RECIPE: OVERNIGHT PORRIDGE AND PRUNE BREAD Makes: 1 Bloomer-style Loaf Note: I used a Banneton basket (you can buy these on bakewithjack.co.uk/shop) to shape and prove the dough here and baked on a hot baking stone but if you don’t have these, you can prove it and bake in a standard loaf tin. Ingredients 165g Milk (at room temperature) 165g Water (at room temperature) 30g Honey 8g Fresh Yeast or 4g Dried Fast Action Yeast 350g Strong White Bread Flour, plus extra for dusting 50g Wholemeal Flour 100g Rolled Porridge Oats, plus extra for topping 8g Salt 200g Whole Dried Prunes (pitted, not from a tin) Method Making the Dough (Day 1) 1. In a large mixing bowl weigh the milk, water and honey. Whisk together then add the yeast and whisk again to dissolve the yeast. 2. Reset the scales to 0 and weigh the flours, oats and salt directly into the bowl. Mix everything together with your dough scraper to form a rough dough. 3. Leave the dough to rest and absorb all the liquid for 20-30 minutes. 1. Tip the dough out onto a clean surface and knead well for 8 minutes - don’t add any extra flour at this point, just keep scraping up the dough every once in a while if it’s sticking (see Tip below). 2. Shape the dough into a rough ball and place it back in your mixing bowl. Dust the top with a little flour, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest at room temperature for 90 minutes. Pre-shaping 1. Lightly dust the top of your dough and use your dough scraper to ease it out of the bowl onto a clean surface so that it lands upside down, with the sticky side facing up. Use your fingertips to lightly flatten the dough. 2. Form into a ball. Starting at the top of the dough (12 o’clock position), pinch the edge between your fingers and thumbs and stretch outwards (away from you) then fold it back over the dough For more recipes and tips visit www.bakewithjack.co.uk 1 towards the bottom (6 o’clock position) and press down. Rotate the dough slightly and continue to repeat the turns and folds, working around the dough to form a nice bouncy ball. All the seams and folds should end up on one side, with the underside smooth and tight. 3. Turn the dough back over, smooth side up, cupping your hands underneath to neaten the ball. Dust lightly with flour, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Shaping and Adding the Prunes 1. The dough should have relaxed and spread slightly. Lightly flour the work surface again and carefully flip the ball over with your dough scraper, so it’s now upside down. 2. Press all over with your fingertips or knuckles to create a flat circle. Scatter over the prunes as evenly as possible and press gently into the dough to stick. 3. Slide your hands under the edges of the dough and gently stretch out the left-hand side slightly then fold over the dough at an angle. Repeat with the other side to create a capital A shape (narrower at the top, wider at the bottom). 4. Fold over the top edge and press down gently, then continue rolling downwards towards the bottom, pressing gently after each roll, to create a tight Swiss roll shape. Pinch the seam to stick in place. 5. Spread some oats out over a tray and brush your dough with a little water. Roll the loaf in the oats so they stick all over. Final Proof 1. Place your loaf seam side up in a banneton basket. 2. Cover with a cloth and place in the fridge to prove overnight. Baking (Day 2) 1. The next morning, preheat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas Mark 7 with a baking stone on the middle shelf and a deep roasting tin in the bottom. 2. Get the dough out of the fridge - it should be nice and puffy with an obvious increase in size. If not, leave out at room temperature for a bit while the oven heats up to give it a bit of a boost. 3. Boil the kettle. 4. Turn the loaf out of the basket out onto a floured peel or tray (upside down so the seam side is now on the bottom and the basket grooves are now on top). Make a few small cuts across the top of the loaf with a grignette (see Tips below) or sharp knife. 5. Carefully slide the loaf onto the hot baking stone. Pour a few centimetres of hot water from the kettle into the tin at the bottom and quickly close the door to trap steam. 6. Bake for 40 minutes although have a check at 30 minutes as oven temperatures can really vary. If it looks like they are getting too dark on top, turn the oven down to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6 for the final 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. For more recipes and tips visit www.bakewithjack.co.uk 2 Tips from me... Helpful videos you might like to see: - Bread Tip #119: The Overnight Final Proof (Yeasted Bread) - Bread Tip #55: What is a Banneton Basket? As with my Overnight Great White recipe, the exact time the dough will need to prove in the fridge is hard to say - temperature of the dough before it goes in the fridge and the overall temperature of the fridge can affect it. I find if I put the dough in the fridge just before I go to bed then check it first thing, I can minimise the risk of it overproving. If it needs a bit of a boost you can always take it out and finish it off at room temperature while preheating the oven. The best thing to do is to GIVE IT A GO and make notes of the timings that work for you. A grignette may sound fancy, but it’s just a razor blade for slashing dough - it’s SUPER sharp and means you get a clean cut through the dough. Use it for simple lines or get creative with your own patterns and designs. If you fancy a go, pop along to bakewithjack.co.uk/shop to grab one. I find weighing out liquids in grams WAY more accurate than measuring in volume. To do it, just place an empty jug onto your scales, make sure it is set to zero, and pour in the amount you need. Dough scrapers are my go-to most useful piece of bread making kit. I use them for mixing the dough, cutting it, scraping out bowls, cleaning the table, LITERALLY everything. If you don’t have one yet you can get yours at bakewithjack.co.uk/shop For more recipes and tips visit www.bakewithjack.co.uk 3 .