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While everyone was fighting over toilet rolls, I managed to bag a 16kg sack of flour. That became the next daily staple to disappear off the shelves in Lockdown. Luckily, just as I’m finishing it, supplies are returning.
My sister-in-law knows I love to bake and that I make our bread at home. She passed on this recipe as there is no kneading or proving, so it’s a really easy bread. The contrast of crusty outer with the soft, open, tumbling texture of the coarse grainy inner make for a totally delicious loaf.
Ingredients:
400gms white bread flour
175gms plain yoghurt
150gms Guinness
100gms wholemeal flour
60gms black treacle
50gms oats
40gms unsalted butter (cubed)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Method:
Preheat oven to 200⁰C
Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl, incorporate both flours, oats salt and bicarbonate of soda. Add the butter and using your fingertips rub together into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs. In a jug, mix the Guinness, yoghurt and treacle until it all comes together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix everything until it just comes together, (don’t over work it!) Shape the dough into a ball, place on the prepared tray, dust liberally with flour, press down slightly and then with a sharp knife cut a cross into the top of the dough, (about an inch deep).
Bake for about 50 mins, until golden on top, and if knocked on the bottom, it sounds hollow.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy.
Gaby Van Clarke
Water is a source of life and vitality. As we age our bodies are less able to hold water so our skin sags, our bones become brittle, our hair drier, thinner and frizzy.
Introduced by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century, and adapted over time to suit Japanese tastes, this light bouncy sponge is considered a traditional Japanese speciality. More delicate and airy than a regular sponge cake, castella ( カステラ, kasutera) is famous for a fine and moist crumb.