Polish Farmer’s Bread

 

An express version of the classic Polish Farmer’s Bread, packed with a generous portion of flax and sunflower seeds. Simply combine all ingredients, set aside to rest, knead, proof, and bake.

For baking, you can either use a loaf baking pan or a round baking dish, such as a deep casserole dish or a clay pot.

One slice of the Farmer’s Bread goes a long way. Enjoy it with good quality butter, cheese or dry – cured ham and sausage.

Polish Farmer’s Bread

Recipe by Anna BembryCourse: Breakfast, BrunchCuisine: PolishDifficulty: Simple
Servings

1

loaf
Prep time

15

minutes
Baking time

1

hour 
Resting and Proofing

8

hours

An express version of the classic Polish Farmer’s Bread, packed with a generous portion of flax and sunflower seeds. Simply combine all ingredients, set aside to rest, knead, proof, and bake.

Ingredients

  • 550 g / 19.4 oz of water, lukewarm

  • 120 g / 4.2 oz active sourdough

  • 20 g / 0.7 oz fresh baker’s yeast or 10 g / 0.4 oz instant yeast

  • 20 g / 0.7 oz fine sea salt

  • 16 g / 0.6 oz honey

  • 500 g / 17.6 oz plain wheat flour

  • 200 g / 7.1 oz rye flour

  • 200 g / 7.1 oz whole wheat flour

  • 60 g / 2.1 oz flax seeds

  • 60 g / 2.1 oz unsalted sunflower seeds

  • oil for greasing the baking pan (sunflower, vegetable or canola oil)

Method

  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together water, sourdough, yeast, honey, and salt. Add the remaining ingredients and knead with a mixer, fitted with hooks, at medium speed until you have a smooth elastic dough. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rest, at room temperature (at least 72°F / 22 °C) for at least 2 hours.
     
  • Lightly oil a baking pan.
  • Transfer the dough onto a well-floured workspace – the dough will be sticky – and give it a good and thorough kneading. If necessary sprinkle with more flour. Form a loaf to fit the baking pan. Place the dough into the prepared pan, sprinkle the top lightly with flour and gently rub it into the surface. Cover with a clean dish towel and set aside to proof for 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Scatter about 2 handfuls of ice cubes at the bottom of the hot oven. Immediately put the loaf in the oven and bake 50 minutes on the middle rack.
  • Take the bread out of the oven and let cool down in the baking pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and let cool down completely on a cooling rack before slicing.

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