This is the food we eat when we come in hungry and there is nothing left for lunch. It takes about 3 minutes from opening the door to eating.
Makes six if the diameter is about 20 cm.
Our mutton comes from ewes at the end of a long and comfortable life and so is perhaps the most ethically acceptable of farmed meats. It has the richest flavour of any meat and when enclosed in this nutty pastry made from rye flour makes a delicious and substantial meal.
Sour-dough breads have long been common outside Britain, particularly Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Germany. The process is akin to that of making yoghurt from milk in that the flour is partially “digested” by the sour-dough culture and this is claimed by some to make it easier for us to digest and better for you. Some people who have problems eating conventional yeast breads find this acceptable. We love the distinctive flavour although for some it is an acquired taste. You can use wheat or rye flour, but it does particularly bring out the best qualities of rye, especially if you add a little caraway seed.
The breadmaking machine might be condemned as the lazy way to bake but the current fashion for them is encouraging a lot of people to eat better, healthier and fresher bread. Load the machine in the evening and set the timer instead of your alarm clock. Waking up in the morning to the smell of freshly baked bread has got to be the height of decadence!
The distinctive rich flavour of this bread is similar to the traditional sour-dough common in Germany. It requires a little more time than wheat bread but the result is worth it. The caraway is optional, but when I dared suggest this in conversation with an elderly man whose father’s rye bread had been his staple food as a child growing up in Czechoslovakia he put up his hands in horror as if I had blasphemed and cried “But you must use caraway: you can’t make rye bread without caraway!”.
Soda bread is a traditional Irish wheat loaf, but we like to use rye or barley for ours. These flours don’t rise easily with yeast as wheat does but using a soda bread recipe works well to make a firm and tasty loaf. Soda bread is very quick to make and needs to be eaten fresh.
This is the easiest and quickest bread ever. It was publicised widely during the war by Doris Grant to encourage working women to eat well on rationing. The loaf is dark, moist and delicious.
Biscuits are a great snack to have around the farm, for that hit of quick sugar energy, and slower release carbohydrates and fat. These Welsh Cakes definitely hit the spot in the middle of a tough job, or with a cup of tea afterwards.
Continue reading “Welsh Cakes”
