Daisy Loaf
A fluffy loaf by Ink Sugar Spice with a fun design. Enriched with Olio Della Villa Extra Virgin Olive Oil, it is a great bread to bake with children as they love the shape and love dunking the dough in the grains. It's easy to make and can be enjoyed as tear-and-share rolls or a large loaf to be sliced up.
Categories: Breads, Pizza & Panini, Starters
Serves: 8-12
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 90 minutes
Ingredients
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 2 tbsp Olio Della Villa Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1tsp fine salt
- A few turns of a pepper mill
- 1 ¼ tsp dried yeast
- 340ml water
- Additional flour for dusting
- 20g each of 3 or 4 grain types (see cooking tips)
Method
- Mix all the ingredients together - except for the grains - in a large bowl and leave for 10 minutes.
- Knead for 10 minutes until the dough feels elastic and the surface is smooth and shiny.
- Place a cover over the bowl and leave to rise for about an hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare your tin/tray. Tins and trays need lining with baking paper.
- Dust some flour over your work surface and tip out the dough gently.
- Knock back and fold in half.
- Weigh your dough and work out roughly what that amount is is divided by 7 or 8.
- Divide the dough and, using your hands in a gently scooping motion, shape each piece of dough into a round.
- Tip out the grains you've chosen onto separate plates.
- Brush the top of one dough ball with a little water and then invert it onto one of the grains to cover the top. Place the dough ball plain side down in the centre of your tin/tray (i.e. ensuring the grains are on the top). Placing the first piece of dough in the centre helps you arrange the rest of the 'petals'.
- Repeat the process of wetting and pressing into grains for each of the other dough balls in turn, placing them around the centre dough, so making a daisy shape.
- Cover the bread and leave to prove again for about 45 minutes-1 hour.
- Just before you think the bread is risen enough, bring your oven temperature up to 21ºC fan / 23ºC conventional / 450 F.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Cooks tips
Many grains can be used for this bread. For example, a seed mix; linseeds; black sesame seeds; seaweed flaked and melted oat flakes.
Other suggestions are onion seeds, nigella seeds, rolled oats, white sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, finely chopped mixed nuts, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, garlic flakes, onion, cheese, herbs etc.
