Nettle and Chive Bread

 

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"Can I have a Urtica and Allium schoenoprasum loaf, please?"

Urtica - the stinging nettle 

Allium schoenoprasum - the chive

Not much of a ring to it, and hardly likely to be a best seller down at the bakery....unless you change the name, of course.  

Nettle and chive are flavours that complement and produce a beautifully fragrant loaf of bread, worthy of any bakery, kitchen, or restaurant table. 

Nettle has been around since time immemorial. We've found clothes woven from nettle fibre dating back to the Bronze Age, and it's used as an ingredient in cooking from as far away as Iran to Cornwall. 

Chives, curiously, are the only species of the Allium to be present in both the Old and the New Worlds and cultivated for culinary and ornamental uses. 

But let's return to using it in our baking...

You can use the dough in a variety of ways:

• As two 1lb loaves - forming the dough into ready for prepared loaf tins.
• As a tear and share - making smaller balls and lining a prepared round cake tin.
• As table bread, moulding the dough into terracotta plant pots, metal ramekins or similar.
• Shaped for a silicone mould,
• As rolls...

In fact, the purpose and design is entirely up to you. It's that versatile. 

Remember to pick the very tips of the nettle plant and ALWAYS wear gloves when handling it....thick gloves to pick and rubber gloves when washing the leaves. 

INGREDIENTS

100 gms fresh nettle leaves (try to pick the tips and tops of the plants to pick the freshest leaves and not too many stalks, if possible)

3 gms of finely chopped chives (about 2 heaped teaspoons)

10 gms unsalted butter

a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

10 gms finely crushed sea salt

500 gms strong white bread flour

270 gms tepid water

A twist of black pepper for seasoning (literally a twist of the pepper mill is enough)

7 gms fast-action yeast

IF YOU CAN'T LOCATE NETTLES, THEN SPINACH WOULD BE A SUITABLE SUBSTITUTE. BLANCH QUICKLY AND CHOP FINELY.  BUT, NETTLES WOULD BE MY FIRST CHOICE. 

METHOD

Make sure you're wearing rubber gloves. Wash the nettles well. 

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the nettles, and blanch for two to three minutes. Remove the nettles and leave to cool. Once the nettles have been blanched, the formic acid will have broken down, and they'll be free of their sting and delicious to eat. 

When cool, finely chop the leaves, season with a little of the salt, a twist of black pepper and the pinch of grated nutmeg and leave to one side. 

Melt the butter and add the chives. Stir to just warm them and then remove from the heat. 

Into a large bowl, add the flour, the blanched, chopped and seasoned nettles, the rest of the salt, the buttered chives and the yeast. 

Slowly add the water and bring everything together until you have a well-hydrated and incorporated mix. 

You may not need the whole of the water. Remember, the nettles will have water in them from the blanching process. Use your judgment and watch the dough carefully as you knead it. 

Knead for ten minutes until you have a soft and silky dough. 

Place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume. 

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and de-gas (knock-back) the dough vigorously to remove all the air. 

Divide and shape according to your prepared containers and intentions for how this bread will be served. 

A reminder:

You can use the dough in a variety of ways:

• As two 1lb loaves - forming the dough into ready for prepared loaf tins.
• As a tear and share - making smaller balls and lining a prepared round cake tin.
• As table bread, moulding the dough into terracotta plant pots, metal ramekins or similar.
• Shaped for a silicone mould,
• As rolls...

In fact, the purpose and design is entirely up to you. It's that versatile. 

Cover and leave to prove in a warm place. The intention is that the dough will double and will spring back when gently prodded with a finger. The time this takes will be dependent on your dough and also your conditions. 

Watch the dough....not the clock! 

Preheat the oven to 200⁰C (390⁰F) and add a tray of boiling water at the bottom to produce steam.

If you want to glaze your bread, now is the time to do it. I'm glazing mine with an eggwash and poppy seeds. 

Bake for 20 - 25 mins (possibly less if you're baking rolls) and then remove the pan and water. Continue to bake until the bread is golden brown and hollow when tapped underneath. 

Happy baking...

And, a final word from the taste testers....there were six gathered for this...

And they sent me a 'next day' shot