Soda Bread
Hmm. So I decided that I had a hankering for bread today. And since I can have neither yeast, dairy nor wheat, this ends up being somewhat of an adventure.
I ended up opting for soda bread. This is a fairly dense bread made with plain flour and raised using bicarb of soda and cream of tartar.
I adapted a wheat-inclusive recipe to the following:
225g buckwheat flour
225g brown rice flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 & 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp salt
350ml rice milk
Mix it up, dosh it on a baking sheet, and bake for 35 minutes at 220C.
The observations:
1. This is more dense than the wheat-based variety.
2. It's also drier and crispier. Perhaps baking less time would work.
3. Buckwheat has a VERY strong flavour which is quite nutty
In terms of the taste testing, I've tried it plain (not so nice - texture is a bit too dense, flavour a bit too overwhelming. I've also tried it with just marge on (dairy free), and marge and honey. Both were ok, but nothing special. I've also now tried it with hummus and butter bean pate on. OMG. Both the bean pates completely changed the character and flavour of the bread. The butter bean pate softened it out, and went a long way to concealing the nuttiness of the buckwheat, whilst the lemony scent of the hummus seemed to round off its sharper edges. Both were simply glorious - although alas did nothing to remedy the texture!
I ended up opting for soda bread. This is a fairly dense bread made with plain flour and raised using bicarb of soda and cream of tartar.
I adapted a wheat-inclusive recipe to the following:
225g buckwheat flour
225g brown rice flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 & 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp salt
350ml rice milk
Mix it up, dosh it on a baking sheet, and bake for 35 minutes at 220C.
The observations:
1. This is more dense than the wheat-based variety.
2. It's also drier and crispier. Perhaps baking less time would work.
3. Buckwheat has a VERY strong flavour which is quite nutty
In terms of the taste testing, I've tried it plain (not so nice - texture is a bit too dense, flavour a bit too overwhelming. I've also tried it with just marge on (dairy free), and marge and honey. Both were ok, but nothing special. I've also now tried it with hummus and butter bean pate on. OMG. Both the bean pates completely changed the character and flavour of the bread. The butter bean pate softened it out, and went a long way to concealing the nuttiness of the buckwheat, whilst the lemony scent of the hummus seemed to round off its sharper edges. Both were simply glorious - although alas did nothing to remedy the texture!