A slice of this sunflower seed bread maker loaf turns the humblest meal into a feast.
I may not be very handy with DIY but I’ve always joked that being a carpenter’s daughter means you can slice bread properly. Nowadays I think it has as much to do with the knife and the loaf whether you can cut straight.
My father always bought a loaf that looked similar to this from Safeway. It had a thick crust and his bread knife was useless meaning slices ended up being doorstops.
We’ve had our bread machine a couple of years now and although it has seen regular use, I have not used it to its full potential.
I listed all things the brochure said you could make in my previous post Morphy Richards Bread Maker Review but I’m regretful to say we generally only make the plain white loaf, gluten free sun dried tomato bread and THIS sunflower seed bread.
Sunflower seed bread maker joy!
I’ve not bought any bread for over a month. I have been making loaves like this 2-3 times per week instead. I have previously made my granary loaves with flour from Sainsbury’s and it was OK but then I bought some Waitrose Love Life Crunchy Seed bread flour (in red packets) and haven’t looked back.
You know those pre-sliced packs of fancy bread in semi circular shape that you get in the supermarket? The packs that cost a fortune for 8 slices and a slip of cardboard underneath? It’s very nice bread but I only buy them marked down since they’re so expensive for what you get. Well this flour makes bread like that. Only better.
With the addition of 50g sunflower seeds in the seed tray of the bread machine and you’ve got a very special loaf. This sunflower seed bread is perfect for sandwiches, toast, eggy soldiers or dipping in soup. I love it and shop bought bread tastes so dull to me in comparison. I’m not saying I’ll never buy bread again because that would be unrealistic but I’m making a concerted effort never to run out of this flour.
And my new year’s resolution is to expand my bread repertoire. I’ve long been struck by the low effort high pay off of baking bread but have only stuck to a few favourites in the machine. I’m not sure I’ll knead dough with my fair hands (I have the weakest wrists, I can’t bear doing it) but I’m going to try different doughs in my bread maker and push my boundaries by actually getting the dough out of the machine and making some other shapes with it. Which may sound like sucking eggs to many people but bread is an area in which I’ve always been very lazy and the bread maker has become like a pair of comfy slippers.
- 360ml (1.5 cups) water
- 3 tbsp skimmed milk powder
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 5 tbsp dark brown soft sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 580g (4 cups) seeded bread flour
- ¾ tsp fast action yeast
- ½ tsp vitamin C powder
- 50g hulled sunflower seeds (in the seed tray)
- Add all the ingredients to the bread maker tin in the order shown above - putting the sunflower seeds in the top tray if your machine has one. Otherwise retain the seeds until after the first rise.
- Switch on the wholemeal loaf program (see notes below for guidance which program will be best on your machine).
Knead 1 - 10 mins
Rise 1 - 20 mins
Knead 2 - 20 mins (when the seed tray empties)
Rise 2 - 35 mins
Rise 3 - 70 mins
Bake - 60 mins
Total time - 3 hours 40 mins
Rosa Mayland says
January 8, 2013 at 10:51 amA beautiful loaf! I love seeds…
Cheers,
Rosa
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
January 8, 2013 at 2:18 pmThanks! And they’re so good for you too. 🙂
Ang says
January 9, 2013 at 12:00 pmI only ever eat seed bread but as you say it is expensive. Can I justify buying a breadmaker to make this lovely bread? I’ll have to pay a visit to Ebay I think.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
January 9, 2013 at 2:45 pmI don’t think you’ll regret it. The savings making your own bread aren’t huge when comparing with a loaf of say, Kingsmill but you do get better quality bread for your money.
Karen @ Lavender and Lovage says
January 9, 2013 at 1:52 pmThat is MY kinda loaf od bread Sarah and I am a bit of a sunflower seed junkie when added to bread! Gorgeous loaf you have there!! Karen
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
January 9, 2013 at 2:44 pmThank you – it makes every sandwich a pleasure! 🙂
Fishfingers for tea says
January 11, 2013 at 7:38 pmThis looks lovely Sarah! It’s one of my aims this year to make more of our own bread, I think I’m going to have to go and have a look for that flour!
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
January 13, 2013 at 12:21 amI love adding seeds to my loaves and yours turned out so beautiful. Thanks for bringing it to #bakeyourownbread
Holly says
January 15, 2013 at 1:52 amWhat a lovely loaf of bread and one that I should try– my breadmaker is way in the back of the cabinet. I’ve had trouble using it since moving to Denver, the altitude fights me but I think I could use the bread maker to mix the dough then I could remove it and let is rise and bake later in the oven. Glad you joined Twelve Loaves baking this month. Hope to see you again next time!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
January 15, 2013 at 11:02 amThank you – I had my breadmaker stuffed away for ages and now I have it on the counter top being used at least 3 times per week. I’m looking forward to see what the next 12 loaves challenge will be!
marisworld says
January 15, 2013 at 5:52 pmI LOVE seeds in bread and I must make a bread maker one of my very next investments, I’m sure I’d have a lot of fun with it
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
January 16, 2013 at 11:26 amIt’s one of my favourite gadgets. I’d never make bread by hand but with the machine it’s a breeze.
Sally says
January 16, 2013 at 9:35 amI’m convinced you do save money by making your own bread. You can get a supermarket loaf cheaper but to buy a loaf like this would be expensive – and you know what went into it. And then there’s the free therapy! Really nice recipe which I’ll try and make by hand.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
January 16, 2013 at 11:28 amYes I agree the price is comparable to a bog standard loaf but the home made bread feels SO much nicer. And you get filled up with just 2 slices too.