Chestnut flour bread

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Remember my chestnut flour?

At the time, I made some bread but the resultant loaves were a bit dense so I refrained from writing a post.  I did promise, though, when I made another batch, if it was better, I would write a post.  Well, I made another batch and it was equally dense but I have decided to write a post anyway. Continue reading

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The Elusive Endeavour …

It’s all the Doc’s fault.  (Maus says I always have to blame someone and this time it’s the Doc’s turn.)  Not that long ago, he put up a post entitled ‘Ciabatta, the Magic Bread’. That was the start of me trying to make a good-looking sourdough ciabatta.  I have posted on my five previous attempts. Continue reading

Italian Country Bread Mark II

Remember the Italian country bread I made a week or so ago? The recipe was from Daniel Leader’s Local Breads .  If not, here is the link (Italian Country Bread).  I made it, again, the other day.  I often do that as sometimes it takes a couple of tries until you are happy with the final product and, in any event, I wanted to see the difference a few changes to my technique would make.  The bread was much more elegant the second try, but both tasted great. Continue reading

Italian Country Bread

This recipe is from Local Breads by Daniel Leader.  It is one of my favourite bread books.  The book details his travels through Europe discovering different types of artisan and local breads.  He recounts his experiences and, thereby, puts each loaf in context.  If you are a collector of cookbooks, like me, you will have more than your fair share of recipes, so a cookbook needs to be more than just recipes to grab my interest and Local Breads is that.  I highly recommend it.

Daniel Leader advises that this bread is famous in Italy and is made in Genzano.  It is a big, rustic, charred-looking loaf with a thick crust and an open elastic crumb. Continue reading