Dakota Bread

Dakota Bread
Adapted from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Bread machine time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Rising time: 1 hour
Baking time: 30 minutes
Cooling time: 15-20 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients: Make sure you place the ingredients in the order given. This recipe is for a medium loaf which for my bread maker means 1½ lb (680g) loaf

1¼ cups water
2tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp honey
2 ¼ cups bread flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup raw bulgar wheat ( used wheat germ instead)
2 tsp gluten
1½ tsp salt
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, chopped
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 ½ tsp poppy seeds
2 ½ tsp bread machine yeast

Directions:
1. Place all the ingredients IN ORDER into the bread machine. Select Dough setting and press start. (My machine takes 1 hour 20 minutes).

2. When the bread machine beeps, press STOP and unplug the machine.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured working surface (I used whole wheat flour). Knead a few times and pat into a 12”x6” rectangle. Roll up from the long edge into a loaf about 14” long. Cover gently with a damp dish towel and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk – about 1 hour.

4. Preheat the baking stone before baking -place a baking stone on the center rack of a cold oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Place an EMPTY cake pan or broiler tray out of the way of your stone (I put mine on the lowest shelf, off to one side). I leave the oven on for at least 30 minutes before lowering the heat to 400°F/200°C.

5. Sprinkle a little flour directly on your pizza/baking stone. Using a dough scraper or steel spatula to help you, quickly slide the loaf onto the prepared stone. Don’t worry if it slightly deflates. Just before shutting the door add 1 cup hot tap water to the hot empty baking pan. This will steam the oven and make a very crispy crust. Bake for about 30 minutes until the surface is dark brown and sounds hollow when you tap the top.

6. Remove and let it cool on a rack.