Oat Flower Petal Bread

Prepare the ingredients.

First make the sponge starter: Mix 100g of high-gluten flour, 30g of oat flour, 2g of yeast, 2g of salt, 1 teaspoon of walnut oil, 5g of sugar, 1 egg, and 10g of water into a dough. No need to knead until the gluten forms, just mix until uniform. I originally wanted to make a no-knead bread, but I forgot to turn it in time. Since it over-proofed, I used it as a sponge starter instead.

Add the remaining ingredients to the sponge dough, along with 120 grams of water, and mix with a stand mixer until the gluten is 80-90% developed. If kneading by hand, you can knead it like washing clothes, stretching it out and then folding it back, repeating this motion or adding a slamming action until you can pull out a uniform thin film. For specific hand-kneading methods, you can check the article 'Hand-Kneading Methods for Bread Dough' on my homepage or WeChat public account Meiji.

After the dough is rounded, place it in an oiled, non-stick container and cover with plastic wrap. Let it ferment until it is 2 to 2.5 times its original size. Dip your finger in dry flour and poke a hole: if it neither collapses nor rebounds, or rebounds slightly, the fermentation is done. A quick rebound indicates it hasn't fermented enough, while collapsing indicates it has over-fermented.

Divide the dough, making 8 large pieces of about 55 grams each and 8 small pieces of about 20 grams each.

Take a small piece of dough and roll it into a round dough sheet about 10–15 cm in diameter, then spread oil in the middle.

Place the large dough with the seam facing up in the center of the small dough, and pinch the dough skins together at the corners.

Pinch the protruding edges of the dough together diagonally until it forms a round shape, without large wrinkles.

Turn it over and make it round.

Spray water and sprinkle flour on the surface of the bread dough. Use a sharp blade to make a cross-shaped cut on the dough, creating 4 petals. The depth should be just enough to cut through the outer layer of the dough, but it can be deeper if desired.

Make a small cut in the center of each petal. At this time, preheat the oven to 180°C for 20 minutes, and let the bread continue to rise.

After preheating, place the bread dough in the middle layer of the oven, spray some water mist into the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes. Take it out and tap the baking sheet, then place the bread on a cooling rack to cool. Store sealed at room temperature. If you want to keep it longer, store it in the freezer, and when eating, bake at 180°C for 5 minutes without preheating.

The petal's outer layer is crispy and very stylish, the bread is soft and elastic, delicious and looks great, I really like it, how about you?