Essential 100% Wholemeal Bread

Every [non-coeliac] hiker should have a good bread recipe in their repertoire. Homemade bread doesn’t contain all the crappy chemicals that store-bought bread contains. And wholemeal bread, being higher fibre than white bread, is great for maintaining sustained energy levels. Perhaps most importantly, making your own bread is highly rewarding and – if you get it right – extremely delicious.

This is my go-to recipe for 100% wholemeal bread. Wholemeal bread can be tricky, often turning out dense and door-stopper-like. This loaf is actually light and airy and better still is quick to make requiring minimal kneading. It’s based on Dan Lepard’s wholemeal loaf. He adds Vitamin C to his loaf to help create an aerated bread. This is interesting:

The flour made from wheat, for example, contains a very complex mixture of chemicals. Some help to make light, aerated bread; some really don’t. All wheat flour contains a naturally occurring chemical called glutathione in the starch, which is used by the seed as it sprouts and grows into a plant. But when we try to bake with wheat flour, the same chemical also stops some of that elastic stretchiness we want in the dough. If you use all white flour, the effect of this chemical isn’t so noticeable. But change to wholemeal flour, which contains much less starch, and the effect can cause a heavy loaf.

I’ve made the recipe with and without Vitamin C and to be honest, I haven’t noticed a difference. It may be down to the flour I’m using. I haven’t included the Vitamin C in the recipe below, but feel free to give it a try if you’d like!

Essential wholemeal bread

Makes one large loaf

• 300ml warm water
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 450g strong wholemeal flour (or a mix of wholemeal and white can also work)
• 1tsp fine sea salt
• 50g butter, melted

Method

• Add warm water, yeast and sugar to a bowl. Stir well and leave for a few minutes (a good time to melt the butter). Add the flour and salt and mix with a spoon until it’s mostly mixed together. Then pour in the butter and squidgy it all together with your hands. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes.
• After the first 10 minutes, give the dough a light knead. Then cover. Repeat this 10 minute rest, then light knead, another two times. Finally, cover and leave for 15 minutes.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Tip out the dough onto the surface and roll into a long rectangle. Roll it up (from the shorter side) and, with the seam facing down, tuck in the two edges so you have a pretty loaf-shaped thing.
• Place in a 2lb loaf tin (I line mine with parchment to avoid sticking). Leave in a warm place to rise. Dan Lepard’s recipe suggests leaving to double in height (1.5 hours) but I only leave mine about 30 minutes (while the oven preheats).
• Pre-heat the oven to 240C (220C fan-assisted). I recommend steaming the oven if you have time by putting a tray full of water at the bottom of the oven. Dust the loaf with flour and slash it a few times with a bread knife. Place in the oven for 20 minutes (mind the steam when you open the door!). Reduce the heat to 200C (180C fan-assisted) and bake for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the loaf from the tin onto a wire rack. Leave to cool before slicing (if you can!).