Wholemeal Bread

So I had a whole bunch of flour in my house I needed to get rid of, and I decided to make bread so me and my honey could have sandwiches for dinner last night. The bread went so fast I decided to make another two loaves this morning. I used a Norwegian wholemeal, so anyone outside of Norway trying this recipe might have to find a substitute but I think you could use pretty much any type of flour for this recipe.

Norwegian Wholemeal Bread

1kg flour; wholemeal, wheat and rye

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1pk (12g) dry yeast, or 50g fresh yeast

6dl luke-warm water

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add oil and water while mixing all this together with your hand (or a machine, but I prefer to work hands-on with dough). Once the dough starts to let go of the bowl, put it on the counter and knead it until it’s smooth.

2. After you’ve worked the dough into a nice, firm (but not too firm!) ball, put it back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place in a warm area and let rise for 30min.

3. Once the dough has risen, take it out on the counter again and knead it some more. While doing this, use the heel of your hand to push the dough away from you in order to release some of the air bubbles. Roll it back together and repeat 5-6 times. Then cut and roll the dough into two loaves. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place for 45-60min. In the bathroom while someone is taking a shower or the dryer is going is an excellent place.

4. Turn on the oven to 250 degrees celsius one hour before baking the bread. It’s important that the oven has a high temperature before baking the bread. Once the loaves are (hopefully) twice the size they were, turn the oven down to 200 degrees and make a few cuts on the top of the bread and put them in the oven. Another tip that is worth trying is tossing a few ice cubes on a tray below the bread as the steam will give a nice crisp and chewy crust.

5. Important note; try to have the oven door open as little as possible. Keep the warm air in so the bread will get as much heat as it can.

6. Let the bread stay in the oven approx. 25min, then for the following 5 minutes put a wooden spoon in your oven door to let out excess moisture. Total baking time; 30min.

Enjoy!