Bread & Butter by Richard Snapes

Author:Richard Snapes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Published: 2018-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

Horse Bread

Horse bread dates back to medieval Europe and, as the name suggests, was originally used to feed livestock. Until times of famine, that is, when the less fortunate would resort to eating this extremely bran-heavy bread themselves. The original recipe was just bran, water and enough flour to form a dough, promptly baked into a dense flat brick that would have been virtually inedible.

When intended for human consumption, the dough would be left to sour for up to 48 hours, to leaven and add flavour to the bread. I gave this a shot and I have to say, it left me feeling sorry for those who had no choice but to eat it. It might just be the densest, most filling bread ever to have passed my lips. When the only other option is starvation, I suppose flavour would be the last thing you’d consider – but, as I’m not a medieval peasant, I thought I’d modify the recipe, taking out a lot of the bran, and adding salt and a tiny bit of leaven.

The resulting bread is the heartiest of hearty loaves, one that screams for an intensely mature cheddar to be slapped on a slice (which is exactly what I did). RS

Makes 2–4 loaves

Equipment

(see the detailed equipment section)

Option 1

baking stone and a roasting tin

Option 2

proving basket (or a large bowl lined with a tea towel) and a Dutch oven combo cooker or a heavy cast-iron pot

Ingredients

500g (1lb 2oz) strong white flour

500g (1lb 2oz) water (from the cold tap)

100g (3½oz) wheat or rye bran

20g (¾oz) sourdough starter

10g (½oz) sea salt

rice flour or fine semolina, for dusting

Mix all the ingredients together by hand. Leave to rest for 10–14 hours at cool room temperature (18–21°C/64–70°F) until nearly doubled in size.

Turn out the loaf onto a floured work surface. At this stage you can do one of two things:

Option 1

Put a baking stone on the middle shelf of your oven and a roasting tin on the bottom shelf, then preheat to 250°C (480°F) or as high as your oven will go. Divide the loaf into 2–4 rough rectangles without knocking the air out.

Use your metal dough scraper to transfer these smaller loaves onto a wooden peel or a baking sheet and slide them directly onto the hot baking stone in the oven.

Being very careful not to splash yourself, fill the roasting tin on the bottom shelf with 250g (9oz) of just-boiled water. This will generate steam, which will help the loaf to rise and give it a nice shiny crust. Bake for 25–35 minutes.

Option 2

Divide the dough in half. Take each half and gently bring the edges into the middle, applying enough pressure to seal the loaf. Place, seam-side down, in a proving basket dusted with rice flour or semolina and leave in warm place to prove for 30–90 minutes until almost doubled in size.

Put a Dutch oven or heavy cast-iron pot on the middle shelf of your oven, then preheat to 250°C (480°F), or as high as your oven will go.

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