Monday’s Baking

Another attempt on the Milk Loaf yesterday. This time I used the white bread flour from our local shop. I could see the dough in the peep hole in no time at all. The loaf almost filled the tin, but as usual, my shaping was not quite right and I have dimples at each end.

It is  tempting to blame the flour for the past failures – I had thought it weak anyway – but unfortunately I changed two variables instead of one, by using fresh yeast. The fresh yeast is the single common factor between loaves 1 and 4, dried yeast for 2 and 3. So Monday’s test is inconclusive.

I also made a couple of fruit loaves yesterday. I read a recipe at the The Little Loaf: Healthier Wholemeal Hot Cross Loaf. That recipe is an adaptation of Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Bun recipe. I have in turn adapted The Little Loaf’s recipe, due mainly to lack of available ingredients.

My loaf featured that very testing (somewhat weak?) organic stoneground unbleached white flour. I lacked the oranges, but I did have dried orange peel. I used apple juice in place of orange juice… but had no apple to grate. I rashly threw in part of a can of crushed pineapple that was hanging around. Oh, and I used Mixed Spice in place of cinnamon because… well because this began as a hot cross bun and that’s what you put in hot cross buns, not cinnamon (delicious as it is.)

It was a busy day and I failed to find time for photographs. The fruit loaves worked and looked appetising and we had a slice, still warm, for our tea. One of the loaves is going spinning with me and we shall likely toast that. I wonder what the ladies will make of my very strange recipe.