Wheatmeal Loaf

This is the loaf we make most frequently, with white bread reserved for special occasions. MrShoestring often makes a 100% wholemeal loaf but I think a bit of wholemeal and white makes the lightest loaf and the inclusion of some white flour adds some calcium for those in the family who can't eat dairy. I'll be making this loaf today and now use ordinary plain white and wholemeal chapatti flour as the difference in protein content between them and strong bread making flours is actually very small and the price difference is large. The smaller amount of gluten in the flours means that you don't get such large, airy holes in the dough but with no salt the bread still seems to rise just as much.

275g chapatti flour

275g white plain flour

1 tsp dried yeast

2 tsps sugar

300ml water

25g oil

Put 50ml warm water in a cup and stir in the yeast and the sugar. Put to one side to bubble up. Put the flours and the oil in a bowl and stir together. Add the yeast mixture and the water to the flours and oil and stir to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rise for an hour. Punch down and place in a greased 2lb loaf tin. Leave to rise somewhere warm, (we use the airing cupboard) until the bread has just reached the top of the loaf tin. This should take 30-40 minutes. Bake for 40 minutes at 200C. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

If you leave the bread to cool then it will slice much more easily. When I'm in a hurry I sometimes just make rolls from the dough as soon as it is mixed and just let them rise for 20 minutes before baking in the oven at 200C for 20 minutes.

Enjoy !