If there’s one thing I’ve learned about living in Denmark, is that the Danes love bread! Specifically they love fresh, dense, heart-healthy bread. The local bakeries are always stocked with fresh bread, but to be a good Danish woman, you learn to bake your own. So I did! This wheat bread recipe could not be any easier or more delicious! Serve it hot from the oven smothered in high quality butter. Look for Danish brand butter “Lurpak” at high end grocery stores in the States. Worth every penny! Thanks to my friend Leah for her basic bread recipe–I used it as the base of this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons seed mixture (can be any combination of sunflower, flax, poppy, sesame, etc.)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 cup water
Directions:
- In a large glass or metal bowl, whisk together both flours, salt, sugar, yeast and seeds, until combined.
- Add oil and water and stir with a spoon for 30 seconds, until a wet dough forms.
- Cover bowl completely with a kitchen towel and set in a warm, dry place free of drafts.
- Allow dough to set, undisturbed, for 1 1/2 hours up to 18 hours. (The time is up to you–will not affect outcome of bread.)
- Pre heat oven to 520 degrees F. (Yes, really that high!)
- Place a 6- or 7-quart Dutch Oven into oven while pre heating.
- Once both the oven and the Dutch oven are steaming hot,carefully remove Dutch oven.
- Pour dough into hot Dutch oven.
- Lightly drizzle top of dough with olive oil.
- Cover with Dutch oven lid and bake 25-30 minutes.
- Remove cover and bake additional 5 minutes to brown top of bread.
- Remove from oven, and remove bread from Dutch oven to cool.
- Best to enjoy this bread fresh, but can be stored in tin foil for up to 24 hours.
