I have a small green "Cookery Book" from the Lukas Klinik in Switzerland, dated 1978. The Lukas Klinik is an anthroposophical facility for persons with cancer. I have made a number of recipes from this book, as well as from the Lukas Klinik's 2008 cookbook. However, I don't recall ever trying any of their breads. Caraway is a common ingredient in their recipes, especially in the 1978 book, so I decided to try the caraway bread. Here is the recipe, with the only changes being agave and soy yogurt instead of honey and quark:
100 g cracked wheat (I cracked some wheat in my Vita-Mix)
400 g whole wheat flour
1 t salt
1/2 t caraway seeds
3 dl water
1 T linseed (flax) oil
20 g yeast
1 T agave
1 T well drained soy yogurt
Combine wet ingredients and then add the dry ones. Let rise overnight. Shape, place in a greased loaf pan, allow to rise, and then bake in a low oven for 2 hours.
Now, maybe it was me and the European measurements, but the flour/water ratio seemed off and I wound up adding a fair bit more flour. I was out of flax oil, but found some walnut oil in the fridge, which added a nice effect. If making it again, I would up the amounts of both caraway and salt. The kitchen seemed too warm to leave this out on the counter, so I let it rest overnight in the fridge. Also, I was unsure what a "low oven" might be, and did not have 2 hours. Thus, I baked it for 55 minutes at 350 F. I have noticed long baking times at low temperatures in other anthroposophical/biodynamic cookbooks, and I am interested in experimenting to see if it changes the results.
Now, maybe it was me and the European measurements, but the flour/water ratio seemed off and I wound up adding a fair bit more flour. I was out of flax oil, but found some walnut oil in the fridge, which added a nice effect. If making it again, I would up the amounts of both caraway and salt. The kitchen seemed too warm to leave this out on the counter, so I let it rest overnight in the fridge. Also, I was unsure what a "low oven" might be, and did not have 2 hours. Thus, I baked it for 55 minutes at 350 F. I have noticed long baking times at low temperatures in other anthroposophical/biodynamic cookbooks, and I am interested in experimenting to see if it changes the results.
4 comments:
Oh, this is the bread you were talking about. It would be good with some marmite and peanut butter. Hearty winter food.
there was a story on NPR recently, about cooking meat specifically, where the fellow was specifically discussing the benefit of slow cooking at low heat. It's an interesting idea for bread. I imagine it might help get more rise, since the yeast wouldn't get powerblasted right off the start. Hm! thought provoking!
panda, it is most excellent with marmite and peanut butter. i can confirm from personal experience.
amey, i am most interested to experiment further with long, slow baking, esp if i can find some better directions to get me started.
Caraway bread sounds awesome!
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