Teff seed bread

Allyson Gofton

Teff grain, also known as lovegrass, is the staple grain of Ethiopia. It is very high in fat-free protein and is becoming popular as a superfood. Read more about it here. I have used it with other seeds to make this Vogel's-like bread. Once baked, slice thickly and place in a plastic bag and freeze. Slices can be easily separated and toasted.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp	Salt
1 Tbsp	Honey
1 Tbsp	Molasses, treacle or golden syrup
1 Ltr	Boiling water
1 cup	Teff seeds (Main)
2 cups	Mixed seeds, linseed, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame (Main)
5 tsp	Active yeast mixture, Surebake-style yeast (Main)
½ cup	Warm water
600 g	Wholemeal flour
600 g	White flour

Directions

1. The night before, place the salt, honey, molasses (treacle or golden syrup), boiling water and seeds in a large bowl and stir to mix evenly. Set aside overnight.
2. The next day, grease two large (21cm x 11cm) loaf tins. Mix the yeast and warm water together and set aside for 10 minutes until the mixture is frothy. Once frothy, stir the liquid into the seed mixture with the flours and use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix to a tacky dough.
3. Turn out on to a lightly floured board and knead to form a smooth but heavy-textured dough. Add additional flour if required to achieve this texture. Different seed combinations will affect how much additional flour, if any, is required.
4. Divide the dough in half and shape to form two loaves that fit snuggly into the prepared loaf tins. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place to rise until double in size. This can take 2-3 hours depending on how warm the kitchen is. If you do not have loaf tins, mould the dough into two boules (rounds) and place on greased trays.
5. Heat the oven to 200C and set the rack just below the centre.
6. Dust the top of the bread generously with flour and bake in the preheated oven for 1-1¼ hours or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Stand it in the tin for 1-2 minutes, then turn out on to a cake rack to cool. Cut the bread into thick slices and toast to serve. It is super delicious with lemon honey.