Walnut bread

I love walnut bread. I used to run to my favourite bakery in Japan at the time when the walnut bread came out of the oven.  This has a very crusty crust with flaky and slightly bitter walnuts.
As you munch, the walnuts crumble away. I'm more than happy with this freshly baked and still warm walnut bread with some chunky slices of gorgonzola cheese. :)
To make a rustic texture and flavour, I used wholemeal and rye flour in my bread mixture.
You can add as many walnuts as you like as long as the dough can hold them, but I used about 60g of walnuts for this loaf.

Ingredients 

• 200g strong white + 200g strong wholemeal + 100g rye flour 
• 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• up to 350ml lukewarm water
• a little sunflower oil for greasing
• 50-100g crushed walnuts

Method

1. Make the dough by tipping the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and making a well in the middle. Pour in most of the water and use your fingers or a wooden spoon to mix the flour and water together until combined to a slightly wet, pillowy, workable dough - add a splash more water if necessary. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 10 mins until smooth and elastic. This can also be done in a tabletop mixer with a dough hook. Place the dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size.
2. Heat oven to 220C/ fan 200C/ gas 7. Knock back the dough by tipping it back onto a floured surface and pushing the air out. Knead crushed walnuts into the dough until the walnuts have integrated into the dough evenly. Mould the dough into a rugby ball shape and place it on a baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for 30 mins. Dust the top of the loaf with a little more flour and slash the top with a sharp knife if you want.
3. Pour hot water onto the bottom of the oven or into a dish at the bottom of the oven to create steam. 
4. Bake the bread for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and continue to bake for 30 mins until the loaf sounds hollow when removed from the oven and tapped on the base. Leave the bread on a wire rack to cool completely.