Caraway and fennel bread
the season of emotional noise
Caraway and fennel bread
Lately, I've been writing a lot and talking less on the phone, I've been lost in so many books I got for Christmas.
I was lost in the bliss of my favourite authors, eating rich food, and watching old-school horror movies—proper holiday bliss. I forgot to take photos of the food I cooked, which is a shame on one hand but a huge relief because it means I haven't become "one of those."
January is the season of emotional noise that wakes you up at night and forces you to distinguish between the useless noise of unchangeable things of the past and the inevitable things of the future. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.
Distinguish, sleep and eat healthily, that's January.
So every now and then I lie to myself and my healthy diet, which seems to be a prerogative of this month, and indulge in a carbohydrate drenched in nostalgia.
What's better than starting the year by baking a homemade, artisanal and crispy-crusted loaf?
This month, it's wet and cold, so dough has a hard time rising. It needs help, a little something to activate the yeast.
Less flour, a pinch of sugar and double the amount of dry yeast.
Ingredients
for one loaf:
200g warm water
5g instant yeast
1 pinch of sugar
20g olive oil
260g strong white flour
5g salt
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
Method:
I used a KitchenAid mixer.
Add water, yeast and sugar in the mixer bowl and whisk well. You should see a light froth on the top,it means the yeast is activated.
Add all the other ingredients and using the hook attachment let it mix on a medium speed for at least 10 minutes.
Use a spatula to get the ingredients in the bottom halfway.
Put a dish on top of the mixer and let it rest inside the oven for at least 2 hours.
Mix it well with a spatula for a couple of minutes, top to bottom to incorporate air.
Transfer it to a 22cmx12cm loaf tin well oiled.
Cover it with cling film and let it rest for an hour or two.
Cook it at 220 for 20 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown on the top.
Leave it to rest for 10 minutes and then take it out the tin and leave it rest on a cooling rack. It will keep for 3/5 days in a bread container.
#bread
#breadrecipe #january