Monday 18th July 2011
Lundi 18 Juillet 2011 ~ St Frederic
Farmhouse Oat Bread |
Bread on Monday ~ Farmhouse Oat Bread
I have decided that Monday is bread making day, and what better to way to start the week then with a big batch of dough to knead and bash around ~ I plan to make several loaves and pop some in the freezer, so I have a weekly supply of bread at hand. This is one of my favourite bread recipes, it was first published by myself (both my recipe and my photos) in Country Kitchen magazine and is a wonderful loaf of bread with bags of texture and flavour. It makes an amazing sarnie too ~ that’s a sandwich in “Britspeak”!
Sarnies made with oat bread! |
Britain is a nation with a rich and diverse bread making history, with the most marvellous, quirky names; bloomers, cobs, cottage loaves, baps, barm cakes, bannocks, Kentish huffkins, Sally Lunns, stottie cakes, farmhouse, buttery rowies, Granary etc……….the list goes on. In fact we have over 200 different types of bread in Britain. The numerous regional varieties of bread products provide us with a culinary map of our nation, some famous and well know, and some not known out of their own villages, towns or regions – variety truly being the spice of the British bread basket delight!
Baps |
Different types of bread can be further broken down into the flour and grain types used, such as wholemeal, soft grain, wholegrain, corn, rye and buckwheat, again, usually due to local availability and demand. There is also Granary bread which is a brown bread made from special Granary flour (a trademark of the Hovis brand), which includes kibbled and whole grains.
Scottish Morning Rolls with Oats |
The arrival of the Normans in Britain was the first major era that influenced the types of bread we ate; rye flour was gradually replaced for the finer and soft white French flour – only for the rich and courtly people of course! During Tudor times, bread became a huge status symbol, the nobility only eating white bread, tradesman and merchants eating wheaten cobs and the serfs eating bran – how times have changed!
Artisan Rustic French Boule |
Sliced mass produced bread provides us with the ease and convenience of eating bread at all times of the day or night for that matter, especially if we are working – but why not take the time this week to make some bread at home. The satisfaction and elemental pleasure that you get from putting your own home-baked bread on the table is immeasurable; and it is NOT difficult at all – you just need to set aside some time. I like to have a pot of tea or coffee on the go, my favourite music playing, then just me with my yeast and flour in the kitchen! Here is the recipe for my Farmhouse Oat Bread, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Farmhouse Oat Bread
A wonderful country style loaf made from oatmeal flour and white flour with crunchy jumbo oats on top! This bread is excellent for sandwiches and makes the most delectable toast, a treat if eaten dripping with melted fresh butter. The texture is light as well as being hearty and rustic. This bread is a great choice to serve with a ploughman’s lunch, cut the slices very thickly for the ideal “vehicle”
for lifting the cheese and pickle to your mouth!
Ingredients:
350g white oatmeal bread flour (Allinson oatmill)
300g strong white bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
25g butter
1 X 7g fast action dried yeast, or ½ ounce fresh yeast mixed with tepid water
1 teaspoon sugar
450ml tepid water
Milk
Jumbo oats
Directions:
Put both of the flours into a large bowl. Add the salt and rub the butter into the flour to combine. Add the sugar and the dried yeast.
Pour the tepid water (and fresh yeast mixed with the water if using) into the bowl and mix with your hands until all the ingredients are combined and you have a rough dough ball.
Tip the dough on to a floured board or work surface and knead with the heel of your hand, turning all the time, until the dough is smooth and elastic and not sticky – about 10 minutes.
Grease a 900g (2 lb) bread tin and shape the kneaded dough into an oblong – ease the dough into the greased bread tin; brush the dough with milk and sprinkle the jumbo oats on top of the dough. Cover with an oiled plastic bag and place in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 220C or Gas 7. Remove the loaf from the plastic bag, and place into the hot oven on the middle shelf, immediately turning the heat down to 200C or gas 6. Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. (To test to see if the loaf is ready, upturn and tap the base – it should sound hollow.)
Remove the loaf from the tin and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.
Makes one 900g/2 lb loaf
Leave a Reply