I love baking this bread at this time of year as it’s lovely & nutty, wholesome & there is always a drop of wine knocking about the kitchen to use up! It gives the bread an extra special taste, almost like sourdough, with the acidity of adding some wine & gives a moist texture & colour. The ESSE gives it a crusty crust & cooks it’s to perfection!
For the Ironheart you will need to get it in the ‘very hot’ thermodial setting (250-280°C). It would take approximately 1 & 1/2 hours for the Ironheart to reach ‘very hot’ temperature from cold but while you wait for it to go hot then that is the time to prove the bread so you are not hanging around, you are making the bread. It would take at least 3 refuelling, depends on the wood of course.
You can use all wholemeal or white bread flour but just make sure it measures 250g in total.
Ingredients
- 150g strong wholemeal flour
- 100g very strong white bread flour
- 15g fresh yeast or 1 teaspoon fast-action dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon runny honey
- 75ml red wine, warmed
- 75ml water, warmed
- 1 tablespoon walnut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 100g roasted finely chopped walnuts
Method
- Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water and red wine. Add the oil and mix well.
- Stir in the liquid into the flour and mix with a table knife until it forms a supple dough. You may need to add a little extra splash of red wine or water, as different flours absorb different amounts of water.
- Knead a little until smooth and elastic. Put the dough back into the bowl.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and put next to the Ironheart until roughly doubled in size.
- Lightly oil a baking sheet. Knead briefly and then shape into a large sausage shape and place on the tin.
- Prove until doubled in bulk, lightly dust flour over the dough and make rapid criss-cross cuts with a very sharp knife. Bake on the base of the hot oven for about 35 – 40 minutes. Then leave to cool on a rack, if you can wait until then!
Recipe designed by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen, Arlington.
Philippa is a professional cook and cookery writer and delights visitors with her creative and wholesome food. She shares her passion for locally grown and sourced quality ingredients. Philippa runs several themed ESSE cookery courses and demonstrations every year in her delightful country kitchen.
