New Here
Hi, everyone,
I have been searching for ever for the traditional English recipe for dark malt loaf, being married to an Englighman. Every loaf I have ever tried, and there have been a few, have been a complete disaster. Then I discovered your site. I have not come across any of the suggestions that have been given here, but I'm sure as heck not adversed to giveing them a try!!.
I might even be able to find out why it is that my cakes are always picture perfect but my bread, yeah, we'll get to that later.
Anyway, Very quickly, I live with my husband in a small rural town called Tintinara, (total of 400 residents), about 200km SE of Adelaide in South Australia. I am 54 years old, mother to (wait for it 7 children), (between hubby and myself) and 11 grandchildren.
I enjoy cooking, quilting, embroidery, and meeting people. So that's me in a nut shell.
Thanks for your help so far
Happy cooking.
Country Girl
I am afraid I am not a big help on this one even though I live in the UK. i rather bake Rye breads than anything else. But I am sure some of the people here will be able to help you out.
You have quite a group of helpers there! If you can bake cakes, then at least you've got an oven! A good place to start, the right equipment.
Something will show up if it's worth the paper it's printed on... Meanwhile I suggest starting with the lessons and go from there. Soon you can double or tripple the recipes and make enough bread to last a day or two. Is the malt bread a sweet bread? Describe it. What does it taste like?
Mini
Hey Country Girl,I ran across this one in the archive just the other day. Great timing. With 7 children I can see why you would want to bake your own bread but where you find the time beats me. Recipe below... don't thank me, thank Annie T from back in 2008.
I am your true opposite: Live with my husband, 55, no kids... so I bake for the love of baking, and get a kick out of sharing the goods from the oven with those who don't know how to turn on their oven. I even have a friend or two who don't have cooking kitchens...they warm things in the toaster oven or cook in a pot on a burner.... works for them. I like my double oven and they like what comes out of it! I hope this recipe from Annie T. is what you are looking for., whosinthekitchen> Lisa and the pups
Malt loafMonica, I miss that bread too! Really sticky and sooo good. I found a recipe in a book called Bread, the breads of the world and how to bake them - but judging by the pictures it isn't the same. I have a friend who works in an English store in San Diego and they sell the bread. I'll give the recipe in case you want to try it.
2 oz. malt extract
2 tbspn golden syrup
2oz butter
1 lb bread flour
1 tspn mixed spice
3/4 oz fresh yeast
6 fluid oz. warm milk
6 oz. currants slightly warmed
Glaze
2 tbspn milk, 2 tbspn caster sugar.
Melt butter, malt and syrup, cool completely. Add to rest of ingredients except currants, knead 10 minutes. Proof 1 1/2 - 2 hours until double, knead in currants. Shape into 2 loaves, proof in pans until dough reaches top of pan. Bake at 400* for 35 to 40 minutes. Melt sugar and milk for glaze, brush loaves as soon as they come out of oven. Hope this helps, A.
Welcome country girl from WA
You will find a few Aussies here, and a few of us NEW AUSSIES have had the good fortune to have tasted the English malt loaf. It probably isn't the easiest starting point for mastering bread making skills, i would suggest that a more simple white dough and 50/50 wholemeal and then move into the enriched doughs. Nothing breeds success like success although you do seem to have the breeding down pat (sorry).,
Do you bake most days and are your interests in the sourdoughs or are you into the yeasted breads? love to hear about your breads and the flours available to you.
I quite often use just the black and gold flour of the supermarket shelf but can go to Fremantle and pick up some specialty bulk fours from Kakulas sisters store it's only 10 minutes away, mind you last time it cost me plenty i didn't have change for the parking meter and the 5 minutes i was in the shop for $5.00 of flour cost me $30 parking fine. EXPENSIVE BREAD!
Regards Yozza
Hi Yozza,
Wow talk abou expensive bread!! I usually get my bread flour from Lauke's. It's an old German milling family here in SA and does pretty much every thing from pre-mix's through to your everyday AP's and SR's. and you can usually get a reasonable variety from the supermarket. At reasonable prices. Especially as I buy in bulk. We have to travel nearly 1 1/2 hours to Mt Barker to do most of our shopping, so it's a once a month kind of thing.
So far I have done mostly yeast breads and quickbreads. Now that it is on Tez and I at home I usually bake bread every couple of days. Just about to try sourdough, ( wish me luck) found a really good sourdough starter for total beginners through this site a few days ago so I'm going to give it a try.
The main reason I want, no NEED a good recipe for a true English Malt Loaf is that I have tried several times over the course of our marriage to find just the right one and never have. And like most men mine is getting antsy in his old age. Even his mum says she can't remember how his Grandmother, (dad's mum) uses to do it. His parents immigrated to NZ when Tez was 9 and he came here at 17 didn't get back to the UK until his Gran was very elderly.
So that's where I'm at. Oh by the way ever tried Spelt flour?
Wow,
Ok,
First, Terry and I have both been married before. Our 7 kids are BETWEEN BOTH of us. While we did have quite a house full there for a while we are now blissfully on our own. Except for the cat! Our eldest two are in their mid-30's, sorry about the confusion. But thank you so much for all you help and advice.
I also like to do preserves and jams and that sort of thing which did arise from a time when there were a few more people in the house. Same with my cakes, these I like to give to friends and neighbours who don't or no longer can. Our community is rural so there's always someone who's in need of a little boost and lets face it nothing boostsbetter that the fresh smells coming from home baking.
Thank you all
Hi country girl
My son inlaw's mother lives @ Mt Barker and one of his nephews is an apprentice baker i believe, next time my son in law is going over to SA i can send you some of my sourdough starter that i have had going for 18 months now it works really well, if you would like some.
I intend to have a go at the malt loaf recipe that was posted soon so we will have to see how it goes.
Being of the about the same vintage with grown kids 37 and 35 I really am at a loss to understand why poor TEZ and the rest of us nicely maturing males get the ANSTY label, we just KNOW what we like!
I have tried Spelt and it does give another variety to flavours but i wasn't knocked over by its inclusion into the mix. i do quite like the inclusion of oats often added as left overs from cooking porrige these cold mornings. I love Coopers stout in 50% wholemeal mix especially with along preferment of all the liquid and the wholemeal flour.i have even taken to brewing my own Coopers Stout to use in my bread making
regards Yozza