Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Oat and Rye Soda Bread



Last Saturday my boyfriend and I took an early morning train to Milan, and from there another train to Genoa. This has become almost a tradition for us, to sneak away for a few days during semester. Last spring we went on a short trip with our bikes over easter, and a year ago we went to Munich. Genoa was actually really beautiful, and unlike other Italian towns not overcrowded by tourists.

Oh, and the food. Probably the best thing we ate was a Rosemary Ice Cream, I'll have to try to recreate this at home, the flavor was really subtle and so unexpected. My boyfriend laughed at me, but my souvenirs were 3 bags of farro, 2 bags of chickpea flour and one bag of chestnut meal. Oh and a bag of pearled barley and one of whole wheat couscous. (I almost forgot the Scamorza, oops) I have to confess, I might have a slight obsession with food. I missed cooking though, eating out every meal of the day is a bit uncomfortable for me. I find myself craving things I just cannot get at the moment. Like in France during our summer holidays, when I really needed some lovely little Italian bruschette, with fresh tomatoes or mozzarella. Go try to find a good Italian restaurant in France...

Well I'm back home and back in the kitchen now. To my surprise, I find my self baking a lot. I also came to appreciate the soda and other quick breads. While I love making real yeasted bread (I enjoy kneading) I just don't seem to find the time for all the steps necessary to make a good bread. The no-knead bread is great, but it requires some planning... This is a great bread. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.




Oat and Rye Soda Bread 
Adapted from several of Heidi Swansons recipes, but mostly this Oat Soda Bread

Ingredients:
100g rye flour
100g oat flour (or 100g rolled oats that you pulse in a food processor)
285g all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon malt powder, or 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon wheat germ (optional)
415ml buttermilk, plus more for brushing the top
a mix of seeds (I used sesame, black sesame, pumpkin, rolled oats and flaxseed

Preheat the oven to 205°C/400°F. Wait a bit, it takes little time to prepare the bread, and at least my oven takes quite a while to preheat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
If you're making the oat flour, pulse the rolled oats in a food processor until a fine powder.
Measure out the dry ingredients and mix them in a mixing bowl. Pour in the buttermilk, stir until the dough comes together. Form in to a flattend ball and place on the baking sheet. Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with the seeds.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom.

7 comments :

  1. Gorgeous photos. I envy you Europeans--it's so easy for you to hop on a train and find yourself somewhere beautiful and completely different.
    I'm the same when it comes to souvenirs. I just want to bring home more food. I once brought a bag of Meyer lemons on the train home from another city because I knew I wasn't going to find any where I was living at the time. There's no shame in bringing home a suitcase full of local edible goodies!

    I have to say that I rarely make quick breads. Though they're great when you want bread now, I usually find myself with half a loaf of stale bread the next day. What do you do with your leftovers? Maybe I should just scale down the recipe, just enough for two for a morning?

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  2. We could change for a few weeks, I'd love to be able to see all these exciting places in the US.

    I have to say that this bread kept rather well, I made it Monday evening, and ate the last slice this morning. It was a bit on the dry side, but still good. You could also just cut the recipe in half, this should make enough for two days, more or less. I have also slathered some butter on a slice of soda bread, and toasted it in a pan.

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  3. This looks like a lovely loaf! And love the sound of that rosemary ice cream...unusual but delicious :-)

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  4. I'll try to come up with my own version of this. I think I'll try infusing cream with rosemary and then make the ice cream out of that. Have to google how to make ice cream without the machine, though

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  5. this looks delicious, and your italian holiday sounds lovely. jealous!

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  6. I so miss the days when I could hop from one country to another in Europe. Lovely, all of it!

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  7. Kate, did you live in Europe for a long time? And where? I love to hear about other people's travel and stay abroad stories.

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