Friday16th November - Day 1
Yesterday I bought this beautifully made sourdough loaf from my friends, the baker revolutionaries at the Handmade Bakery Slaithwaite. Over the next few days I am going to include it in as many meals and dishes as I can. The loaf weighs 815g, cost £2.85 and is made from organic stone-ground wheat and wholewheat flours, organic rye leaven, water and salt. It is called Yorkshire leaven because the flour used to make the loaf has all been grown in Yorkshire. Leaven is the term used to describe a type of sourdough containing yeasts and bacteria naturally present in the flour and air. The loaf took about 16 hours to make and it looks like a work of art - a sculpture perhaps. The baker who made and holds this loaf is Simon Turner. Simon also plays the cello with the Hallé orchestra.
One reason for this mini investigation is to illustrate how useful artisan bread is in making all sorts of meals. Many claim a loaf of artisan bread costing £2.85 is expensive compared to a 800g mass produced sliced loaf costing about £1.20. In once sense it is but in another it may not be. I have a sneaky feeling the artisan bread is more versatile than sliced white and much less likely to be wasted.
Yorkshire Leaven begins life rather differently than a mass produced loaf. It is made with a rye leaven which is a mixture of rye flour and water which has been left to ferment. Fermentation happens because there are yeasts present in both the flour and the air which when the conditions are right start to convert the carbohydrate in flour to carbon dioxide - the gas which causes bread to rise - and alcohol. To make a loaf of bread, this rye starter is mixed with flour, water and salt to make dough. The dough is left in a warm environment to allow further fermentation which causes it to rise into a loaf which is then baked. If enough time is allowed for fermentation to occur naturally there is no need for artificial flour improvers, fats or preservatives. A loaf of bread made with just three ingredients flour, salt, water is a very simple, pure food. Also when dough is left to ferment naturally the slightly acidic conditions, combined with the alcohols produced begin to breakdown gliadin which may cause gut sensitivities in some people. This kind of bread remains fresh for longer - usually about a week - because of its slightly lower pH.
It is about lunchtime and my handsome loaf is beckoning me. My first meal made from two slices of lightly toasted Yorkshire leaven (65g) is going to be simple. I have a ripe avocado, some fresh garlic and parsley from the garden and lemon juice. I quickly mash these together and season with sea salt, pepper and a little flaked chilli. After a light toasting the bread has a wonderful crunch and great flavour. Gorgeous - I have got 750g of Yorkshire Leaven left to use but I am afraid I won't be eating any tonight because one of my friends is coming to stay and she wrote a post script to her last e-mail saying 'by the way I am not eating wheat any more so no bread or pasta' . Oh dear....perhaps I can persuade her to reconsider.
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| Friday lunch - avocado, chilli, lime juice and coriander |
Saturday 17th November - Day 2
I am really pleased to report my friend did reconsider eating bread. She explained she has a sensitive gut and she thinks that wheat might be the root cause. But she also mentioned that chick peas, lentils and several other foods upset her. I explained (with my nutrition hat on) that many people have a sensitive gut which is upset by food per se rather than individual 'villain' foods. If patients see food groups as villains they end up excluding virtually all food from their diet with no really good reason for doing so. They can then cause more problems by doing this and become weak and malnourished. Many people with sensitive guts are able to tolerate sour dough bread because the slow fermentation denatures the gluten in the flour. I made some cheese on toast and she tried some toasted Yorkshire leaven smeared with butter and my home made marmalade. This left 590g of bread remaining. |
| Saturday lunch - organic butter, grated cheese, red onion, tomato and a scatter of parsley |
Sunday 18th November - Day 3
I apologise in advance for the photograph below because it was taken when it was dark and this dish of cauliflower toasted with anchovy croutons does not look at its best. But the anchovy croutons were scrumptious. Just empty a tin of anchovies and their oil into a mortar and grind together with a large clove of garlic and some pepper corns. Toss cubes of bread (90g) in the anchovy paste and then spread over the base of a cast iron frying pan. Bake in the oven at 200C for 15 minutes or until crunchy and golden brown. Mix with steamed or griddled cauliflower florets. Scatter with chopped parsley and a little chopped red chilli. Pure umami! |
| Sunday supper - anchovy croutons with cauliflower, chilli and parsley |
Monday 19th November - Day 4
Bruschetta - one of my favourite uses of bread which is past its first flush of youth. By this stage I had made may way to the centre of the loaf and each slice weighed a mighty 80g. I now have 500g of bread remaining. |
| Monday lunch - bruschetta with garlic and rocket from the garden |
Tuesday 20th November - Day 5
Smoked salmon and beetroot always taste really good with wholewheat and rye bread. Another thick slice - 420g remaining. |
| Tuesday - lunch. Hot smoked salmon, beetroot and horseradish |
Wednesday 21st November - Day 6
The bread is still quite fresh and worthy of toast but today is the day for making Christmas pudding which calls for 30g wholewheat bread crumbs. Several years ago I went on a Christmas baking course at Bettys Cookery School in Harrogate and learned to make my pudding Bettys way. Its a fabulous pudding recipe and I always cook it in my original Grimwade slow cooker - below. 390g bread remaining.
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| Wednesday - incredibly useful bread crumbs and croutons |
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| Bread crumbs for Christmas pudding 2012 |
Almost four slices of bread remain and I can confess to eating two of them as warm, crisp, buttered toast. The remains of the loaf were made into breadcrumbs and are now stored in the freezer to use another day. I
could have made some great hearty puddings with my bread such as queen of pudding, bread pudding or even a seasonal winter pudding - made with winter rather than summer fruit. But that is for another time.
Real, slow fermented bread is a joy in the kitchen. My large loaf made 10 good slices of bread. A generous base for at least one meal a day for almost a week. I always think of my food budget as a 'food purse'. It is a finite resource that has to be spent efficiently on enjoyable nourishing food. Money spent on a decent loaf of bread is money well spent on more than food. It is money well spent on the staff of life.
