Sophie Grigson's version of the Grant loaf: a heavier bread, but moist, nutty, delicious and marvellously quick to make. Spelt flour is available from some supermarkets, but you are more likely to find it in a deli or health food shop. Wholemeal bread flour, says Grigson, works well, too.
You will need:
450g strong wholemeal or spelt flour
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsps salt
1/2 sachet easyblend or easybake yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
400-450ml cold water
Your choice of one of the following (optional): sesame seeds, nigella seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
Mix the spelt flour with the sugar, salt and yeast. Make a well in the centre and add the oil, then stir in enough water to make a damp, sticky dough, far too loose to be kneaded.
Turn the dough into an oiled 500g (1lb) loaf tin and sprinkle evenly with seeds of one sort or another, if you're using them. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place until the dough has just risen above the rim of the tin. Bake at 220C/425F/gas mark 7 (or in the hot oven of an Aga) for about 27 to 30 minutes, turning it once so that it browns evenly.
When cooked, it should slide freely and happily out of the tin, or will at least need no more than a quick loosening with the blade of a knife. Tap the bottom. It should sound hollow, but if it is soft and makes a dull thud, return the loaf to the oven, without its tin, for a further three or four minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
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