Hey, where did this week go? It totally breezed by. And it's already mid-December (well, almost) and my decorations are most decidedly not up yet. Need to fix that - this Sunday is second of Advent, and Advent is a big deal here in Sweden. I *have* baked the required saffron buns though, so I don't feel completely behind.
Today, let's make some bread. This is one of the best recipes I know for walnut bread. It's not difficult, not time consuming, not messy and very tasty. The recipe comes from Gateau, a bakery in Stockholm that some years ago made a cookbook. Virtually impossible to find in stores, but libraries often have copies! Mine did, and that's when I learned about this bread.
Walnut Bread
2 large breads
500 ml water
50 g fresh yeast
800 ml white flour (about 3 cups, plus 3 tbsp)
400 ml fine rye flour (about 1.7 cups)
1 tbsp salt
20 g softened butter
200 ml walnuts (about 2/3 cups)
Heat the water until tepid. Crumble the yeast into the bowl of your mixer (if using) and add the water. Stir until dissolved. Add all other ingredients except for the walnuts, and let the machine work the dough for five minutes. (Or you can work it very vigorously by hand, count on doubling the time.)
Add the walnuts, and knead for a few more minutes. Then leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Punch it down, and let it prove for 30 more minutes. Then tip it out on a floured table, and shape into two loaves. Place them on baking sheets, and leave to rise under a towel for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 250°C. Put the bread in the oven, and lower the heat to 200°C. Bake for a total of 30 minutes.
The recipe in Swedish:
Gateaus Valnötsbröd
8 comments:
I hunted a copy of the book down, the emphasis on hunt ;).
First I scoured all second hand bookshops that I happened to pass by before I came across an online search function for used book shops online. And I found it!!!! Paid basically what a new cookbook goes for but it was in really good shape so I could let go of all my paper copies of the book. In the end, peace and tranquility restored in the land :).
What a relatively easy bread recipe, thank you! Happy Advent!
What a relatively easy bread recipe, thank you! Happy Advent!
What a relatively easy bread recipe, thank you! Happy Advent!
That looks delicious!
Hi Anne,
I love walnut bread. You don't mention the temperature in which the bread is rising. Should the room be warm or cold room is OK?
Also, how to convert fresh yeast measure into the active yeast in a packet that we have available everywhere in the US? Fresh yeast is rarer here and I can't seem to get any here where I am right now.
Thanks.
Julianne
Jessica - good for you! :) I might do the same one day, it's a really nice book!
Julianne - regular warm temperature is what I used, and that worked out well. I'm sorry, but I have never used the active yeast in the US. The dry yeast here is one package per 500 ml (2 cups) of liquid, in general - and that's the same as 50 g of fresh yeast. So check instructions for the active yeast, and you should be fine :)
Very tasty! In fact, so tasty that when I got up this morning, the loaf that we started eating yesterday was gone! It means my boyfriend must have had about 6 slices of bread for breakfast...
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