Wholemeal Rye Rolled Oat & Honey Bread with Chia Seeds

How long has it been since I last made loaf bread???  Too long back. And so... it is time to make it again. Buns aside. And yes, this loaf bread was good. So soft and fluffy, with a nice bite to it from the little chia seed bits.

Array of photos up for display as I am keeping this post short.  Have been busy since I started my new job and when I get home each day, it is just bathe, dinner and laze on the couch not wanting to do anything else!

I wanna gradually pick back the momentum soon and get back my life and then keep up with my blog postings.  Give me time. :)

Wholemeal Rye Rolled Oat & Honey Bread with Chia Seeds

A
50g bread flour
35g boiling water

B
150g bread flour
40g wholemeal flour
20g rye flour
1.5 tbsp chia seeds
40g honey
3g salt
5g instant yeast
87g water
30g egg
30g butter (room temp)

C
1 tbsp fresh milk
3 tbsp rolled oat

1. Add the boiling water from A into flour and mix until well blended to form a dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep it into refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
2. Break up gelatinized dough from A into bread machine, place liquid ingredients from B (egg and water) into bread machine followed by remaining dry ingredients (except butter) and set it to mix and form a smooth dough. (For my Kenwood BM250, I put it to mix on Function 8 to mix for 10min)
3. Add in butter when a smooth dough has been form and let it mix to form a smooth shiny dough. (I reset my BM and added in butter, set it to mix again on Function 8 for 15min)
4. Remove dough and knead to window pane stage. You may flour your work top to ease the sticky kneading stage but not too much. I used about 1 tbsp of bread flour.
5. Place dough into a mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap or clean moist dish cloth and set aside to proof for 40min or till double the size.
6. Punch out air from proofed dough and divide into 3 equal round portions. Cover with moist cloth and let it relax for 5min.
7. Flatt dough and roll up swiss roll way, place into greased loaf pan. Repeat for remaining dough.
8. Cover with moist cloth and set aside to proof for 50min or till double the size.

9. Brush dough top with fresh milk and sprinkle rolled oat over.

10. Set to bake at 160deg C for 20min, then 170deg C for 8min to form golden brown crust. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing. Store in airtight container to retain softness for longer.

(Above temperature and baking time was based on my Rowenta oven. I used the convection mode.)

Pumpkin Wholemeal Bread with Chia Seeds and Rolled Oats

These loaves of bread were done and baked and sent over to my Dad. Trying to get them to eat healthier bread and lesser of store bought white bread. We all know how bad white bread are to health if consumed long term right? So start influencing your loved ones on eating healthier bread!

Chia seeds are great source of Omega-3 fats and fibre. At the same time, it stabilizes blood sugar, combats diabetes and lower cholesterol. Many more benefits to consuming chia seeds, so go read up and then start incorporating them into your daily diet.

I add these goodies into my oats and bread. Hubby who did not used to be into such health food is now gradually accepting these positively :) I share what I read about these good stuff and let him know what I'm feeding him.  We are what we eat, so let's start being healthy together!

I made these Pumpkin Bread using the scalded method (Recipe by Alex Goh), but I substituted part of the recipe with wholemeal flour, added chia seeds and topped it off with a layer of rolled oats.

Pumpkin bread (Scalded method)

(A)
100g bread flour
85g boiling water

(B)
400g bread flour (I used 80g wholemeal flour and 320g bread flour)
40g sugar
1 tsp salt
15g milk powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder (I left this out)
8g instant yeast

2 tbsp chia seeds

(C)
120g pumpkin (cooked and mashed)

(D)
150g cold water

(E)
60g butter

(F)
80g pumpkin seeds (I used rolled oats instead, just enough to top the loaf)

1. Add the boiling water from A into bag flour, mix until well-blended to form a dough. Cover and set aside to cool.  Keep in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
2. Mix B until well-blended. Add in C and D, knead to form rough dough. Add in A and knead until well-blended.
3. Add in E, mix to form a smooth and elastic dough. Add in F, mix until well combined. (I left out F for filling and used it as topping instead.)
4. Cover it and let it proof for 40 minutes.

5. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and mould it round. Place 6 pieces of dough into a 24 x 13 x 7cm pan. Makes 2 loaves. (I divided dough into 6 equal pieces instead to make 2 loaves, with 3 pieces of dough in 1 tin). Let it proof for 45 minutes or until double in size.

6. Egg wash the surface and sprinkle some rolled oats on top. Bake at 180 degree for 30 minutes.

Soft healthy bread for breakfast!

Overnight Oats with Blueberries, Kiwis, Raisins & Sunflowers

While the food-blogsphere have earlier had the overnight oats craze, I only just got myself started now.

True enough, this overnight oatmeal thingy can really be quite addictive. Best of all is that this convenient quick meal is packed with high fibre, protein and calcium.

For this first try, I made 2 servings enough for Hubby and myself using kiwi and blueberries. I read that kiwi causes overnight oats to taste slightly bitter, well I think that is probably due to the acidic nature that the fruit has. Yes, mine turned out a little bitter tasting, but I added a teaspoonful of honey and slightly more milk, gave it a good stir and I thought it tasted quite good after that.

I am now thinking about other different combi I can come up with to make my weekday breakfast or lunch more interesting, yummier and of cuz healthier.  Try it! You will like it too :)

Overnight Oats with Blueberries, Kiwis, Raisins & Sunflower seeds

(Serves 2)

10 tbsp of rolled oat/ old-fashion oats (not quick-cook)

Enough milk to cover the oats

1 Kiwi fruit (cut into cubes)

5 tbsp of blueberries

4 tbsp of greek yoghurt (low fat types work well too)

2 tbsp Sunflower seeds

2 tbsp raisins

1 to 2 tsp honey (optional)

1. Wash blueberries and gently pat dry with a kitchen towel.  Cut kiwi fruit into cubes. Leave aside.

2. Put rolled oats into a clean and dry container (with a tight lid), followed by yoghurt, sunflower seeds and raisins.

3. Pour milk over, with just enough to cover the oats and all. (You may add a little more milk if you prefer a slightly more watery consistency). Give it a thorough stir.

4. Add in kiwi fruit cubes and blueberries and do a quick stir.

5. Cover and leave it overnight in the fridge.

6. Drizzle with honey the next day and dig in!