Ingredients

25g / 1oz butter, cut into cubes

2 tbsp clear honey

400g / 14oz seed & grain bread flour

100g / 3 ½ oz strong white bread flour

7g sachet or 1½ tsp fast-action dried yeast

1 egg, beaten

mixed seeds (I used sunflower, sesame & pumpkin)

Method

Heat the butter, honey and 350ml water in a saucepan. Set aside to cool to hand temperature.

Mix the flours, yeast and 1½ tsp salt in a bowl. Pour in the warm liquid and mix with a wooden spoon, then with your hands. Tip onto your work surface and knead for 10 mins or until springy. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm to rise for 2 hrs or until doubled in size.

Flour a large baking tray. Tip the dough onto your work surface and knead to knock out the air bubbles. Remove ¼ of the dough so that you have 2 pieces. Shape both pieces of dough into smooth balls, put the large one on the baking tray then sit the smaller ball on top. Using a well-floured handle of a wooden spoon, push through the centre of the 2 balls of dough to stick them together. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for about 45 mins or until doubled in size. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and put a cake tin on the bottom shelf, with an empty shelf directly above for the bread.

Remove the cling film from the bread. Brush all over with the egg, then sprinkle generously with seeds. Slash the edges of the loaf a few times with a sharp knife to create a pattern. Open the oven and pour a cup full of water into the cake tin – this will create steam and give the loaf a crisp crust. Put the bread on the empty shelf and bake for 20 mins, then turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for another 30 mins until crisp and hollow-sounding when tapped on the base. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 mins before eating.

To get ahead: The bread will last several day wrapped and kept in a container.

To freeze: The bread can be frozen up to a month ahead.