Tag Archives: bread

Rye & Spelt Soda Bread

03 Thursday Aug 2023

Posted by in Techniques

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Soda bread is one of the easiest and quickest breads to make, and when using whole meal spelt and rye flour makes a light and moist loaf. This recipe is for the basic loaf but feel free to add little extras to it, caraway, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, nuts, sun dried tomatoes…..

For the liquid I like to use the water from feta or mozzarella which I save as I use the cheese by freezing it. You can use milk too. Vegans will want to use either water or vegetable stock.

Just in case you think I’ve forgotten to mention salt, I haven’t, adding it seems to inhibit the rising of the loaf plus the bicarbonate of soda adds a certain saltiness.

125 grams whole meal spelt flour

125 grams whole meal rye flour

1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons lemon juice

180 ml liquid – either vegetable stock, chicken stock or liquid from either mozzarella or feta cheese, or milk

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Make a well in the centre.

Add the lemon juice to the measured liquid that you are using and stir to mix in. Pour into the well in the flour.

Using either a dough hook on a mixer or a spoon, mix to a fairly wet dough. It will be quite sticky.

Sprinkle on a little more flour to enable you to lightly form the dough into a ball.

Put onto a tray lined with baking parchment and make a cross into the ball using the side of your hand.

Bake in an oven preheated to 160C fan, 180C, 350F or gas mark 4 for 40 minutes until golden.

Cool on a rack and enjoy!


Panzanella

25 Wednesday Mar 2020

Posted by in Main Courses, Starters, Vegan

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I decided to prepare this salad today, simply because I have some white rye and walnut bread that is bland tasting and a bit dry. Not good for sandwiches but perfect for this salad of bread and tomatoes which hails from the Tuscany región of Italy. The traditional recipe has anchovies as one of the ingredients, but if you want to make a vegan version of the salad it doesn’t suffer if you leave them out.
With fresh from the garden radishes and asparagus plus a small dish of boquerones, we had the perfect lunch.

For 2 servings

500 grams approximately of tomatoes

2 thick slices bread

1 garlic clove – crushed with salt

1/2 red onion – very thinly sliced

1 tablespoon capers – chopped

1 tablespoon black olives

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chillis

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

flat leaved parsley – coarsely chopped

fresh basil leaves – coarsely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

And if you are making the non vegan version –

2 teaspoons black fish eggs

6 boquerones/ anchovies – chopped

Chop the tomatoes into chunks and put into your salad bowl.

Cut the crusts off the bread and discard them. Rip the bread into smallish chunks and add to the tomatoes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Let the salad sit for about an hour at room temperature for the tomatoes and onions to soften a little and the flavours to mix and develop.

Enjoy!