Short and Tweet 6: Wholemeal Loaf from Dan Lepard’s Short and Sweet
This week’s #shortandtweet challenge from Dan Lepard’s Short & Sweet encouraged us to make the Wholemeal Loaf on pg 31 (some participants baked something else but we’re nothing if not diverse). For both beginner and experienced bakers, I strongly recommend reading through the comments on the following posts because there is a mass of useful information in them concerning substitutions, nutritional virtues and other matters.
SongthrushonCam of Emily Drinking Tea produced an enviable crumb shot for her Wholemeal Bread which is her preferred variant of Dan Lepard’s recipe.
For no good reason, whenever I see photographs by Misky on Misk Cooks they always remind me of how much I like stylised japanese presentations of food. Despite Misky’s lack of affection for wholemeal bread she sportingly baked the Wholemeal Loaf which was served accompanied by (new to me) Gamle Ole - a cheese that is so strong she says “it squeaks and waddles across the worktop when you turn your back on it”.
Louise McLaren of Please Do Not Feed the Animals! opted for a dual narrative in her helpful write up of her baking experience - we not only have a discussion of her delight in finding a non-dense wholemeal loaf but some candid information as to the health benefits of wholegrains and the shortcomings of a diet that lacks fibre: Wholemeal Loaf. I chose the delightful sandwich shot because the bread and salad gave me pangs of longing when I saw it.
Jo of Zeb Bakes baked variations of the wholemeal recipe - 50/50 blend of wholemeal and white in one of the loaves and of 50/50 kamut and white in the other: Dan Lepard’s Wholemeal Loaf.There’s also a helpful mention of the merits of Spraymalt as a substitute for the sugar in bread recipes for people whose palates readily pick up the additional sugar.
Tony Inga of Pane Artigiano may, inadvertently, have presented some home bakers with an inherently more attractive way of persuading reluctant family members to sample wholemeal bread by titling his account: Pane Integrale. It was delightful to read: “[the bread] passed the “I’m not sure about this” test with my kids with flying colours!” and the seal of approval gladdened his baker’s heart sufficiently to embolden him to move straight on and attempt the Spelt and Ale loaf on pg 32.
BakeCakeCrumbs of Cake, Crumbs and Cooking baked a successful Wholemeal Loaf - Short and Tweet with the interesting substitution of orange juice for the vitamin C (enquiring minds would like to know if this came through in the taste or just added a note of sweetness).
My Best Beloved decided to bake this bread which possibly accounts for why half of the loaf disappeared within 4 hours of it being baked. If you can see steam in this photograph, I can only report that some people were unable to let it cool for more than 5 minutes before cutting it. NB, the dough skin split while proving although there were no obvious handling or mixing issues: it was Sainsbury’s Strong Wholemeal Flour.
Updated: We have a late wholemeal entry to add from Chuchibum who has baked her first loaf so I’m delighted that it was for this challenge (good series of photographs show the proving loaf). There has been an enthusiastic report from her husband that hints this may have been a substantial hit: “Freshly baked brown bread straight out of the oven topped with butter, davistow cheddar and onion chutney. @chuchibum is a foodporn goddess!”.
A mis-reading of the schedule meant that Paul (Keeper9) attempted the sausage rolls. Apparently the extra chilli made these a tad spicy but Paul was delighted with his pastry and reported the rolls to be delectable.
I look forward to this week’s challenge for 11 December: Rye apple cake pg 136 . If you blog about your experience with this recipe, please post links in the comments or tweet pictures or links to @foodcraftspace or @evidencematters using the hashtag #shortandtweet - Thank you. It’s the same procedure if you don’t blog but just post a photograph of your work. Please send the links by 8pm 11 December.
Schedule for the #shortandtweet December challenge.
Outline for #shortandtweet challenge and its conditions.
Thank you to everyone for taking part. I look forward to seeing the Rye apple cakes.
