Spiced Bread Recipe

This recipe makes a traditional British home kitchen, yeast-based bread with a spicy touch that makes it strangely, and pleasantly different from the ordinary. If you are feeling less adventurous try substituting the spices with Cadbury Cocoa powder to make chocolate bread instead. Better still, make both.

Ingredients

• 3 cups plain or all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons dried baker's yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon mace
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preparation

• Make a yeast starter by dry mixing the yeast and sugar then stirring in 1 cup of moderately hot water.
• Stir well and allow to stand in a warm place until the yeast solution develops a thick frothy head.
• Dry mix the flour salt and spices, then add the activated yeast solution and stir thoroughly. Slowly add enough water to obtain a firm dough.
• Thoroughly knead the dough, working it well to make sure plenty of gluten is released. When the dough is ready it will be quite elastic.
• Cover and stand in a warm place to rise (at least a half hour).
• Knead again then place in a loaf tin and bake at 350F for about a half hour.
• Test the bread by tapping on its base; if you hear a hollow, knocking sound it is ready.
• Turn off the oven and allow the bread to cool slowly in the oven

John's Notes
I broke a couple of bread making rules in this recipe and I got away with it. To begin with, I fed the yeast with sugar to get it working very strongly and quickly. Then I baked the risen dough right after its second kneading without allowing it to rise again. My thinking was that my rapidly frothing yeast was working like gangbusters already and would do its job without proofing the bread a second time. I was right; as you can see from the picture, my bread rose perfectly well in the oven and had a great texture.

I used double the amount of nutmeg called for in this recipe, but I found that was probably a little too much. Nutmeg can act like a mild stimulant if taken in excess.Strangely, I did feel unusually perky after eating a couple of slices of my bread with butter and marmalade for breakfast. Enjoy my recipe ... but not too much please.

How to Choose the Right Baking Flour

British home bakers living in Canada are often disappointed when they attempt to duplicate their recipes from back home using Canadian flour. The most common flour found on supermarket shelves in Canada is the ubiquitous "All Purpose Flour". Many customers have told me that their Yorkshire Puddings just don't work out the same when they use All Purpose Flour. They buy McDougall's Plain Flour from Blighty's Tuck Store and, suddenly, like magic, Sunday dinners are a treat once again.

So, how do you choose the right flour for your home baking project? Vancouver-based British chef Oliver Corby believes successful Yorkshire Puddings are based on technique. How very true, but the right selection of flour will help the average home baker achieve consistently good results.

There are three varieties of flour that will cover most of your baking requirements:

1. Plain Flour
2. Self-Raising Flour
3. Strong Flour

Plain flour is a low/medium gluten wheat flour that is ideal for pastries, puddings and batters. Self-raising flour is a low/medium gluten wheat flour that also contains a raising agent thoroughly mixed in with the flour. Self-raising flour is ideal for cakes, scones and sponges.

Actually, self-raising flour is a bit of a compromise for sponges. A really good sponge cake calls for an exceptionally fine flour. Sponge flour is made from specially selected wheat grains that are finely ground. Sponge flour absorbs moisture more readily and results in a lighter sponge. I have found the best results can be obtained with Green's sponge mixes. If you can't find a good soft white flour to make your sponges from scratch, just give a pack of Green's a try.

Making a really good bread requires a different kind of flour. That's where strong flour comes in handy. Strong flour is a high gluten flour. The word "gluten" suggests "glue" which is appropriate since the word derives from the Latin word for glue. Gluten is a mixture of proteins that binds the flour and gives it elasticity.

All Purpose Flour is essentially a medium gluten plain flour (i.e. it does not a contain a raising agent). All Purpose, or plain flour can be used in cake and other recipes that require "raising" by employing techniques such as whisking to introduce air into the mixture. But, why not let the experts at Green's and McDougalls do the work; just buy the right flour for the job and, with a little bit of practice and experience, your baking will be perfect every time.