Oat bran has a lower GI than wheat bran and therefore is better in two ways for my family, first of all the lower GI means that after eating it a person will feel fuller longer and secondly having a lower GI people who are diabetic will maintain blood sugar level over a slightly longer period.
I have been experimenting with the proportions of bran and prefer this mix level it is a higher proportion of bran than in a home made wholemeal loaf for which I would use half wholemeal flour and half white. Any more bran I fell produces a loaf that is to heavy.
Ingredients £0.28
350g Strong White Flour
30g Oat bran
20g Porridge oats
10g Salt
4g Fast action dried yeast
260 ml Water
15ml Tasteless oil like sunflower
Method
1. Mix the flour, bran, porridge oats, yeast and salt in a bowl. Add the oil and then enough water to make a soft pliable dough. It should seem slightly wet.
2. Turn onto a floured work surface and knead (see note below) for around 10 minutes until the dough has become quite elastic and smooth to the touch. If the mixture is to dry add a little water by wetting your hand and sprinkling it on the dough. If it is to wet to handle add a little extra flour. A loose dough will make a lighter finished loaf.
3. Put into a greased bowl and cover with greased cling film or a damp tea towel. This is to prevent the dough from forming a crust on it while rising. Place in a warm place to rise for around an hour or until it has doubled in size this could take longer than an hour.
4. Punch the dough and turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead a couple of times but not too much.
5. Shape by putting into a floured tin (loaf or cake) or into a desired shape to cook freeform and place on a floured baking sheet. Cover again and leave to rise to double in size this should take around ½ an hour but can easily take a little longer. Preheat the oven to 200 °C and cook for 30 minutes.
6. Check if cooked by turning out of the tin and tap the bottom if it is cooked it should sound hollow. If not fully cooked, place in the tin upside down exposing the bottom of the loaf and return to the oven to cook until done, testing every 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
