A loaf made with 100% whole grain flour, khorasan bread is ideal for toast and sandwiches. This is a slightly sweet high hydration bread that's a beautiful naturally golden colour. Thanks to Grand Teton Ancient Grains for sponsoring this post.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just warm to the touch. Pour it into a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and stir in the honey and oil. Check the temperature now – it should be about skin temperature.
Mix in the yeast, then set it aside to bloom for about ten minutes. If it doesn't bloom, either your yeast is too old or the milk was too hot.
2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast
Stir in the flour and salt to form a wet, shaggy dough. It will look very wet and more like a thick cake batter than bread dough.
450 grams khorasan flour, 1 teaspoon sea salt
Knead for about eight minutes on low speed with the dough attachment (a hand mixer, with the dough hooks, can also be used). When the dough is ready it should be able to stretch without immediately tearing and will be only slightly sticky.
Set the dough aside to rise, covered, for about an hour in a warm, draft-free place. It should double in size.
Once the dough has risen, grease or line a bread tin. Generously flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Dust with some more flour, then press into a rough rectangle. The short edge should be the same length as your bread tin.
Roll the dough into a tight spiral from the short edge, then place it seam-side down into the prepared bread tin.
Cover and set aside to rise again for 30 minutes, or until the dough has just reached the top of the tin. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool for a few minutes in the tin before tipping out and cooling fully on a wire rack.
Let the bread cool before slicing. Store for up to five days in a cool place, or freeze for up to two months.
Notes
This is a high hydration dough, and it won't look like other bread dough. That's normal. It looks more like an overnight bread dough, quite wet and shaggy.