Bread Baking Day # 26 left overs

What kind of guest brings left overs to a birthday party? I hope Jamie will graciously open her door for me as I'm wiping the crumbs of my hands and licking my lips. Only showing the remainder of a huge seeded whole wheat braid. The rest as they say, is history. Devoured by my kids and confined in lunchboxes.

Why bring it to Jamie? Because she is hosting Bread Baking Day January, celebrating this day together with her birthday and asking all her guests to bring bread to the party.

It's been a while since I showed bread on these pages so here we go:

Seeded whole wheat braid

300 ml luke warm milk

3 tbs oil

300 gr flour (plus 3 tbs to get the dough to the right consistency)

290 gr whole wheat flour (I mixed a very dark ww with some buckwheat flour)

2 small hand full sesame seeds (I think about a 1/4 cup)

2 small hand full rolled oats (also about a 1/4 cup)

1.1/4 ts fine sea salt

2 tbs sugar

2 tbs instant yeast

3 tbs potato flakes

decoration: sesame seeds and broken linseed, egg white wash

Oven: 15 minutes on 425F (200C), lower to 350F (175C) bake for another 20 minutes

Mix the all flours with potato flakes, salt, sugar and yeast, add milk, oil and knead by hand or in a standmixer to get a cohesive dough, approx. 5 minutes. (Longer if by hand) Add in the seeds and mix for 5 minutes more to get a relatively sticky dough.

Tip over on a clean work surface and finish by handkneading it until smooth and strong. Slapping this dough on the counter (scroll down for a series of explanatory pics) will transfer a sticky unruly doughball into a strong and springy one. You just need a couple of minutes to get this result.

Cover and leave to proof in a warm spot until doubled, divide in three equal pieces and roll these into ropes. You might want to give your counter a miniature spraying with oil. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes and proceed by braiding a simple three-strand braid. Brush with some eggwhite and sprinkle on the seeds, patting them into the dough.

Cover and leave to rise a second time until evidently puffy. Bake in a preheated oven: 15 minutes on 425, lower to 350F and bake another 20 minutes. Check color and tent with alu foil if necessary. Inner temp around 190F.

(Above is my lunch today)

Lovely colour, soft and moist crumb with a nice crunch because of the seeds. The sesame leaves a tell tale nutty sweet flavour. I really liked it a lot. Oldest son engineered a lunch box trade today so I wonder what the verdict in school is like. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday Jamie!