Tomato and Mushroom Loaf

By: Pete on 10:28:00

This one was supposed to be a shaped loaf, however the dough was quite wet after it had proved, so I went for a loaf instead...glad I did, as it made excellent sandwiches! I've been experimenting with doing very long, cool proves of bread, and really happy with the results. Typically what I'm doing is making up the dough on a Friday night, then early Saturday shaping the loaf, and doing the second prove, then baking it up for lunch.

one reason the dough was quite wet is that I used wholemeal flour, and dried tomato and mushroom pieces. As it was kneading, I was concerned it was doing to be too dry, so added more water to the dough. In retrospect I didn't really need to do this, and it would have been fine with the original amount of water (~330ml). That said, it had a lovely soft texture.

Mushroom and Tomato Loaf - Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g wholemeal flour
• 40ml olive oil
• 10g salt
• 400ml cold water
• 7g fast action yeast
• 20g sun-dried tomatos
• 10g dried mushroom
• Poppy seeds (to decorate) 
• Milk (to glaze)

1) Place all the ingredients in a stand mixer with the dough hook attached (as noted above, you can omit ~50ml of the water if you want)

2) Knead for 8-10 minutes, occasionally scraping the dough down.

3) Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling-film, and leave in a cool room to prove for 6-8 hours (overnight)

4) Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper (this is a sticky dough, this will make getting the loaf out much easier!)

5) Prove for 1½-2 hours, until the dough has risen to just above the top of the tin

6) Pre-heat an oven to 220'C

7)  Using a pastry brush, slightly brush a little milk over the top of the loaf, and sprinkle poppy seeds over

8) Place the loaf in the oven, and pour 500ml of water into a tray at the bottom of the oven

9) After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 200'C, and bake for a further 20 minutes

10) Remove to a wire rack to cool.