Multigrain bread

This is a lovely bread and it makes your house smell like home every time you bake it. Healthy too. Its foolproof and almost effortless if you have a heavy duty stand mixer like kitchenaid. The inspiration for this bread came from a wonderful book by baker guru Rose Levy Beranbaum, "the bread bible".


Ingredients for the starter:
3/4 cup rye flour
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tbs honey
1/2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cups water


For the dough:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 cup oat flour (or whole barley flour)
2 tbs brown flax seeds
2 tbs sunflower seeds
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds
3/4 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tbs salt


For kneading:
1 tbs olive oil


Method:

• Put all ingredients for the starter in a large bowl (I put everything in the kitchen-aid bowl). Beat mixture with a whisk until all ingredients are incorporated and mixture looks smooth like thick batter.
• In a separate bowl, mix all the dough ingredients with a spoon until incorporated. Using the spoon sprinkle the dough mixture on top of the starter mixture. Do not mix. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a draft free place for at least an hour (maximum four hours). During this time the starter mixture is likely to bubble through the flour/seeds mixture. At this stage you can put the bowl in the fridge for 24 hours for the flavor to develop. If you don't have the luxury of time no worries, your bread will still come out wonderful.
• Knead the dough: Add the olive oil in the bowl and using a wooden spoon mix all the bread ingredients together. If you have a stand mixer, knead dough with the hook adjustment for 7-8 minutes. Alternatively knead the dough by hand, on a floured surface for at least 10 minutes until it's soft and elastic. If dough is too sticky add a little bit of flour. Shape dough into a ball and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise for at least one hour or until double in size.
• Shape the dough: Preheat oven to 240C fan. Place a baking tray at the lowest shelf of your oven. Oil a loaf pan with a little bit of olive oil. Punch dough and knead briefly. Shape dough into a roll, sprinkle all over with a generous amount of flour and put in the loaf pan. Push dough to fit snuggly in pan. Cover with a dry, clean towel and let it rise for 30-45 mins until bread has risen but not quite doubled (dough should be around 1 1/2 times bigger than its original size).
• Bake the bread: Slash the loaf with a very sharp knife. Place loaf pan on the hot baking tray in the oven. Bake bread for ten minutes. Reduce temperature to 210 C and bake for another 20 minutes. Take bread out of the oven and using a towel take hot bread out of the loaf pan. Leave on a rack to cool. Don't be tempted to cut the bread immediately (although the smell is very inviting!) as it will keep on cooking outside the oven for about one hour.

Walnut Cream - Karydokrema

For the walnut layer:

• 2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I use golden sugar)
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 tbs brandy
• 2 tbs good quality cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the cream layer:

• 500ml whole milk
• 500ml heavy cream
• 2 eggs + 3 egg yolks (save the whites in the freezer)
• 5 tbs corn flour
• 5 tbs sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 75 gr bittersweet chocolate
• 70 gr unsalted butter

For the topping:

• 250ml heavy cream
• 1/2 tbs confectioners sugar

Method:

• Make the walnut layer. Beat the yolks with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, cocoa powder and brandy and mix well. Finally add the walnuts. In a separate bowl mix the whites until soft peaks form when the beaters are raised. Fold one thirsd of the egg whites into the walnut mixture to loosen it then fold in the rest of the whites, in two batches. Pour mixture into an ovenproof baking dish (preferably ceramic or glass) measuring around 22 x 32cm. Turn on the oven to 160C fan (don't preheat oven). Bake walnut mixture in the centre of oven for 20 minutes. Take dish out of the oven and give the walnut mixture a good stir (mixture will be soft and underdone). Spread evenly in same dish and leave to cool.
• Make the cream. Put corn flour in a small bowl. Add one cup of the milk and stir until corn flour is dissolved. In a medium saucepan add the rest of the milk, cream, chocolate, vanilla and sugar and gently bring to boil, stirring occasionally until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the yolks and add the corn flour mixture. Beat lightly to combine. The slowly pour in the hot milk/cream mixture beating constantly (its best to do this in a stand mixer). Pour all the mixture back in the saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens. Remove from heat and immediately add the butter. Keep stirring until butter is mixed and cream is smooth. Pour chocolate custard on top of walnut mixture and spread evenly with the back of the spoon or a small spatula. Cool mixture and chill.
• Make the topping. Beat the cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Spread on top of cooled chocolate cream. Decorate with chocolate curls if desired or walnut halves. Serve dessert chilled.