Bread and butter(milk)

Posted on March 3, 2018 by memoirsofahusk

Well, lots of people seemed to read my last post [on online porn] but very few commented  … I suppose it was a bit of shock, after all that nature and beauty and introspection.

Well, it’s a respite post, this time.

And I’m thinking, how about a recipe?

Yes, a recipe.

For bread.

This kind of bread:

The pan is there for a reason – read on down…

I’ve occasionally toyed with bread making, over the years, in a dilettante-ish way.

I first made bread at school in domestic science lessons (those were the days, learning why not just how) with real yeast – awed by the magic that happens when you cream it with a soupçon of sugar. But I have never, ever recaptured that springy, delicious, yeasty, crusty – mmmmmm – bread.

And I like wholemeal, granary – that kind of bread – now.

A few Sundays ago, the prof saw a recipe – tore it out of the Observer (yes, a real paper newspaper). It was for bread made with buttermilk.

Sounded good – in fact, I was eagerly awaiting his first attempt.

But, the man has a demanding day job so… the recipe sat. And sat.

Then, one cold day last week, at lunchtime, I thought – I’ll make that.

A bread with no yeast, that takes just a few minutes – no, really – to weigh and mix. Doesn’t need kneading (ha). For 25 minutes it bakes in a lidded pan in the oven and after ten minutes spent resting it’s ready to be scoffed with anything you choose – or nothing at all.

Delicious bread ready to eat within – let’s say – 45 minutes, max?

It is DELICIOUS and SO EASY!

I had to share it.

I am not a big fan of its creator, Nigel Slater. To me he’s one of those cooks who’s a bit style (writing) over substance (food that actually feeds human beings on a normal basis). But he does have three recipes I love. One of them is this, so without further ado.

No, hang on – a little further ado.

I used pumpkin seeds, not hemp and ground flax not whole golden linseeds.

The tubs of buttermilk from my local supermarket are 300 ml so I topped it up with plain natural yoghurt.

That’s it.

Please, try it. It’s fab! I won’t be buying shop made very often from now on…

And yes, I’ve taken the lazy way out. To spare my still-complaining wrist.

Here you go:

Oh – I do spray a little oil in the pan to make sure the flour adheres… It seems to work, but make sure you have good oven gloves!

Feeling hungry now…

 

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27 Responses to Bread and butter(milk)

  1. Liz says:
    March 3, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    Looks good and simple ! Now I have to go shopping . Road is still treacherous ! Liz

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Judy Barnes says:
    March 3, 2018 at 6:11 pm

    Feeling ravenous actually! I make our bread at home (with the aid of a Kenwood mixer) so will certainly be trying this one Mary. It looks very enticing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Judy Barnes says:
    March 3, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    Well, I’m sorry to mess up the process but I hadn’t finished my commenting…… just to say…. We have the very same tablecloth and it wasn’t from John Lewis! XX

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Fiona Unwin says:
    March 3, 2018 at 6:39 pm

    I am deffo going to have a go at this. Have never made bread, but bro in law is now making all sorts of doughs etc.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Ricardo says:
    March 3, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    My Texas granddad used to drink a daily glass of straight buttermilk. Since he was a teetotaler and a man of the cloth this was probably the stoutest drink he consumed. He would have enjoyed your bread with a big slab of brisket.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Helen Devries says:
    March 3, 2018 at 10:33 pm

    I read your earlier post while traveling.. hopeless at replying via this tablet, I but it struck me rigid.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Ardys says:
    March 4, 2018 at 5:42 am

    Isn’t that just a big scone? Not being demeaning… it’s just that my mum used to make what Americans call biscuits (scones) with buttermilk. Yes, it would be delicious, and much easier than sourdough or yeasted dough. Enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • memoirsofahusk says:
      March 4, 2018 at 12:31 pm

      Excuse me!!! A big scone??? (I was tempted to say, ‘exsqueeze me? baking soda?’ as in Wayne’s World which struck me as apt, but thought better of it)
      Yes, I know what you mean, I’ve tried ‘biscuits’ and ‘grits’ and ‘gravy’. But the texture is somewhat different and it slices quite thinly and doesn’t fall apart. I am going to try varying the seeds – and I think you could also add cheese – at least to the top, like cheese scone – but I am trying hard to end a lifelong addiction to those slabs of tasty fat!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  8. Debi @ An Evolving Life says:
    March 5, 2018 at 10:19 am

    Nice soda bread. Nigel Slater is a gem.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. daleleelife101.blog says:
    March 6, 2018 at 1:54 am

    I admire your versatility… freedom fighter with one hand, domestic goddess the other. I have a number of go-to breads courtesy of having more time and less shops. This recipe has the added benefits of being much quicker in execution and with the substitution of whey for buttermilk (which I regularly create as a ricotta & labneh by-product) using up a leftover. Plus, when I use someone’s recipe in my kitchen, I feel like a little piece of them comes with it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. John Kemp says:
    March 25, 2018 at 11:13 am

    Dunno about all those seeds. Jamais entendu parler here in Olivet. Do the different seeds make a difference to the taste? As for buttermilk, what’s that? And the French are supposed to be the great cuisiniers! Here, though the big supermarkets do make some effort at variation, the only really interesting breads are to be found in local bakeries, some of which (not the bakeries) are actually loaf-shaped, brown and contain tiny black seeds. What could they be?

    Liked by 1 person

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    • memoirsofahusk says:
      March 25, 2018 at 5:38 pm

      The seeds are all oily seeds so add to the moisture I think – soda bread is often quite dry I find. Buttermilk is ..erm. Not milk, not butter! It;s quite low in fat and slightly sharp. I used to drink it for lunch when I worked at Philips in the Netherlands. (Random piece of useless info!). Black seeds – could be poppy seeds or if it is slightly oniony/nutty could be Nigella/black onion seeds.
      Nice to hear from you John, I hope you are well.

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