40 Percent Caraway Rye

Two loaves of 40% caraway rye

One of the August breads for Mellow Bakers.   The shine is from a light wash of cooked cornflour (cornstarch)  on the loaves while they are still hot.  I never know what makes these breads so orangey in colour, is it the caraway seeds?  I wonder who would know the answer… This bread is a sort of compromise between a light rye and a serious rye. It’s not my favourite, but it is still a good bread.

Crumb shot

Other Mellow Bakers who have made this bread so far are:

Steve at Burntloafer

Ulrike at Ostwestwind

Lutz with a very lovely scoring pattern here

There’s a version of this recipe here if it’s a recipe you are looking for.

Scone week

Here is my contribution to Scone week; buttermilk and cape raisin scones.  Heidiannie has made lavender welsh scones, and Celia has made lemonade and cream scones.

These have two claims to fame, one they are made with home cultured buttermilk and, two they are made with 00 Italian flour. Actually they have three claims to fame, they are light and utterly lovely and I was really proud of myself as I usually make rubbish scones. However Brian ate, let me whisper it … five of these in one go… then he didn’t want supper, what a surprise.

There. That’s all. Thank you Rachel Allen, I love your book, Bake. It doesn’t scare me like some cook books do.

I’ve made several things from it now and so far so good.  I just looked and the scone recipe is here on the net. So there is no excuse for anyone not to join in.

Rachel Allen's Buttermilk Scones

A third portion of purple prose – dwarf beans

I could eat these every day/I am eating these every day

This is the only shot I have of the bean dish we have been having night after night the last two weeks. We are coming to the end of them now, they were so pretty when they were in flower and we got loads of them this year. We’ve put some more in the ground and are crossing our green fingers that they will give us a late crop in a couple of months time.

I was given a copy of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday as a present by my lovely friend Mandy, and on my first gallop through it, I came to a halt when I saw this bean dish. Because I am too lazy to go downstairs and drag the book back up here I will give you the general gist of it. Because that is what it is, a general gist of a recipe, more a technique than anything, which you can vary as you please with what you like.

Before cooking they look like this!

Catch your beans, or your carrots, or whatever, cook them lightly with steam so they are cooked but not floppy. If you like garlic, splat and finely chop a clove or two. While the beans are cooking, put a mixture of your favourite seeds and spices in a dry frying pan, throw in some flaked almonds maybe, some pumpkin seeds, coriander, fennel, a pinch of chili, sesame seeds if you are Brian. Get those seeds and little packets out of the cupboard. (Oh yes,  I heard you Michael McIntyre!  Goulash next week….) Heat them up till the almonds start to colour and go brown and the seeds begin to pop a little.

Turn the heat off and then add a Keith Floyd sort of splosh of olive or walnut oil, and the chopped garlic. Give it all a good shuffle in the pan. Don’t turn the heat on again; there will be enough heat in the pan to lightly cook the garlic.  Drain the beans, carrots, whatever veg you are using. Put in a serving bowl,  sprinkle with flaky Maldon sea salt, black pepper, and tip the sizzling,  toasty, and aromatically charged seedy loveliness all over the beans. So good!    Serve with couscous or rice or whatever else is on your table. I suspect that kids won’t eat this with their aversion to bits, but that means all the more for you!   Now I want some more all over again!

Normal bread service will be resumed soon.