Cumbrian Whig Bread

This recipe is a Cumbrian classic. A lovely soft white loaf spiced with carraway seed. It is said that this loaf comes from the German miners that came over to work the mines.

Ingredients

400g strong white flour

100g wholemeal

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

7g yeast

370ml milk

1 tbsp caraway seeds

Here’s how

Place both the flours, caraway seeds and sugar into a large bow and blend together with your hands.

Add in the dried yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in half the milk.

Using your hand in a claw shape, start to roll your hand around the bowl to replicate a mixer. The dough will start to form a ball, add the remaining water a little at a time until you get a ball of dough in your hand and a relatively clean bowl.

Transfer the bread dough onto a lightly floured work surface and start to knead the dough by holding it with one hand and stretching it away from you with the other. As the dough stretches fold it over on its self and continue the process until you have a really smooth dough and it is easy to move around and feels nice to handle.

Return the dough back to the mixing bowl and cover with cling film, leave the dough to prove for 1 hour.

Scoop the dough out onto a clean work surface and knock out all the air so that you get a nice even rise on the second prove.

Shape the dough into a loaf tin and leave to prove for 1 hour and it doubles in size.

Place the dough into a pre heated oven 200c for 25 minutes.

To check if the bread is cooked, carefully remove the bread from the tin and tap the bottom, if it sounds hollow its cooked, if it sounds like a dull thud then it needs to be baked a little longer.