Whole Spelt Chive Bread with Flaxseeds

A fuller, maltier German exprot beer in this deceivingly easy and hearty yeasted bread gives it a wonderfully deep flavour and the walnuts provide texture and substance. Use pilsner or ale if you can't find German export beer. To give your bread an extra bit of flavour, toast the walnuts before adding to the dough.

100 g Wholemeal spelt flour
75 g Rye sourdough starter
100 ml Water, at room-temperature
150 ml Hot water
150 g Flaxseeds
100 g Chives, chopped
7 g Dried yeast
400 ml Lukewarm water
500 g Wholemeal spelt flour
12 g Fine sea salt
1 tsp Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

For the sourdough, mix 100 grams of whole spelt flour, starter and water in a bowl, cover and leave to mature for 12-14 hours.
On the day of baking, pour 150 ml hot water over the flaxseeds, cover and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
Wash the chives, shake dry and cut into rolls with scissors.
For the dough, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Add in sourdough, the whole spelt flour, the soaked flaxseeds and the salt.
Mix on a slow speed for 4 minutes, adding chopped chives gradually. Then increase the speed and knead for a further 3 minutes.
Turn out the dough into a lightly floured work surface or in a large bowl. Shape the dought into a ball. You can divide the dough into 2-3 portions to make smaller bread. Cover and leave to rise for an hour. Stretch and fold the dough 2-3 sets with your wet hands. This gives the relatively soft and sticky dough a good structure. To do that, you need to dip your hands in cold water to make them nonstick. Then use your wet hands to pick up a side of the dough, stretch it, and fold it over. Repeat with remaining 3 sides. That's one set.
Shape the dough into a round or an oval and place it on a baking pan or tray lined with baking paper. Brush the dough with a little water and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Cover again and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220C/430F with a baking tray filled with water. As soon as the temperature is reached, remove the tray with water.
Bake the bread in the middle of hot oven for 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to 190C/375F and bake a further 20-30 minutes until nicely golden. If you make smaller bread, then bake at 220C/430F for 35 minutes.

17 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, 20/8/24 13:18: I would love to taste this one. Good bread is so hard to find.
DEZMOND 20/8/24 13:41: That looks pretty, soft and sinfully delish. I also made flax bread today, but in the form of lil buns and much simpler and glufree. Flax is such an underrated ingredient even though it is on number four of the list of the healthiest foods in the world.
speedy70 20/8/24 14:20: Un pane profumatissimo, complimenti!!!
Anonymous 20/8/24 16:04: Looks good -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
Tom 20/8/24 16:05: ..this looks so robust!
Brian's Home Blog 20/8/24 16:12: That sure looks so darn good!
Jeff the Chef 20/8/24 16:23: You make the most amazing breads, and this is one of them!
savorthebest 20/8/24 18:20: This looks delicious, I bet it makes great toast
eileeninmd 20/8/24 19:45: Looks tasty, thanks for sharing! Take care, have a great day!
DUTA 20/8/24 19:46: The look of this bread, makes one wish to devour it.
Citu 21/8/24 02:41: Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
JoAnna 21/8/24 08:22: Wow! It must be delicious 😋
Margaret D 21/8/24 08:53: That does look nice Angie.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) 21/8/24 09:33: This bread looks amazing! And the pesto is exactly what I would want with it :)
Bill 21/8/24 17:29: Looks very nice.
Cooking Julia 21/8/24 23:55: This bread is gorgeous and looks so moist!
The Velvet Runway 25/8/24 19:34: This looks so good! Will be baking it very soon!
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/