'Books and cakes' should perhaps be renamed 'books and bakes' as we haven't had a cake as such since November, and this month is no different. Richard Mabey's Nature Cure
Mabey describes his experiments with bread-making: "In what began as a feeble hypochondriacal gesture, I began trying to make non-wheat loaves. Some were a disaster. Buckwheat dought, even with yeast, was like mud to knead. Without yeast, it baked to the scent and consistency of an old fungus. I dabbled with millet and maize, with pure oat loaves, and with mixtures of all three. Breads of strange colours and unaccustomed textures materialised. But none had the stoneground chunkiness of wheat-bread. It was when I turned to adding nut flours that things happened. I began with re-constituted chestnuts, then almonds and hazelnuts, ground up in a blender. Then I struck gold with a mixture of ground pecans and wheat flour. Somehow the oil from the nuts had coated the outside of the loaf, and generated a crust like a fragrant biscuit. It is now my speciality bread, made on feast-days."
He gives no recipe for the pecan bread so I made up my own:
200g. pecans, toasted in a dry pan and then ground (in batches) quite finely
100g. white spelt flour
200g. stoneground strong malted blend flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. easy blend yeast
200 ml. warm water
Combine dry ingredients then add water and mix to a smooth dough. Knead for about 5 minutes. Return to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave in warm place to rise (an hour or so). Knock back and leave, again covered with a damp cloth, for 20-30 minutes. Then bake in a very hot oven for 25-30 minutes. Note: the oil in the nuts means there is no need to oil the bowl for the rising or the tray for baking, and no additional oil of any kind is required in the dough itself.
Four of us ate the whole loaf at lunch with soup and cheese.
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