Make the soaker by putting the sunflower seeds, flax seeds and rolled oats into a heatproof bowl.

Dissolve the honey in the boiling water then pour over the seeds and oats.

Stir well then set aside until cold.

Put the flour, oatmeal, salt and yeast in a large bowl and stir together.

Stir in the soaked seeds and oats including any unabsorbed liquid.

Tip: if the seeds and oats clump together, run them through your fingers to separate and coat in flour.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture then pour in all the milk, stirring as you do to start bringing the ingredients together.

Add as much of the water as needed to form a wettish but still firm rather than sloppy dough (see image in blog post for how it should look). Stir well so there are no dry bits of flour, adding an extra splash of water if necessary.

Cover the bowl or place in a large reusable bag and leave at room temperature overnight or 12 - 14 hours.

Tip: If the room is warm, or if you'd like a longer rise for convenience or to allow more flavour to develop, you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough back up to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.

Grease a 900 g/2 lb loaf tin with butter and dust with flour.

Lightly flour a work surface, ideally covered with a silicone mat, and scrape the dough onto it.

Fold the dough over itself several times until it's smooth, at the same time shaping it to fit the length and breadth of the loaf tin: try not to add much more flour but only just enough to prevent sticking to the work surface.

Put the dough in the prepared tin and re-cover or place back in the bag. Set aside somewhere warm until doubled in size (approx. 40 - 50 minutes). Complete the next step while this is happening.

While the dough is proving: preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° Fan / Gas 4 / 350°F with a shelf in the middle and a deep METAL roasting tin on the bottom shelf (this will be filled with cold water later to create steam and help the bread rise: DO NOT USE GLASS or it could shatter).

Check that the dough is proofed

If, when a finger is gently poked into the dough, it slowly springs back but leaves a slight indentation then it is ready to bake.

If the dough springs back quickly then it's not yet fully proofed: leave another 5 -10 minutes and check again.

When ready to bake, add the topping

Brush a layer of the beaten egg white over the top of the dough: try not to let it run down the sides or the loaf could stick to the tin.

Sprinkle over the rolled oats and sunflower seeds then very gently press down to help them stick. Carefully brush over another layer of egg white without dislodging the topping.

Bake the loaf

Place in the oven on the middle shelf then pour cold water from a jug into the hot roasting tin in the lower part of the oven. Immediately close the door.

Bake for 35 minutes without opening the door.

After 35 minutes carefully open the oven door (caution: lots of hot steam may billow out so keep your face, hands etc. out of the way) and remove the tin of water.

Take the loaf out of its tin and place back in the oven directly on the middle shelf. Cook for another 5 - 10 minutes or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Place on a wire rack until completely cold before slicing.

Best eaten within 3 days or frozen. Can be toasted from frozen.

Tip: slice before freezing so you can take out just as much as you need without wastage.