Prepare the dough

 

Mix all your ingredient in a bowl until a shaggy mass forms. (2 minutes)

• 200g strong white flour
• 100g wholemeal flour 
• 100g oats
• 130g water at finger temperature (35-38°C)
• 45g milk (35-38°C)
• 2tsp/10g salt
• 200g sourdough (pr 100g of water, 100g of flour and 10g of dry yeast)

For a full explanation on sourdough, check out our Bread Biology to come

Let the dough rest so that the flour fully absorbs the water (20 mins)

This will reduce the amount of kneading required later on thanks to the autolisis process, more on that to come.

 

Knead the dough using the slap and fold (French Slap) technique. (6-8 mins) [1:42-2:16 in the Focaccia video]

The French Slap method may be a tad rough for this dough, it’s on the dry side so stick with your usual kneading strategy.

 

Cover the dough with cling film, or in a covered container and let it ferment and rise overnight ( ~ 18 hour)

 

The next day, the dough can be transferred to a baking tin and allowed to prove before baking.

 

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After the overnight fermentation

 

Line a loaf tin with oil and a dust with flour.

The oil will help the flour adhere to the walls of the tin.

 

Transfer the dough from its container and shape into a loaf [ in the video]

The dough shaping produces tension over the dough’s surface

 

Transfer the shaped dough to a loaf tin and cover with cling film. Let it prove in a warm spot ( 3-5 awr )

If your kitchen is cold, and time’s short, heat your oven to 30°C, throw in the loaf, and turn the oven off. Repeat the process a every hour or so. I do suggest though that you use a digital thermometer for this. Home ovens can vary between ± 20°C from what the thermostat reports (which is enough to kill your dough).

 

Half an hour before the dough’s done proving, preheat the oven to 240°C

To judge if the dough’s done proving, poke it with a finger. If an indentation remains, the dough’s almost ready.

 

Bake after the final proof at 200-180°C ( 20 minute initial steam, 20 minutes without )

Steam prevents crust from forming too early, inhibiting expansion. One method of generating steam in a home oven is to place a roasting tin with water on the oven floor. Another effective method I’ve discovered is sealing the tin with foil (leaving enough space underneath for the loaf to rise). This traps the dough’s own steam, slowing down crust formation.

 

Remove the loaf from the oven (the loaf should have an internal temperature around (205°F / 96°C)

 

Remove the Honey and Oat loaf from its tin and allow it to cool completely.

Cooling the Honey and Oat loaf is necessary to allow the loaf to bake fully.

 

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More to try

For a behind the scenes as to what inspired this Honey and Oat loaf , check out the Sour Oats experiment over in The Lab, or for more bread, try our Focaccia for another excuse to fetch the flour.