Sunday 7 May 2017

The Bread Bible - Flaxseed Loaf

I spent absolutely aaaages searching on the internet for the pumpernickel flour which you need for this recipe. In the terrible, time-wasting way that the internet seems to inspire, I kept searching long after I had made the decision not to order it from overseas (which seemed to be my only option for true pumpernickel flour, although it's possible I could have sourced a freezer-busting 5 kg bag of dark rye within Australia). In the end I used the ordinary rye flour I had in the freezer from another Bread Bible project. 

The difference between the ryes, I seem to remember from my web travels, is that the rye is toasted or cooked in some way to make the pumpernickel which is what makes it the darkest, densest rye flour. Anyhow, after all the floury hoohaa, my loaf turned out really well and was particularly delicious toasted, as Rose points out in the recipe. It has a really lovely nutty flavour and is satisfyingly robust.


The flaxseed, which I don't remember having seen up close before, is a pretty, glossy brown seed. It wasn't immediately obvious in the recipe but it needs to be cracked before use for this loaf.


How many food processor attachments does it take to crack flaxseed? Hint: it's harder than it looks. The small food processing bowl didn't even make a dent on the flaxseed. The little grinding attachment was more successful.


There's also plain white bread flour and wholemeal flour in this, so this is another loaf which gives you that smug, healthy feeling. This was a very easy and quick loaf to make. I was too lazy to get the loaf tin out of the overstuffed drawer, so I made a boule shape which turned out very well. Another loaf to be (quietly) proud of. 


Next up is the Walnut Fougasse which is apparently a bit like focaccia with walnuts.

2 comments:

  1. Great post! Your bread looks absolutely perfect!

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  2. i agree! and i love that phrase (quietly) proud!!!

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