With its golden crust and peppered with nutritious seeds throughout this Seedy Bloomer Loaf not only tastes good, it is nutritious too.
What is a Bloomer Loaf?
The name bloomer refers to the shape of the bread. After the initial rising the loaf is shaped into a long oblong and placed directly on a baking sheet where it is allowed to bloom into its final shape without the restrictions of a loaf tin.
The dough is then slashed diagonally several times which helps to direct the rise of the loaf into its traditional shape. You can read more about it here.
Seedy bloomer bread
My father was a Master Baker so I grew up living "over" the bakery waking up to the smell of fresh baked bread everyday from the age of 4. So needless to say I love good bread.
My favourite shape was always the bloomer because it had the most crust and I still love crusty bread. Today I make my own bread on a regular basis. For everyday bread I make a no knead sourdough because it requires so little hands on time.
But of course I love to ring the changes every so often. I am a big fan of white bread and not overly keen on wholemeal breads, and the rest of the family feel the same. But I also know it wouldn't do me any harm to increase the fibre in our diets.
So recently I have been playing around with adding a proportion wholemeal flour to my bread and have found that I can add 100g (31/2oz) of wholemeal flour in place of white in my 500g (1lb2oz) flour loaves and no one has objected, if indeed they have even noticed.
So this was the starting point for this bread recipe. I also added a generous amount of seeds which add more fibre and lots of micro nutrients to make a more nutritious but equally light and delicious loaf of bread. The whole family love it and I am sure you will too.
For more details and lots of tips check out my How to make great homemade bread post.
Step by Step Seedy Bloomer Recipe
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the olive oil and water and mix to a sticky dough. Turn out the dough and knead. Continue kneading until the dough has lost most of its stickiness. Shape into a ball and place into an oiled bowl. Cover and leave to rise. Once doubled in size knock back the dough and turn out onto the work surface. Lightly knead and shape into an oblong. Place on a baking tray . Slash the dough a few times with sharp Knife. Allow to rise. Brush with beaten egg and bake until golden and hollow sounding when tapped.
Seedy Bloomer Loaf
Equipment
- baking sheet
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 400 g (14oz) strong white bread flour
- 100 g (3½oz) strong wholemeal bread flour
- 100 g (3½oz) mixed seeds eg sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 7 g (¼oz) sachet fast acting dried yeast
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 275 ml (9½floz) luke warm water
- beaten egg to glaze
Instructions
- Place 400g (14 oz)strong white bread flour, 100g (3½ oz)wholemeal bread flour, 100g (3½ oz) mixed seeds, 1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar, and 1½ teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in 1 sachet of yeast. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the 4tablespoon olive oil and about 275ml (9½floz) luke warm water and mix to a slightly sticky dough.
- Turn out onto a work surface and knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes until most of the stickiness is gone. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 ½ hours).
- Once the dough has doubled in size, knock back and turn out onto a work surface. Lightly knead and shape into an oblong. Place on an oiled baking sheet.
- Cut several slashes diagonally along the length of the loaf with a sharp knife. Cover loosely or slip inside a large carrier bag and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour until well risen.
- Preheat the oven to 210℃ (190℃ fan)/425°F/gas mark7. Brush with beaten egg to glaze and bake in the centre of the oven for 40-50 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool
Video
Notes
Store:
The loaf of bread will keep for up to 3- 4 days if stored in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months.Pin this recipe for later
David G
I am only a novice at bread making but this turned out great. Excellent flavour and texture. I'll definitely make it again.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Hi David So pleased you enjoyed making this recipe worked for you. Once you find the joy of making your own bread I'm sure there is no looking back so happy baking.
Carole R
Great taste and so worth the time taken to make this fresh bread
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Glad you think so Carole, I really love to hear of people making their own bread especially if they agree it is so worth it!