Ballymaloe Treacle Loaf
I've adapted this from Myrtle Allen's Irish Treacle Loaf (Ballymalie School of Cooking).
The mix makes two two-pound loaves, so you can easily halve the recipe if you so wish.
It produces a soft, rather dense bread that would be ideal as a base to an open-faced sandwich, or to accompany a cheese board. It's best eaten fresh with lots of butter. However, it will freeze and thaw to be as good as ever.
INGREDIENTS
800 gms of strong wholemeal flour
100 gms strong white flour
50 gms dark treacle (or molasses)
850 gms warm water
12 gms fine sea salt
20 gms of instant active yeast
Optional : seeds (I used sunflower)
METHOD
Slacken the treacle in the water. Add the yeast and stir.
Mix the flours with the salt and then stir in the water/treacle/yeast mixture.
Stir very well. This is a wet and sloppy mix so don't attempt to knead it. Just make sure you've mixed it well.
Divide between two 2lb loaf tins (well greased). You can tidy up the top with wet fingers if you wish, but there's no need to press the mix down.
Sprinkle seeds on the top of the wet mix. Cover with a damp towel and leave until the dough rises just short of the top of the tin.
Preheat the oven to 230⁰C (450⁰F).
Bake for 20 minutes and then drop the heat to 200⁰C (390⁰F) and bake for a further 40 minutes or so until the dough sounds hollow when tapped on the underside.
Cool on a rack
And the crumb?
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