I make - Egg-free Gluten Free Bread

I must have been gaining confidence in gluten free baking so that I started to tackle bread! My early gluten free bread always relies on eggs for the lift. Yes it looks good and tastes fine but to be able to make bread making simpler has been my goal. Strangely may it sound, making bread without eggs also makes me feel "normal" as most daily (wheat) breads do not use eggs.

I make - Gluten Free Seeded Loaf

It's been a long time since I tried making gluten free yeasted bread again. This recipe is a good one hitting on taste, texture and look fronts. Soft for two days after baking and fabulous as toasts afterwards.

I've tried it a few times, with various flour mix. All work pretty well. My contribution is to add some chia seeds. I think it improves the texture (and the nutrition) further. This will be my stand-by bread for a while.

Gluten Free Seeded Loaf, slightly adapted from The Loopy Whisk 

1.5 tsp active dried yeast
1 tbsp sugar
390 g warm water, divided into 150 g for the yeast and 240 g for the psyllium husk
20 g psyllium husk (rough husk form)
310 g gluten free flour (your favorite blend*)

1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsps water (optional)
7 g (1 rounded tsp) table or sea salt
12 g (2 tsp) apple cider vinegar
Up to 1/2 cup mixed seeds, nuts and/or oats, such as linseed, sunflower seeds and walnuts

Grease and line a 2lb/900g loaf tin.

Tip: Dimensions of a 2lb/900g loaf tin: 8.5 inch/21cm long, 4.5 inch/11cm wide and 3inch/7cm high.

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar and 150g warm water. Set aside for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the mixture starts frothing.

In a separate bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and 240 g water. After about 15 – 30 seconds, a gel will form.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, chia seeds mixture (if using) and salt, until evenly combined.

Add the yeast mixture, psyllium gel and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough until smooth and it starts coming away from the bowl, about 5 – 10 minutes. You can knead by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. 

Add about the mixed seeds/oats and knead them into the dough until evenly distributed.

Transfer the bread to a lightly oiled surface and knead it gently, forming it into a log that comfortably fits into the 2lb/900g loaf tin. Transfer the dough into the tin (seam side down) and gently press it down to even out the top.

Tip: This recipe works really well with just a single rise. But, if you want to do two rounds of rising, first place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Then proceed with this step.

Lightly cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour 15 minutes – 1 hour 30 minutes or until approximately doubled in volume.

Place the proofed bread into the oven on the middle rack, pour boiling hot water into the bottom baking tray, spray the bread 4-5 times with water (optional), and close the oven door.

Bake at 480ºF (250ºC) with steam for 15 minutes – don’t open the oven doors during this initial period, as that would allow the steam to escape out of the oven.

After the 15 minutes, remove the bottom tray with water from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 430ºF (220ºC), and bake for a further 60-70 minutes in a steam-free environment. The final loaf should be of a golden brown colour. If the loaf starts browning too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up, and continue baking until done.

Tip: If you don’t like your bread to be moist, I recommend you remove the loaf from the baking tin and bake it directly on the oven rack for the last 15 minutes (keeping the top covered with aluminum foil, shiny side up). This will help dry out the middle of the loaf even more – just note that this will also further crisp up and dry out the crust.

Remove the baked loaf out of the baking tin immediately out of the oven and transfer it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before cutting into it.

Storage: The gluten free bread keeps well wrapped in a tea towel in a cool dry place for 3 – 4 days.

*The original recipe calls for: 130 g buckwheat + 100 g tapioca + 90 g millet 

I make - Gluten Free Stollen

I feel like a squirrel these days. Busy baking to stock up the freezer for the cold and dark nights. Here is another example of me squirreling away on a Sunday afternoon.

I discovered Stollen quite late. Of course, I've seen it on the supermarket shelf all these years close to Christmas time but all the icing sugar thick as snow somehow had dampened my desire to try. The only way to get away from thick icing sugar layer is to make your own and so I did, about 2 years ago. And it was fantastic, sweet, aromatic, somewhere between bread and cake, full of ingredients I love. Since then, I've not stopped making.

Here is my attempt to convert my trusted Stollen recipe to a gluten free one. After baking with gluten free flour for 6 months, one thing I've figured out is that gluten free flour needs a bit more moisture than conventional wheat flour. And for yeasted bread, it helps to have an extra lift. So that's what I did, up the liquid and adding an egg and some baking powder. 

Tasting note: this version of stollen came out drier than the wheat version. Yeast dough does not do well with a simple flour swap, even though I added extra moisture. It's not overbaked and it's not crumbly. Perhaps it's due to the gluten free flour which does not have gluten to hold the moisture. Perhaps I should try some glycerin next time which seems to improve gluten free baked goods (Phil Vickery's tip). And it also turned out there is such thing as too much marzipan. I will reduce the amount next time. A hit of marzi here and there is nicer than all over.

Gluten Free Stollen

200 g dried fruits (I used sultanas, sour cherries and cranberries)
100 ml rum (or a liqueur of choice)
500 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
1 tsp xanthan gum (if your blend does not include)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
75~100 g sugar (granulated or icing), to taste
165 g ground almond
130 g candied citrus peels, finely diced
Zest from one lemon and one orange
2 tsp fast-action yeast
1 cup blood-warm milk + 1/4 cup as top up
1 beaten egg
125 g butter, softened
300 g marzipan/almond paste (optional)

To finish the baked Stollen:

50 g melted butter 

Vanilla sugar (optional)

Icing sugar for dusting

The night before making the Stollen, soak the dried fruits in liqueur of your choice. For non-alcohol options, earl grey tea, orange juice or even just water would work too. 

Combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, sugar, ground almond, diced peels and citrus zests. Stir to combine. Scatter the yeast on top and pour in 1 cup of the blood warm milk. Stir to incorporate the liquid in. Assess the state of hydration and add more liquid in as needed. Finally mix in the beaten egg. The dough is relatively solid but should come together in one piece. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a warm place (25-30 C would do).

After 30 minutes, mix the softened butter into the dough. A rubber spatula works well or a rubber gloved hand. When the butter is fully incorporated, cover the dough and let it rest for another 30 minutes. This dough will not rise to twice of its original volume. You know it's ready when the dough looks livened, lightly aerated and feels spongy. At this stage, add in well drained dried fruits and incorporate thoroughly.

Preheat the oven at 180C. 

The final dough is ready for shaping. Portion out the dough for two large stollens or three medium ones. Roll out each piece into an oval shape and fold it back to 2/3 of itself lengthwise. You can insert some marzipan in the middle before folding. The choice is yours.

Place the shaped Stollens on a baking pan. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.

Remove the baked Stollens from the oven and cool to body temperature. Brush the top of each Stollen liberally with melted butter and dust with vanilla sugar if using, followed by icing sugar.

When the Stollens are fully cooled, wrap tightly in baking paper followed by tin foil. Keep in a fridge or a cold/dark place at least for a couple of days before eating. The flavor reaches to its peak when it's a week old. Like with many things in life, good ones are worth waiting for.

It's never too early to think about Christmas.

 

I make - Gluten-Free Buckwheat Sandwich Bread 2.0

The main difference between this version and the previous one is the addition of yogurt and the extra soaking step. Soaking wholegrain makes it more digestible. I quite like the result, both texture and taste. Buckwheat gives it a very nice smell. I've become a fan. The bread has a light crumb and toasts beautifully. 

Buckwheat sandwich bread 2.0

Wet mixture

100 g yogurt

300 g water

15 g honey (or sugar) (a scant tablespoon, 5% of the flour)

Dry mixture
200 g buckwheat flour

100 g gluten-free flour blend (or cornstarch/tapioca/buckwheat)

1.5 tsp fast-action yeast

10 g psyllium husk powder (2 tbsp for me, 3.3% of the main flour)

6 g salt (2% of the flour)

15 g Whey protein powder or 1 round tbsp soy flour (5% of the main flour)
10 g chia seeds (1 tbsp for me)

10 g ground linseeds (1.5 tbsp for me)
1 beaten egg or 2 egg whites whipped (see instruction)
45 g mixed seeds/nuts (3 tablespoons, optional)
15 g butter or oil at room temperature (5% of the main flour)

Porridge oats to scatter the top

Combine yogurt, water, buckwheat and gluten-free flours in a large bowl. Mix well and let the mixture sit for 6-12 hours. Soaking makes wholegrain flour more digestible and hydrates the flours properly. If pressed by time, this step can be skipped. 

Grease and line a sandwich loaf tin.

Into the flour soaking bowl, stir in honey/sugar and sprinkle in yeast. Stir to combine and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Add all the following ingredients into the flour bowl, psyllium husk powder, salt, whey protein/soy flour, chia seeds, linseeds and 1 egg or 2 egg whites. Egg white gives the best lift to the bread after it's baked, although 1 whole egg is pretty good too. If using egg white, beat in a separate bowl just before soft peak is formed and then add to the flour mixture. Thoroughly mix the dough with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Stir in the seed/nut mix and butter/oil until no more butter traces can be seen. The dough looks rather like a very thick batter which is normal.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Scatter some porridge oats on top. Let the batter rise in a warm environment until the volume has doubled (45-60 minutes). Preheat the oven at 200C.

Spray water (or thin mist of oil) thoroughly the surface of the risen dough and bake at 200C for 55-60 minutes. After 40 minutes, cover the the bread with a piece of tin foil to prevent overbrowning.

My sandwich tin gives me 16 1-cm slices, each slice has 113 kcal.

I make - gluten-free buckwheat sandwich bread

I'm moving into gluten-free bread. One good thing with gluten-free baking is that you can mix the dough as much as you want without any worry. Because there is no gluten, it's impossible to toughen the dough. I am still adjusting my mind set when it comes to baked goods. Gluten free (GF) is different, period. You can't expect GF to have the same texture as the wheat based products. That aside, I am learning about other types of flour. Buckwheat is a very nice surprise. A wholegrain gluten free flour produces nutty sweet aroma when baking. This buckwheat bread is a delight.

Buckwheat sandwich bread

Wet mixture
15 g psyllium husk powder (3 tbsp for me, 5% of the main flour)
15 g honey (or sugar) (5% of the flour)
6 g salt (2% of the flour)
400 g water

Dry mixture
300 g buckwheat flour (I use 260 g buckwheat + 40 g tapioca)
15 g soya flour (5% of the main flour)
15 g chia seeds (1.5 tbsp for me, 5% of the main flour)
1.5 tsp fast-action yeast
1 egg
45 g mixed seeds/nuts (optional)
30 g butter at room temperature (10% of the main flour)

Grease and line a sandwich loaf tin.

Prepare the wet mixture by mixing psyllium husk powder, honey/sugar, salt with 400 g water. Stir to make sure psyllium husk powder is well dispersed. Set aside while preparing the dry mixture.

Combine buckwheat flour, soya flour and chia seeds in a big bowl. Scatter in the dry yeast and the mixed seeds/nuts if using. Mix everything well. Add in the wet mixture (it should now look like a gel) and 1 egg. Use a rubber spatula or a machine to thoroughly mix the dough. The dough looks rather like a very thick batter which is normal. Check the bottom of the bowl to make sure all dry ingredients are well mixed in. Then beat the soft butter into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Let the batter rise in a warm environment until the volume has doubled (45-60 minutes). Preheat the oven at 190C.

Spray water thoroughly the surface of the risen dough and bake at 190C for 45-50 minutes.

My sandwich tin gives me 17 1-cm slices, each slice has 103 kcal.

Variation 1: 200 g buckwheat + 60 g teff + 40 g tapioca + corn oil: the buckwheat nutty flavor is reduced, same nice texture

About air pockets

Having many and large air pockets is one of the signs for good bread making. For a long time my air pockets are mostly small, occasionally medium. Truth to be told that I also refused to use a machine for a long time, refused to recognize the importance of gluten development and the windowpane test.

If I had thought hard enough, I would have realized long ago that big air pockets need strong protein structure to hold. That strong protein structure comes from proper gluten development and one of the easiest way to test is the windowpane test. So you see, it never hurts to be scientific in life.

That's why I got a Bosch hand mixer with dough hooks. I am still resisting the stand mixer which takes too much of my precious storage space. With my new Bosch in hand, I witnessed three levels of gluten development as helpfully demonstrated by these three photos, first time in my life! Of course, retaining large air pockets in the final baked product needs more than just sufficient gluten development. There are still many steps between kneading and baking which could degas the dough. Shaping is one key step which I still need to work on. How to create sufficient steam to "bloom" the bubbles in the oven is not easy either. Even with my amateurish bread baking skill, I managed to produce air pockets of this size.

Can this be done purely with hands? Of course, there are many people who are doing that. I just thought that having some help from the machine is not a bad thing to maintain bread baking manageable to me.

Bread with fruits and nuts

I almost forgot how addictive bread with dried fruits can be. Crispy crust (bien sur), slightly sweet tender and moist interior, a perfect bread for cheese (or on its own!).

My first attempt with raisin and walnut was so successfully that I started another dough immediately after. Cinnamon raisin is a hard to beat combination. I urge you to try. And yes, toast walnuts before adding to the dough does make a difference in terms of the aroma afterwards. It took me many years to realize that so I hope you would also give it a go.

Next flavor combinations on the list are Prune and Hazelnuts or Apricot and Sunflower seeds!


Cinnamon raisin walnut bread (75% hydration dough)

- 250 g white bread flour
- 50 g strong wholemeal flour
- 1/2 tsp yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 225 g water
- oil for kneading

Mix everything into a rough dough. Rest the dough in a bowl, covered for 1 hour. Knead the rested dough with oiled fingers into a smooth ball. Then starts the bulk fermentation. During the first two hours of bulk fermentation, perform 3-5 rounds of stretch-and-fold. At the end of bulk fermentation, the dough has to double its original size.

Remove the risen dough onto a floured surface. Gently shape it into a ball by tucking all sides underneath. Bench rest for 30-60 minutes. Shape the dough into a batard, a boule, or into several smaller rolls if you prefer. Let the shaped dough proof for 60-90 minutes.

Preheat your oven at 220C for 20 minutes along with a baking tray. Score and mist the dough top, transfer the dough unto the preheated tray and put it into the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes (reduce the temperature to 200C during the second half if the bread browns too fast) until the sound of tapping the bread bottom is hollow.

2017 Weekly - Week 22

29/05/2017

Tried Kamut flour the very first time for bread baking. Not sure what to think of it considering all the singing and dancing I heard from the internet fellow bakers. For me, kamut gives a dough which is like rye does, sticky, not elastic/stretchy (very short gluten strands). But, the baked products are better than the dough feels, closed crumb texture but light/airy tasting.

I don't think I will use it for everyday bread again. I am quite visual when it comes to cooking and baking. I like my big bubbles in the baked bread! I will use it instead for pasta or brioche. It's also very expensive so I will not buy it again after finishing this bag. Good to know you, Kamut.

I make - Pretzels

I just realized that bagels and pretzels pretty much are made by the same recipe of low(er) hydration dough. Recently I feel that my bread making has stuck at a stage. I can produce good tasting bread but the shape and the look is really left to be desired. Perhaps I need to go back to the beginning, working with lower hydration dough and practice my kneading/shaping skills.

This is my first go with pretzels with 60% hydration dough. It's 9% higher than what the Guardian article shows but my past experience working with ~50% hydration dough was not good (too dry and hard). I sprinkled my pretzels with homemade Everything toppings. In fact, I really like the way the final products look. You get a sense of oven spring in height and in volume. I ought to practice more with low(er) hydration dough.

My pretzels

- 250 g white bread flour

- 50 g wholemeal bread flour

- 180 g water

- 1/2 tsp fast action yeast

- 1 Tbsp sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 15 g oil

- salt flakes for topping

Everything topping:

- 1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds (or chia/black sesame/nigella seeds)

- 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes

- 1/2 Tbsp dried garlic granules

Baking soda water bath:

- 500ml hot water in a pot (I used a small pot)

- 1 Tbsp baking soda

Mix flours, water, yeast, sugar, salt and oil together in a bowl to form a shaggy mass. Leave the dough to rest for one hour. After that, knead the dough to form a smooth surface. There is no need to aim for gluten development here. 

Rest the dough until the size doubles (bulk fermentation). I usually leave it overnight and resume in the morning.

After bulk fermentation, divide the dough into six pieces. Rest the individual pieces for 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a long rope about 60cm. The dough will resist while you roll out but try to get to 60cm as much as could. First create a U shape with your dough rope, cross over twice with two ends, fold it back to the horseshoe bend and pinch to seal. That's the traditional way. There are plenty of pictorial and video demonstration on the web. Please google search with "how to form pretzels".

If you like very chewy texture, you can poach the pretzels immediately. If you prefer slightly soft/airy interior, let the shaped pretzels rest for 30-60 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven at 220C and heat a pot of water. When the water comes to a boil, stir in baking soda. With gently bubbling water, poach each pretzel 30 seconds each side, drain and sprinkle with everything topping and salt flakes. I poach one pretzel at a time and repeat the whole process for the remaining individual pieces.

Bake the pretzels at 220C/200Cfan for 15 minutes. Rotate the tray half way through. Cool completely before eating. I made a simple mustard sauce to dip into by mixing both grainy and smooth mustard, honey, light cream cheese and dash of cider vinegar. 

Bread of the week, 28/05/2016

Sheet Pan Pepperoni Pizza

The pizza dough is based on Serious Eats Sicilian Pizza. The flavor is good, but on the greasy side. I guess I still prefer the traditional dry base which I can eat with my fingers without getting greasy. Also, despite with plenty of oil in the sheet pan, part of the pizza was still stuck to the sheet pan after baking. Note to self, use a baking parchment next time. I made my own tomato sauce based on Marcella Hazan's recipe mixing in oregano and garlic. And for toppings, it's a mixture of pepperoni and smoked pancetta.

Conclusion: it's a recipe I will make it again but significantly reducing the oil for pizza dough baking next time.

Bread of the week, 01/05/2016

Seeded Loaf

50 g wholegrain spelt flour

250 g white bread flour

1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon dried instant yeast

210 g water

2 tablespoons oat bran

2 tablespoons golden flaxseeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

50 g water

Sunday breakfast

Bread of the week, 09/04/2016

Weekend starts with (light) brioche.

       

300 g bread flour

1/2 tsp instant dried yeast

200 g milk

50 g sugar

1 medium egg

30 g butter, soft but not melting

1/4 tsp table salt (increase to 1/2 tsp next time)

Overnight fermentation and shaping/baking the next day.

Bread of the week, 02/04/2016

Tsoureki, Greek Easter Bread

300 g bread flour

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

100 g whipping cream

140 g soy milk/milk/water

2 tablespoons of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of table salt

1 teaspoon of mahleb powder (ground cherry stones)

zest from 1 medium orange

egg wash and seeds to decorate

lightly greased muffin tin

I used overnight fermentation method. To speed up the process, use more yeast (up to 1 teaspoon).

Bread of the week, 20/03/2016

Sesame and linseed bread

Variations done to the basic recipe include:

1) 50% of the flour is all-purpose
2) 2 tablespoons of white sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon of linseeds added in the beginning before autolyse.

The all-purpose flour seems to absorb less water than high-protein bread flour. It was so sticky that I had to add a couple of tablespoons of bread flour. I am not sure whether the high ratio of all-purpose flour is a reason as why the crumb structure is not as open as before.

The plus side is the flavor is nice. The sesame seeds came through nicely.

My simple versatile loaf

I learned a great deal of bread making by reading and re-reading Dan Lepard's Short and Sweet. It's a great book and a good reference for almost anything baking. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about baking. I also benefit much by several bread forums across the internet. They are truly useful source of information and experiences to learn bread baking.

There are two things which improve my bread baking tremendously. The first is "autolyse" and the second is "stretch-and-fold". By harnessing both techniques, not only does it make dough handling a lot easier and pleasurable (machines not needed!), but also produces satisfying outcomes. Especially with "stretch-and-fold" technique, it regularizes and strengthens the gluten structure. As a result, the dough holds bubbles much better and gives an attractive look of an open crumb structure in the baked product.

Below is the recipe I use for a basic white loaf. If you are a beginner, start with 65% hydration. It's less sticky and easier to work with. If you are more experienced, go up to 70% (or even higher). This basic recipe is highly adaptable for different flavors, shapes and flexible with processing time. The pictures below are all based on the same recipe, with different variations (shown at the end). I hope you give it a go.

Plain white

Cranberry and linseed

Rye and caraway

Cranberry loaf

My simple versatile loaf

Basic recipe

400g white bread flour
260-280g tepid water (65%-70% hydration, water/flour ratio)
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp diastatic malt powder/flour (optional)
1 tsp table salt

oil to manipulate the dough

Mixing

In a large bowl, mix together tepid (bloodwarm) water, yeast and sugar. Stir in flour and diastatic malt powder (if using). Gently knead a few times to form a ball. The dough doesn't have to be smooth but has to come together as a ball without visible dry specks of flour. Rest the dough in a covered bowl for at least 30 minutes. Longer time is fine. I sometimes leave it overnight in a cold room (15-18C). This step is called autolyse, a process when gluten starts to form. Gluten forming is a chemical process, with or without kneading. I find kneading much easier and quicker when the dough has autolysed for at least 30 minutes. It is important not to add salt at this stage as salt greatly inhibits gluten formation. Traditional autolyse does not include yeast but I find no discernible difference when adding yeast at this stage.

After 30 minutes (or longer), the dough is relaxed and stretchy at the same time. Knead in the salt now. It usually takes me kneading 20 times to incorporate the salt fully. Gentle does it. There is no need to be violent with the bread dough. The dough should become less sticky and quite smooth now.

After the salt is well mixed in, rest the dough for 10 minutes. After that, lightly oil the dough all over, inside of the bowl, your hands and working top. This helps the following the short kneading step greatly. Lightly knead the dough for 30 seconds and shape it into a ball. Cover the dough. You are ready to start the first stage of fermentation/proofing.

First fermentation

During the first stage of fermentation, I aim to proof my dough at least risen twice as large. It will take about 2 hours depending on the room temperature. If it volumes up too quickly, deflate the dough slightly by kneading it back to a ball and start again. During the first stage of proofing, perform the "stretch-and-fold" technique (at least) three times, at regular intervals. Grease your hands and the dough if it's sticky. Here is the video example of "stretch-and-fold".

Shaping and final fermentation

When the dough has risen twice its starting size, tip it out onto a floured surface. Pat the dough out into a rectangular shape. Roll it up (like a swiss roll) or fold it like a blanket into a batard. This is the easiest shape for me as a beginner. Remember to roll along the short side of the rectangle. Here is a video for batard shaping.

After shaping the dough into a desirable form, let it proof the last time, in a proofing basket (banneton) or a floured surface. Cover the dough with greased cling film. I like to proof my bread again almost twice its starting volume here. Some say you only need 50% larger. I get better results when I final proof my bread twice as large. Feel free to experiment.

Baking

When the dough is about twice as large, preheat the oven as high as your oven would allow (>200C) for 15 minutes. If you have a baking stone (or pizza stone), put it inside the oven now. If you only have baking sheet pan (as I do), put it in as well. 10 minutes into preheating, pour 1 cup of freshly boiling water into a baking tray (or a skillet) and stick it into the oven. The location doesn't really matter. The aim is to create steam in the oven before the dough goes in. Steaming creates a crackling and chewy crust which many of us like.

After preheating the oven for 15 minutes, slash or score the bread dough if you like and put it on top of the pre-heated baking stone or sheet pan. Some people suggest spritzing water on top of the bread dough to encourage an “ear” formation - a raised flap of crust at the edge of a cut. Brushing the dough with water before slashing is another way to create crust,if you don't have a spritzer (I don't).

Bake the bread at 200C/fan for 15 minutes with the pan of water in. After 15 minutes, remove the water tray, reduce the temperature to 180C/fan and bake for another 20 minutes. If the bread browns too quickly, cover the top with a sheet of foil. When the total baking time reaches 35 minutes, reduce the temperature to 100C for another 5 minutes. The total baking time is 40 minutes. After that, turn the heat off and leave the oven door ajar to let the bread cool slowly in the turned-off oven.

The above baking procedure is based on my electric fan-assisted oven and also to create my preferred final look (not dark brown, just golden bronze). You may need to adjust the baking time/temperature for your oven and to create the loaf you like.

Variation 1: playing with the flour mix

Mixing different flour brings depth and taste to the final product. I try to keep the white bread flour at 75% of the total flour weight. This is to ensure a good rise in the final product. The more wholemeal wheat or rye flour you add, the less dough will rise. Experiment with different flours and find your favorite combo.

My favorite combo is to use the following flour combination and follow the rest of the basic recipe.

100 g wholemeal spelt flour (sometimes 50 g rye + 50 g spelt)
300 g white bread flour

Variation 2: playing with different liquid and spice add-ins

One of my favorite recipes from Dan Lepard is his Black Pepper Rye Bread. The genius behind this recipe is to use coffee instead of water to make the dough. There is no need to use expensive espresso. The instant will do. The end product doesn't taste any coffee, but has a nice delicate toasty flavor, perfect with caraway and black pepper add-ins.

Follow the basic recipe but with the following changes.
260-280g coffee Americano in place of plain water
2 tsps caraway seeds
1 tsp ground black pepper

You can also add a couple of tablespoons of plain yogurt to the mixing water. Or go as far as you dare like in this Yogurt Bloomer recipe. This will create a light sourdough taste. Or, use milk or soya in place of water to create a more tender crumb.

Variation 3: playing with dried fruits, nuts and seeds

Simply add in a handful of dried cranberries to the basic recipe will change your daily loaf to a nice breakfast toast! I try to avoid raisins unless I can make sure I can hide them well inside the dough. They tend to char more severely than cranberries.

Follow the basic recipe or Variation 1 with a handful of dried cranberries (and 1 tablespoon of golden linseeds) added in during mixing.