Bake a loaf using leftover porridge and seeds

Leftover porridge is a baker's quiet secret

A pan of cold porridge sitting in the fridge is one of the most useful things you can have in the kitchen. Oats that have already absorbed water and softened behave a little like a pre-ferment: they bring sweetness, moisture and a tender, slightly open crumb to any loaf you add them to. Bread made with cooked grains also keeps far better than a plain white loaf, often staying fresh for three or four days in a tin, and it toasts superbly.

This recipe is deliberately forgiving. It uses a standard 900g (2lb) loaf tin, takes a handful of store-cupboard ingredients, and tidies up two things at once: the leftover porridge and the odds and ends at the bottom of your seed jar. If your porridge was made with milk, so much the better. If it was plain oats and water, simply add a splash more liquid later.

What you will need

• 300g leftover porridge, cold from the fridge is fine
• 500g strong white bread flour
• 100g wholemeal, rye or light spelt flour
• 7g dried active yeast, or 15g fresh yeast
• 10g fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon honey, treacle or golden syrup
• 100g mixed seeds — sunflower, pumpkin, linseed, sesame — plus a handful for the top
• 150–200ml lukewarm water, added gradually
• A little butter or oil for the tin

You will also want a large mixing bowl, a 900g loaf tin, a clean tea towel and a cooling rack. If you have a probe thermometer, keep it nearby; it takes the guesswork out of knowing when a damp, seeded loaf is properly baked.

Mixing and kneading

Warm the porridge gently in a saucepan until it feels neither hot nor cold — a clean finger dipped in should register nothing much at all. Any hotter and you will kill the yeast. Stir in the honey and the yeast, then leave it for ten minutes until it looks foamy and smells faintly of beer.

Tip both flours into a big bowl with the salt and the seeds, keeping the salt away from direct contact with the yeast mixture at first. Pour in the porridge, then add the water a splash at a time. You are looking for a soft, slightly tacky dough that clears the side of the bowl but still feels alive under your hand. Wholemeal and oats both drink more than you expect, so hold back the last 50ml until you can see what the dough needs.

Knead for ten to twelve minutes on a lightly floured surface, or eight minutes with a dough hook, until smooth and springy. Resist the urge to keep adding flour; a damp dough is exactly what gives you a moist loaf later. Cover the bowl and leave it somewhere warm for an hour and a half to two hours, until roughly doubled. For a deeper, more savoury flavour, put it in the fridge overnight instead and bring it back to room temperature in the morning.

Shaping, proving and baking

Knock the dough back on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a log that will sit comfortably in your greased tin. Scatter seeds over the top and press them in gently with a damp hand. Cover and prove for 45 to 60 minutes, until the dough has risen just above the rim of the tin. Porridge bread rises more slowly than a plain white loaf because the oats weigh it down, so give it the extra time rather than rushing it into the oven.

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan, gas 7) with a small roasting tray on the bottom shelf. When you slide the loaf in, pour a cup of water into the hot tray to create steam, then close the door quickly. Bake for 15 minutes, then drop the temperature to 200C (180C fan, gas 6) and continue for 25 to 30 minutes more. The loaf is ready when it is deep golden, sounds hollow when tapped underneath, and reads around 96C in the centre. Cool it completely on a rack before slicing; the crumb is still setting as it cools, and cutting early gives you a gummy slice.

Variations worth trying

• Sourdough version: leave out the yeast and use 150g of active starter, then lengthen the proving times considerably.
• Fruited: add 50g raisins or chopped dates and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon with the seeds.
• Savoury: fold in 100g grated mature cheddar with a handful of chopped chives or a spoonful of fried onion.
• Nutty: swap half the seeds for chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, toasted first for a rounder flavour.
• Fruity porridge: if your leftovers contain stewed apple or mashed banana, reduce the water by about 50ml.

Storing it well, and the slower pleasure of it

Keep the loaf in a linen bag or bread bin for up to three days, or slice and freeze it for toast. Stale slices are not waste: blitz them into breadcrumbs, cube them for croutons, or layer them into a bread and butter pudding with a little marmalade. A single pan of porridge can quietly become three or four meals.

There is something quietly grounding about this kind of baking. The porridge has to be warmed slowly, the dough needs your hands for ten minutes, and then it needs nothing from you but patience while it proves. The kitchen fills with a warm, nutty smell that no candle can imitate. You have rescued something from the bin, spent very little, and ended up with a loaf worth slicing thickly and eating warm with butter. That is a good afternoon's work.