I do a half-sponge method which actually takes very little time. You can fit in odd bits of the method around family life rather than it taking up a large amount of time in a single stretch. This is for a large 2lb loaf pan (or even a small 3lb one .......yes, not all 2lb pans are the same size). Alternatively you can do it on a baking sheet for a rather more artisanal looking loaf.
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
450ml Water
1 level dsp Dried Active Yeast
50gm Spelt Flour
300gm Wholemeal Bread Flour
For the dough:
350gm Strong White Bread Flour
1½ level tsp Salt
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Golden Syrup
*
(Optional)
1 handful each of Pumpkin Seed, Linseed and Sunflour Seed.
Method:
Take a large mixing bowl, then pour in the water and yeast. Add the Spelt and Wholemeal Flour and mix up well with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with cling-film and leave overnight.
When you are ready to make your dough, add the White flour, Salt, Oil, Golden Syrup and seeds to the bubbling, fermenting brew from the night before and mix the whole lot into a big, sticky clump of dough. Scrape the clag from your hands (into the bowl), cover with a Tea Towel and leave for 10 minutes. Knead the dough for 5 – 10 minutes to build up the gluten strands and until the dough has a uniform sheen over the surface.
Leave to prove in the bowl in a warm place and cover the bowl with clingfilm.
Grease your 2lb loaf pan with butter (block, not spreadable) and then dust with flour. Knock back the dough (gentle knead) and stretch into a rectangle slightly narrower then the length of a 2lb loaf pan and about 1” thick. Roll up tightly and place, seam side down in the loaf pan. Cover with oiled clingfilm and then a Tea Towel and leave to rise, in a warm place for around ¾hr, or until it has almost doubled in size.
Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes at 240º C (220º C fan-assisted) or Gas Mk 9. Dust the top of the loaf with flour then slash the top with a serrated knife. Place a dish of hot water in the bottom of the oven to give off steam during baking. This produces a better crust. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200º C (180º C fan-assisted) Gas Mk 6 or 7and bake for a further 20 – 25 minutes until dark golden brown, remove from the oven, turn out and cool on a wire rack. You can test to see if the bread is cooked by tapping on the base of the loaf. It will sound hollow if cooked through.
During the working week, I start off the sponge before going to work in the morning, and finish off in the evening.
