I’ve been playing around with adding unusual grains, seeds, and dried fruits to my breads lately. This pistachio, goji berry, and poppy seed loaf is one of the successful experiments. Pistachios add a nice texture, the goji berries bring sweetness, a bit of sourness, and they become nice and juicy as they absorb the water. Poppy seeds don’t taste of much, but they sure make the crumb look good.
A bit of honey goes well with the subtle sweetness of all the other ingredients. I had some leftover rye and einkorn flours and decided to work them into a scald. It will not only make the bread stay softer for longer, but it will also add an extra dimension of flavour.
You can adjust this type of recipe to your taste. Swap the pistachios for other nuts, swap the goji berries for other dried fruits, use some other type of seed instead of poppy, swap the honey for another sweetener or leave it out, and you can change the flours in the scald too all without adjusting any of the quantities.
This recipe makes a large loaf perfect for a 2lb (900g) Pullman tin. If you want to use a regular 2lb loaf tin, then I’d suggest decreasing the amounts of all the ingredients by around 20%.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the scald –
25g (0.9oz) wholegrain (dark) rye flour
25g (0.9oz) einkorn flour
25g (0.9oz) honey
25g (0.9oz) poppy seeds
50g (1.75oz) chopped pistachios
10g (0.35oz) salt
425g (15oz) boiling water
For the main dough –
50g (1.75oz) chopped goji berries
5g (0.17oz) instant dry yeast or 6g (0.21oz) active dry yeast or 15g (0.53oz) fresh yeast
480g (16.9oz) white bread flour
Oats to sprinkle on top.
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the scald for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- Make the scald. In a large bowl combine the rye flour, einkorn flour, honey, poppy seeds, pistachios, salt, and boiling water. Mix well. Cover and leave to cool down completely.
- Make the dough. Add the yeast and goji berries to the scald. Mix to dissolve the yeast. Add the white bread flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature 23C – 24C (73F – 75F).
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Fold.
- Cover and cold ferment for 12 – 24 hours.
- Shape the loaf and place it in a greased loaf tin. Spray the top with water and sprinkle with oats.
- Cover and proof for 2 – 2.5 hours or until it is twice as tall.
- Bake at 180C (355F) fan on for 40 minutes.
- Remove from the tin and place back into the oven for 10 more minutes.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
