Rolled Oats and Apple Bread
Another winner from Dan Lepard's book "The handmade loaf".
The dough was very sticky and wet from soaked oats and grated apples (I used Fuji), but I like wet dough. I used Sir Lancelot high gluten flour because I ran out of bread flour at home (17 different kinds of flour, yet that's the one I ran out), the end result was a beautiful bread with open, moist, and chewy crumb. Intentionally left a few bigger chunks of apple in the dough, which made the apple taste stronger.
The book called for 3/4 tsb of fresh yeast, I used less than 1/2tsb of instant yeast. Even though Dan suggested that the amount of instant yeast should be half of fresh yeast IN WEIGHT, which is equal amount in VOLUME, I found that I only need half of the yeast IN WEIGHT if I use instant, otherwise it fermentate and proof way too fast. Even with barely 1/2 tsb, my proofing time was only 45 minutes, not 1.5 hour suggested in the book. (My kitchen was pretty warm that day though)
I really like the subtle warm/tart/sweet taste of this bread, thanks to the oats and apple, it goes well with jam/butter, great as a sandwich with some ham and veggies too.
Comments
Lovely.
and great presentation too!
Don
to imitate your bread! nice work.
your photos are very bright and clear. what type of camera do you use (and settings!)?
Macro setting. I think it's not so much about the camera, it's the lighting. My husband made me a photo lighting box so there are lights all around.
Photos are lovely, and the bread looks good enough to eat.
Jeremy
This was one of the best breads I've ever made. It's so good you can't stop eating it! I added oat, rye, barley and quinoa flakes instead of just oats, and added a bit more than he suggested. I also proofed the dough overnight in the fridge. I think this tremendously improved the flavor. I used dry yeast, half of the fresh he suggested, and mixed it with the levain, the water and a few T of flour. I let that sit for much longer than he suggested, about an hour. The top is coated with hand-crumbled oats. I baked on a stone, with a cast iron skillet with some water in it. It didn't take as long to bake as he said, but 10 min. less to hit 200 degrees internally.
One more thing about this bread. You can't tell by the photo, but it is very soft and makes a wonderful sandwich bread! Fresh eggs from my Yooper chicks and made a fried egg sandwich just now. Also, the bread stays fresh for several days due to the oats. Yum.....