Arise, Sir Soda Bread!

So it’s been a while. Rather than trying a massive recap post of boredom I’ll gradually add stories and tales of the last n months as and when.

So instead, I present my latest endeavor, early stages. I am obsessed with baking bread at the moment, thanks to the Silver Fox of baking, Paul Hollywood. However, I am also on a diet. Bread is not conducive to diet. This is the early stages of the endeavour, when I just bake bread and tally up calories, to gain an appreciation of what I’m eating when I eat half a 500g loaf in one sitting.

First loaf in my repertoire was a bloomer from Paul’s bread show (BBC website) cooked for Easter Sunday family meal. Kitchen is too cold to raise things (and yeast went out of date in August 2012 but we know I’m stubborn so move on) so when it failed to rise brilliantly I knocked it back, added another sachet of yeast and put in it front of the halogen heater, which caused it to rise (perhaps too fast but can’t argue). Result was a reasonable if every so slightly dense loaf. Pictures are elsewhere, but just envisage a bloomer and you’re about accurate.

Second loaf:

Focaccia (from River Cottage Bread)

500g strong white bread flour – 1800kcal
1tbsp olive oil in dough – 124kcal
liberal splashings of olive oil for kneading – say another 2tbsp – 248kcal
7g yeast
10g table salt
240ml water
for garnish – olive oil (stopped counting at this point), rosemary leaves and flakey salt
Total – 2172kcal (217kcal a serving?)

I didn’t count the servings, but if you cut this into 10 bits that’s 217kcal a bit. We probably did cut it into about 14 bits, but didn’t always stop at one bit…

Lessons learnt – I used extra virgin olive oil. Don’t use extra virgin, use normal. Cooked extra virgin has an ever so slight bitter taste to it. Otherwise, easy recipe, recommended.

And now my latest/current attempt, in the oven as we speak. I call this:

Kai-doesn’t-have-any-buttermilk-but-is-too-lazy-to-go-buy-some-and-too-stubborn-to-bake-something-else Soda Bread (debatably from Paul Hollywood How To Bake but with modifications)

500g plain flour – 1800kcal
1tsp bicarb
1tsp salt
200g fat free fromage frais – 100kcal
~200ml skimmed milk – 70kcal
splash of vinegar (i.e. when you suddenly remember after forming a dough that you need more acid because milk isn’t very acidic)
Total – 1970kcal (serving info to follow once we start eating it)
848g – 232kcal per 100g. Taste-wise, needs a bit more salt?

FYI 400ml Sainsbury’s buttermilk is 236kcal, versus this combo of 170kcal.

Cross fingers and hope it rises (photo at 5 minutes baking).

Arise, Sir Soda Bread! 30 mins as per recipe and sounding hollow = done, but leaving it in now to brown a bit.

Well, can’t say it didn’t rise! I appear to have made a giant scone…