SEEDED SANDWICH BREAD

This is a bit of a health-kick of a loaf thanks to the poppy, pumpkin, sunflower, caraway and sesame seeds, which also give it an amazing taste and texture. A fairly dense bread, it’s great toasted with cheese or simply sliced with butter; the crusty bit at the end is particularly good.

MAKES 2 LOAVES FOR THE DOUGH

400g strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust 350g stone-ground wholemeal bread flour 50g rye flour

14g fine salt 7g fast-action dried yeast 20ml honey

20ml olive oil, plus extra for oiling

About 700ml cool water

FOR THE SEED MIX

80g poppy seeds 80g pumpkin seeds 80g sunflower seeds 20g caraway seeds

FOR THE TOPPING

100g white sesame seeds

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a large bowl and stir for a minute. Tip the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until soft and elastic (see tip below). Or, use a mixer fitted with the dough hook to mix and knead the dough, allowing 3-4 minutes on slow and 10 minutes on medium speed. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rise for 1 hour.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it inwards repeatedly until all the air is knocked out, then flatten it slightly. Scatter the poppy, pumpkin, sunflower and caraway seeds on top and knead to distribute them evenly. Place back in the bowl, re-cover and leave to rise for a further 1½ hours.

Lightly oil two 500g loaf tins. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knock back again to exclude the air and divide in half. Flatten each piece into a rectangle and fold the sides into the middle. Starting at the top, flatten slightly and roll up. Ensure the join is underneath and neaten the sides by tucking them under.

Brush the top of each loaf with water then roll in the sesame seeds. Place the loaves in the loaf tins. Put

each tin in a roomy plastic bag and leave to prove at room temperature for 2 hours until at least doubled in size. Heat your oven to 210°C/fan 190°C/gas 6½. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked; to check, tip a loaf out of the tin and tap the base – it should sound hollow. Leave to cool, out of the tin, on a wire rack. The extra loaf can be frozen in a plastic bag. It will take 1-2 hours to defrost at room temperature.