July 15, 2014 - 10:14am
Nostalgia Breads
Are there breads that you remember that you just can't find anymore? Breads that used to be commonly available but hardly anyone seems to make these days?
My curiosity is two-fold. It's partly a life-long interest in folkways; the things that figure prominently in our memories and experiences. It's also partly about an idea I've been toying with; putting together a series of classes about those breads that wre dear to us but have vanished into the homogenizer of modern culture.
For instance, one of my students mentioned a longing for salt sticks. That's something I've never had but that he had grown up with. I'm sure that there are others in your experience, too. I'd love to hear about them and what makes them special to you.
Paul
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There is a flat bread in Tirol (Austria) called schuettelbrot, with anise, fennel and cumin, which is a childhood love of mine. It is hard and crackling and delicious. It has some rye flour and bread flour, I believe. It's impossible to find in England but every time I go back to Austria I buy some and it just disappears in minutes. I'd definitely love to find a good recipe for it, doubt it's complicated - probably small amounts of yeast (not sourdough). It's a piece of Tiroler sunshine that crackles inside your head as you chew!
Try this:
Südtiroler Schüttelbrot (12)
250 g medium rye flour
250 g bread flour
100 g whole rye flour
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. caraway seeds
2 tbsp. fennel seeds
150 g buttermilk
350 ml water, lukewarm (careful, hold some back since European buttermilk is thinner than US)
30 g fresh yeast or 10 g instant yeast
Knead all ingredients to a very soft dough . Cover and let rest for 1 1/2 hours.
On lightly floured work surface, divide dough into 12 pieces, then pre-shape into rounds. Dust with flour, and roll out to about 15-cm diameter disks.
Place breads on floured baking sheet and prick several times with fork. Cover, and proof for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F. (No steam).
Bake breads about 15 minutes until golden brown. Reduce oven temperature to 50 C/122 F (best with fan), and let Schüttelbrote dry for 1 hour.
I haven't tried baking them, yet, but I remember them well from my travels in the Alps.
Happy baking,
Karin
Thank you so much!!!!!!! Have to make this now!
Thanks Karin!
The desciptions and photos I found are very appetizing. Thanks for the suggestion!
Paul
how it turns out. Do you have some good Tiroler Speck to go with it? :)
Guten Appetit,
Karin
for a while and now it it so expensive to make that it is hard to find at Sprouts or anywhere else if you want to buy it.
Multigrain Hippie Bread from circa 1966 - 1972 too
I can't remember if they were rye or white? I definitely hated rye as a child (rebelling against my German genes) so I would bet they were white or a very light rye. It had pretzel salt on it and crunched deliciously.
Round cinnamon raisin bread. I haven't seen this in ages. It was made in a round mold that had impressions for where to slice. Like this:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17927/crimped-round-bread-tins
I always thought whole grain hippie bread was gross. Now I make it all the time but it has so much more flavor and moistness. I remember it tasting bitter from WW, pastytasting and it always crumbled apart. But then, so did my mom's white sandwich bread. She was a great baker of cakes and cookies (and the lightest biscuits ever) but she could kill you if she threw her bread at you. I had to unlearn EVERYTHING she taught me about breadmaking before I could make good bread. I still haven't quite mastered the biscuits.Hers floated.
Interesting topic.
I had completely forgotten about these treats from my childhood until a customer asked for them. No problem - just coat the bagel in Kosher salt instead of sesame seeds. Now I make around 6 a week for the farmer's market because that's around as many people as will try them. Most people go EEK! By the way they are amazing with unsalted butter.