whole-wheat yoghurt bread
Servings: 10 slices
This wholemeal Greek yoghurt bread recipe uses a little yoghurt to produce a nice soft crumb making a delicious everyday loaf.
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 400 g white bread flour (BL80 high gluten flour (plus extra for dusting))
- 100 g wholemeal bread flour (BL150)
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 15 g fresh yeast (5 g dried yeast)
- 100 g greek yoghurt
- 290 ml water (37°C / 98°F )
Preparation
- Yeast: Warm the water to body temperature 37°C/98°F. Then add the yeast to 260 ml of it and stir to dissolve. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Dough: In a large mixing bowl or food mixer bowl, add the flours and the salt, stir with a spoon or low speed.
- Next, add 100 g yoghurt and the warm water to the bowl and mix the ingredients slowly together either by hand or using the electric food mixer. The dough should still be quite dry. Gradually add 1 tablespoon at a time of the remaining warm water, until all the flour leaves the side of the bowl and you have a soft, dough. (You may not need all the remaining water.)
- If you are doing this by hand, pour a little oil onto a clean work surface and turn out the dough on to it.
- Continue to work the dough for a couple of minutes to work the gluten and you are left with a silky smooth dough ball.
- Overnight: If you are making it the next day, this is the stage where you can place it in the fridge overnight to rest.
- Proving: Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove in a warm place until tripled in size. For me this usually takes 45-60 minutes in a warm environment.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Once risen, place the dough onto a floured surface. Knock the dough back by folding it in on itself repeatedly for about a minute.
- Shape the dough into a smooth ball or place in a mould/tin, cover and leave to prove at room temperature for about an hour or until doubled in size. Overnight: This may take an extra 30 minutes if you have taken it out of the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / 425°F / Gas 7
- Steam: To help the loaf rise and get a good crust, we need to create a little steam at the beginning of the baking process. To do this, I like to place a baking tray filled with 1 cup of boiled water on the bottom shelf of the oven prior to adding the loaf.
- Dust the loaf with some extra flour and using a sharp knife make three diagonal slashes across the top of the dough for decoration. By doing this quickly the knife does not get caught in the dough and creates nice neat lines.
- Baking: Place the loaf on the middle shelf and bake for 25-30 minutes. The loaf should be a nice golden brown, sometimes a little dark, but this is ideal to get a good crust.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
