Overnight Multi-Seeds Bread | The Easiest Bread To Make

Photo By: Elin Chow

I love eating bread and making them as well. Bread making is a daunting task, but it is one of the most rewarding experiences too. I made my first bread after stumbling upon this overnight bread recipe online. It was a success, and the bread I made was so good. So, I would recommend this recipe to anyone who loves bread but does not have much time to make it. 

Making this bread is fairly easy. There are no special ingredients, equipment, or techniques needed to make this bread, and all you need is time. You will need 24 hours to make this bread, but much of this is unattended waiting. It only takes you 5 to 10 minutes to prepare the dough. Once that is done, the dough will sit in the fridge and bake the next day. 

I admit that it is a little time-consuming, but it does not really make much effort. I actually prefer making my own bread because it is healthier and cheaper. 

1. Ingredients

Here are the ingredients that you will need to make this bread:

- 250g all-purpose flour/bread flour
- 3.75g active dry yeast
- 15g sugar
- 3g salt
-160 ml of water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 40g seeds (I am using sunflower seeds and walnuts. But you can use any seeds you like)

2. Warm the milk

Pour the milk into a pot and warm it over low heat to 40ºC. The milk should feel warm but not hot or boiling. It will kill the yeast if the milk is too hot.

3. Activate the yeast

Stir in the sugar rapidly into the milk until it dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast onto the liquid to activate the yeast. This is to test and make sure the yeast is alive and active. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes until the yeast starts to foam. The yeast is active if this happens, and the solution will smell yeasty.

4. Combine the ingredients

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast solution, oil, and salt.

5. Mix the ingredients

Gently mix the ingredients together with a pair of chopsticks or wooden spoon.

6. Shape the dough

Once the ingredients stop combining, quickly shape the dough into a ball with your hand.

7. Add-in seeds mixture

Flatten the dough with your hand's palm into an oval shape and add in the seeds mixture. 

8. Knead until well combined

Gently knead and work the seeds into the dough until well combined.

9. Store overnight in the fridge

I usually make the dough around 9.00 to 10.00 pm at night. Making the dough only takes about 5 to 10 minutes. After the dough is made, put it in a sealed container and rest at room temperature for about 45 minutes before letting it sit overnight in the fridge for at least 12 to 24 hours.

10. Shape the dough the next day

The dough is cold and feels hard when you pull it out from the fridge the next day. Allow it to continue to rise at room temperature for at least an hour, or until it has warmed up enough that you can shape it. I usually submerge the container into a warm water bath to speed up the process.

At this stage, the dough should smell pleasantly sour with a slightly yeasty smell. It actually smells a little like alcohol too. During fermentation, yeast and bacteria within the dough will feed off the flour's sugars, producing carbon dioxide, alcohol, and acids, which helps to develop distinctive flavor within the bread. But don't worry. The alcohol will evaporate after you bake the dough.

After the dough has warmed up, shape it to whatever shape you like, and let it rest for 30 minutes. Once you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 190ºC and bake it for 15 minutes.

11. Ready to bake

The resulting loaf is super crusty on the outside but deliciously moist and soft inside. Give the bread a knock, and it should sound hollow. This would also mean that your bread is done baking.

The crust becomes soft once the bread has cooled down completely. If you are not a fan of bread with a hard crust, you might want to eat this after it cooled down. You might also want to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour if you prefer a thinner crust.

Sunflower seeds and walnuts also add a great texture and nutty sweetness to the bread. But unfortunately, the bread tends to get a little dry if you eat it the next day. If you find it too dry to eat, you can try heating it up in the microwave. All you need is just 1 minute, and the bread will come out moist again.

I have actually baked this overnight multi-seeds bread twice, with zero failure. Before this, I do not have any experience in baking. The second time I made this, I decided to lightly sprinkle some water and flour on top of the dough before baking. I also baked this for slightly longer for 20 minutes. The resulting loaf has a rustic crust but tastes almost the same as the first one I made.

Please note that homemade bread does not last very long in the house because it contains no addictive. I recommend finishing it in 2 or 3 days after making it.

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