Easy Seeded Toasting Bread

This bread turned out so yumsome

as well as toastable

and is quite seasonal too,

so I thought I'd post it today on Hallowe'en.

You might leave it to rise

a bit longer than I did to get a taller loaf -I'm a beginner -and impatient! :-)

the bran element and seeds

slow the rising down

and you need a bit more liquid/oil

than you do making white bread

to make it softer and bouncier.

Ingredients:

12-14 ounces strong white bread flour

2-4 oz wholemeal/granary/rye flour

Sunflower oil and olive oil - a swift swirl of each

Fast-action bread yeast - 1 sachet

Sea salt to taste ( I use one level teaspoonful to 1Ib of flour)

Around half a pint of warm, boiled water in a jug

Mixed pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax seeds, or your own favourites

A little warm milk.

Toast the seeds gently.

Cool and crush.

Resist urge to snaffle these immediately.

...Oh, go on then - just a spoonful!

Use to taste but if you add in

quite a lot of seeds, leave the bread to rise longer.

Mix yeast with a little warm water and pinch of sugar.

Even fast-action yeast works better if you do this.

Sieve and stir the flours and salt.

Add oils, yeast mixture, and begin to add in the warm water.

Mix with your index finger initially in a figure of 8 shape,

then with your whole hand when more water begins to form a dough.

Knead for a minute on floured worktop/board,

Shape into your preferred loaf shape. I tend to roll the dough into a rough

baguette shape, which grows into a good sliceable loaf.

Place on baking tray in middle of warm, low oven to plump up for a while.

Turn up heat to full power and bake, turning once.

When done it should sound hollow when you knock the base.

The bread has a great flavour and is really nice just lightly toasted.

It really doesn't take long to make your own bread and it's so much more

satisfying and tweakable to your own taste than cardboardy generic shop-bought stuff.

Your own bread tips are very welcome!

Don't skimp on the butter, now!