Just Bake!

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After my dad went to all the trouble of driving to Norfolk to restock our freezer with fresh seafood (bought from The Lobster Pot which is an amazing fish stall we found on our holidays in Bacton last July), I couldn’t exactly not bake some lovely fresh bread to go with the planned lobster salad and moules marinare we’re having for dinner now could I?

I turned to Rachel Allen’s latest book Rachel’s Baking Secrets: From Cookies to Casseroles, Fresh from the Oven for inspiration as I wanted to create a yeast free bread but something slightly different from a standard Irish wheaten bread, I found the ideal recipe for tweaking pretty much straight away – deciding on the ‘Quick Brown Bread’ although I have changed it rather a lot and it’ll be my version you find at the bottom of this page.

I used yogurt instead of buttermilk as that’s all I had available but I really don’t think it makes much difference to the finished product, the only effect it may have is that the dough may require a wee drop of extra liquid adding to get the right consistency.

I also played around with the variation of flours, the majority being a flour new to myself – sunflower and wheat flour from Shipton Mill which is mix of pure sunflowers, ground to make a fresh flour, then blended with wheat flour, the sunflower flour has a wonderful flavour and in addition acts as a dough conditioner giving the bread a really soft crumb. With the adding of a little malt house flour for texture, wheat germ for fibre and colour and white flour to prevent the loaf being too dense, a kind of safety net if you will, the loaf was wonderfully flavoured, almost cakey in texture (very much like wheaten bread) and gloriously light for a yeast free bread.

I couldn’t resist having a couple of slices warm with butter but I can foresee it will be fabulous with the fresh seafood later tonight, I cannot wait and methinks there may be an early supper here today.

The Recipe:

• 100g malt house flour
• 100g strong white flour
• 300g sunflower and wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 400ml natural yogurt (or buttermilk)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon oats for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 200C or the equivalent and oil a 2lb loaf tin.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
3. Place all the liquid ingredients in a large jug and beat together before pouring this into the dry mix.
4. Stir the ingredients together very gently, preferably using your hand so as not to overwork the dough – you should get a soft and sloppy dough.
5. Pour the dough into the loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until hollow sounding.

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Filed under Bread, My Recipes