Rice Honey Bread adapted from Dan Lepard

Recipe Source:The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard

Left-over rice, even if it's over-cooked but with the grains still separate, can be mixed into dough to make a sturdy, simple, white loaf. This loaf , which I enjoy toasted in the morning, uses milk and a little honey to slightly sweeten and help colour the crumb when toasted. This is important as the rice doesn't take colour very quickly.

150 g Round grain rice, cooked 150 g Milk at 20C/68F 5 g Fresh yeast

40 g Honey 250 g German #1050 flour or unbleached bread flour 5 g Salt

1. Whisk together the rice, milk, yeast and honey in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the flour and salt, then pour the liquid in and mix until you have a soft sticky dough. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
   
2. Rub 1 teaspoon of olive oil on the work surface and knead the dough on the oiled surface for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Clean and dry the bowl, then rub lightly with a teaspoon of olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and leave for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the dough and knead once more on the oiled surface, returning the shape of the dough to a smooth round ball. Place it back in the bowl, cover, and leave for 1 hour in a warm place.
   
3. Grease a 27x10 cm loaf tin. Shape the dough into a roll and place it into the tin seam-side down. Cover the dough with a cling film and leave for 1 hour or until doubled. Dust the top with flour. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C/375F and bake for a further 20 minutes until the loaf has pulled away slightly from the sides of the tin and is a golden-brown. Remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.