First off, let me preface this post by making a number of excuses, of the type that my boyfriend warned me never to engage in when I first started this blog. (Your readers aren’t interested in why you posted late, or not at all- don’t apologise!) See, I felt fine on Sunday night. Just fine- I’d gone to the farmers market, made and bottled some homemade ketchup, re-read the third Harry Potter book for approximately the 8th time in my life, and been over to my sisters for cake.
Unfortunately, Monday morning was another story. My first thought (before even opening my eyes) was my throat hurts. Followed closely by holy crap- this really, really hurts. Of course, I wasn’t about to let a stupid little virus get in the way of my day on Mondays I attend an upholstery course in the mornings, buy groceries for the week, sort out blogging plans for the week ahead, and bake my weekly bread.
Luckily the bread Id planned to make could hardly have required less effort, hailing as it does from Nigella Lawson, patron saint of the lazy domestic (I do hope she wouldn’t be offended by that line). Nigella- her books and food- has always comforted me somewhat, so baking up her Lazy Loaf was perhaps fitting for a day spent under the weather. A dense, oaty bread, this is hardly baking at all: there’s no kneading, no proving and no punching- you don’t even need to preheat the oven.
The bread it makes? It’s chewy, fruity, nutty and ever-so-slightly sweet. Definitely a power-packing, get-up-and-go kind of loaf. Which is of course, just what I need now that I’m (mainly) over my virus, and trying to catch up with regular life again.
Lazy Loaf
adapted from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
- 200g muesli with oats, fruit, nuts and seeds (you could always make your own by mixing these things, but it sort of defeats the purpose)
- 325g whole wheat bread flour
- 2 tsp. instant yeast
- 2 tsp. flaky sea salt (if using regular fine salt, reduce to 1 tsp.)
- 250ml milk (whatever percentage you have around- I used semi-skimmed)
- 250ml warm water
- 2 Tbs. honey
- Mix together the muesli, flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the milk, water and honey. When the honey has dissolved, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the mixture is thick and porridge-like.
- Pour the batter into a 2lb silicone loaf tin, or a greased and floured tin of another material. Place in a cold oven and turn heat up to 110°C/230°F. Leave for 1 hour.
- After an hour, turn the heat up to 180°C/350°F and let the loaf bake for another 45 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.
