Ingredients:
- 1 liter strong white bread flour
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 spoon sugar
- 25 g live yeast
- 500ml lukewarm water
- 1 egg
- 2 tbs pumkin seeds
Instructions:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt, sugar, yeast and water.
- Pour in the flour while stirring with your hand or a wooden spoon until all the ingredients come together to form a sticky dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Once risen, gently punch down the dough to release any air bubbles, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface again.
- Shape your dough by folding each side towards the center, creating tension on top as you go along.
- Place your shaped loaf onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or dusted with flour.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap or another clean kitchen towel and let it rise for another 30 minutes to an hour until visibly puffed up.
- Preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F) during this final rise.
- Just before baking, use a sharp knife or razor blade to score decorative slashes on top of your loaf to allow expansion during baking. Use brush to cover the bread with egg. Decorate with pimpkin seeds.
- Bake in preheated oven for around 25-30 minutes until golden brown and crusty on top.
- Once baked, remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Now you have yourself an amazing homemade loaf of bread that is perfect for sandwiches, toast or simply enjoying fresh out of the oven with some butter. Enjoy!