Wholemeal Bread

Serves: 2 loaves or 12 small bread rolls
Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• Bread flour, 300g
• Wholemeal flour, 300g
• Dried instant yeast, 2 tsp
• Brown sugar, 2 tbsp
• Salt, 1 tsp
• Rolled oats, 1 cup (100g)
• Ground flaxseeds, 2 heaped tbsp
• Olive oil, 2 tbsp
• Warm water, 450ml
• Egg, 1 medium
• Egg wash (beat together an egg yolk and a dash of low fat milk)
• Sesame seeds, ⅛ cup (for topping)

Method

1. In a small bowl, add 1/3 of the water, sugar and dried yeast. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Leave aside in a warm place for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture becomes frothy with bubbles (an indication that the yeast is alive!)
2. In the meantime, combine the bread flour, wholemeal flour, salt, rolled oats, and ground flaxseeds in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil, the rest of the water and the frothy yeast mixture. Mix well with your hand to form a dough. If the dough is too dry, add a little more warm water, if it’s too wet, add more flour.
3. Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface until the dough becomes smooth and springy to the touch. Transfer to the bowl and cover loosely with a clean, damp cloth. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size – this will take about 1 hour.
4. Preheat an oven to 200˚C / 180˚C fan and grease a bread pan.
   Tip the risen dough out onto a slightly floured surface, punch down and knead for a few minutes. Shape into two loaves or 12 small bread rolls.
5. Place dough in a greased bread pan. Cover with a damp towel and let it proof for another 30 mins.
6. Brush the dough with an egg wash (mixture of egg and milk), score 2 long slits on the dough with a sharp knife and sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes for the bread rolls or 30 to 40 mins for the loaves, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let bread cool on a rack.

Nutrients per serving
Energy: 267 kcal
Protein: 9.6g
Total Fat: 5.4g
Carbohydrate: 40g
Sodium: 200mg
Dietary Fibre: 4g

Dietitian’s Tip:
You can add these ingredients for additional flavour and taste:
Wolfberries (goji berries) ½ cup (soaked and excess water squeezed out) OR
Fennel seeds OR
Dried Italian herbs and minced garlic OR
Sesame seeds OR
Dried fruits and nuts.