cat if I had one etc.

Thanks,

Phil.

[Dan Lepard]

Hi Phil,
Welcome to the forum. We should perhaps call it the "sticky dough forum" as it is the one of the most searched for and questioned topics. I regret to say that nearly all of my dough recipes involve a sticky point - that's where the kneading with oil bit comes in - and when I do write recipes that aren't sticky (very occasionally, I think the bagel recipe was one of the few) people email me and post here to say the dough was way too dry.

The key to the excellent result you got, and getting it with any recipe from any source, is to keep the dough sticky and forget all the nonsense we've been told about "sticky" dough being a bad thing. It's a natural thing that goes away as flour absorbs the moisture (that takes 10+ minutes), the gluten forms and swells absorbing moisture, and the yeast ferment resulting in the sloppy dough becoming more resilient. Time will take care of the stickyness, and the oil make it all a bit more manageable.

regards

Dan

[phil200]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the prompt response.

You said "It's a natural thing that goes away as flour absorbs the moisture " and "Time will take care of the stickyness"

I never found that the stickyness went away. Whilst it was proving, I was prodding it with my finger to check for springback (?) to see if it was ready to go in the oven, and it was still sticking to my finger which resulted in me oiling my finger before checking !

I'm going to have another go as I cannot remember if some of the stickness was lost throughout making the dough. Its certainly not put me off the dough.

Might even make two with one using a bit more flour then I will be able to see the differences in the finished loaves.

Thanks,

Phil.

[Gill the Painter]

Hi Phil and Dan

I've tried this yesterday, purely because I have linseeds in the house, & we only use soya milk & I was keen to find another use for it.

I found it a wonderful loaf, and very manageable indeed.

4 hours 10 mins, starting process to leaving to cool was a quick loaf too.

One thing I would say Phil, it may be the brand of flour that is affecting your mix?
I'm as far from expert at breadmaking as one gets, but recently did changed brands for my pasta making flour & it was as dry as a bone (requiring an extra egg or so).

The flour I use here is Waitrose organic strong white, & a Bacheldremill organic rye flour.

I was expecting it to be quite wet & sticky, but was surprised it didn't get at all messy, as such.
Having said that, the purpose is for it to be sticky - so my loaf is not the success it should be I think.

I only really create one shape of loaf (like my gardening shapes) I make flat square breads (my baking tins are packed away).

Here's the slideshow of the process I followed:

http://picasaweb.google.com/grillygrowbag/DanLepardLinseedSoyaLoaf#slideshow

Comments

I only had dark linseeds

& at the rolling out stage to 2cms, I didn't tuck and shape as the recipe states for a tin loaf - I simply rolled out to my rectangular shape

& I wonder what the difference would be if you activate the yeast in the soya milk prior to mixing?

I hope these images help some.



Gillian

[phil200]

Hi Gillian,

it may be the brand of flour that is affecting your mix?
Agreed, plus I am also using fresh yeast and am not sure if that makes a difference, something I forgot to mention previously.

Your slide show is just brilliant. Absolutely love it. Your dough does look a bit drier than mine.

I do like how you have shaped your bread. Looks better than a tin and I am going to try that with the mix I have on the go now. It doesn't seem as sticky as the other day, perhaps because I am making sure the work surface is oiled.

Thanks,

Phil.

[Gill the Painter]

Cheers, Phil. The pleasure was all mine.

Taking a photo of my cooking & baking has been a practical part of the process too, for over a year now.

I'm a bit lost on when to use fresh yeast or dried, & rely on the recipe to tell me, I just follow it slavishly.
I presume it's just a matter of personal preference, some bread makers simply preferring to use the fresh yeast.

Gill.

[iLikePie]

Gill, in case you were interested (i like the flexibility of being able to swap yeast types depending on what i have)...

a general formula I've seen around is that for every 1 tsp of fresh yeast, you can swap with 1/2 a tsp of active dry yeast, or 1/3 tsp instant yeast. I remember this by thinking 1:2:3 (i.e 1/1 for fresh, 1/2 for active...)

In The Handmade Loaf, Dan says that he finds a noticeable improvement when he uses fresh yeast, but you are right that it's partially just a matter of preference. I often don't have fresh so have no problems with swapping types.

One thing I'm not quite sure about is whether you always need to "bloom" fresh yeast... sometimes they say to put it with some liquid and flour (and maybe sugar if it's in the recipe) for 10 mins at the start to basically give it a kick-start. But I don't know if you always do this with fresh... I don't if the recipe doesn't say to, but probably wouldn't hurt!

[Gill the Painter]

Thanks for the aide memoire 1:2:3, it's embedded now.

Very interesting indeed.

[phil200]

Hi,

Is there any reason why this cannot be made with normal milk ?

I rarely use soya milk and whilst I found it fine for the recipe, I am unable to use the rest of the milk i normal day to day use. Its not freezable either which is a shame but I will have to look at other brands.

Thanks,

Phil.