NORWEGIAN MOUNTAIN BREAD - PAIN RUSTIQUE NORVÉGIEN

I like to think of myself as an adventurous and daring cook/baker. Of course, there are times when life is chaotic and I just simply don't feel like staying in the kitchen for hours. It is when one feels lazy and tired that certain simple and unpretentious recipes come in handy...

Last Saturday I really had no desire to spend more than 2 hours baking bread. It was a sunny and warm day, and there was no way I was going to stay in the apartment considering the fact that the weather prognoses for Sunday were dreadfully awful.

So, as I am in a very Scandinavian- (music, culture & films) and healthy-oriented period at the moment it is not surprising that my attention was captured by Nigella Lawson's "Norwegian Mountain Bread" recipe while I was surfing on expat Siri's blog ("The Transplanted Baker").

I dare you to find a more uncomplicated and rapid bread recipe! There is absolutely no kneading, rising or shaping involved (the loaf rises in the oven). The only thing you have to do is weigh and mix all the ingredients together, pour the dough into the baking pan, put it in the oven and then keep an eye on the clock and the thermostat knob. Magic, no?

For such an inelaborate and rustic bread the result was remarkable. It was very flavorful, aromatic, pleasantly moist, wonderfully seedy, interestingly dense/compact, slightly sweet and so enjoyable. It somehow reminded me of Valais Rye Bread (Walliser Roggenbrot), German Pumpernickel, Swedish Rägbröd or Danish Ruggbrød, only without the sourness (since it is not made with sourdough).

This excellent "Norwegian Mountain Bread" is perfect when served with cheese, smoked salmon, Gravlax or cured meats such as Pastrami or corned beef. I'm sure you'll be delighted by this bread's unique aroma and texture.

This bread is getting yeastspotted by Susan’s Yeastspotting!

~ Norwegian Mountain Bread ~
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's "How To Be a Domestic Goddess".

Makes one medium-sized loaf.

Ingredients:
1 Cup plus 2 Tbs (250ml) Milk or buttermilk, lukewarm
1 Cup plus 2 Tbs (250ml) Water, lukewarm
2 Cups (255g) Whole-wheat flour
1/2 Cup (64g) Rye flour
2 1/4 Tsp (1/4 oz./7 g) Active dry yeast
1/4 Cup (50g) Rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 Tsp Fine sea salt
1 Tbs Light brown sugar
8 Tbs Blend of any of the following (preferably all)
- Wheat germ
- Sunflower seeds
- Flaxseeds (linseeds)
- Pumpkin seeds
- Wheatbran

Method:
1. Mix the milk, water and yeast together in a measuring jug and let rest for about 10 minutes. Combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, stirring all the while to make a sticky mixture. Then beat for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Butter your loaf pan well, pour the dough into the pan, sprinkle a few extra seeds and oats over the surface of the bread, and place in a cold oven (middle).

4. Turn the on oven to 100° C (225° F). After 30 minutes, turn it up to 175° C (325° F) for one hour (see remarks).
5. When the loaf begins to get nice and brown, take it out of the oven, run a butter knife along the sides of your pan and let rest for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the bread from the pan.
6. Allow the bread to cool thoroughly on a rack in order to prevent the insides from getting gummy.

Remarks:
As I had no wheatbran or wheat germ, I used 3 tbs sunflower seeds, 3 tbs flaxseeds and et 2 tbs pumpkin seeds.
Nigella recommends poking the bread with a cake tester or fine skewer to make sure it's done, ie: the skewer will come out clean. You may wish to return the loaf to the oven for an extra 10-15 minutes if you judge that it hasn't baked enough (that's what I did).

Serving suggestions:
Slice thinly and serve with cheese, dry, cured or cold cooked meat, smoked salmon, Gravlax or smoked herring/mackerel.

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~ Pain Rustique Norvégien ~

Recette adaptée de "How To Be a Domestic Goddess" par Nigella Lawson.

Pour un pain moyen.

Ingrédients:
250ml de Lait ou de babeurre, tiède
250ml d'Eau, tiède
255g de Farine complète
64g de Farine de seigle
2 1/4 CC (7g) de Levure sèche
50g de Flocons d'avoine
1 1/2 CC de Sel de mer fin
1 CS de Sucre brun clair
8 CS d'un mélange des ingrédients suivants (tous)
- Germes de blé
- Graines de tournesol
- Graines de lin
- Graines de courge
- Son de blé

Méthode:
1. Dans un récipient, mélanger ensemble le lait, l'eau et la levure et laisser de côté pendant 10 minutes. Dans un grand bol, mélanger ensemble tous les ingrédients restants.
2. Verser le liquide dans les ingrédients secs tout en mélangeant bien afin d'obtenir une pâte collante, puis la battre pendant 2-3 minutes.
3. Beurrer un moule rectangulaire de taille moyenne et verser la pâte dedans. Saupoudrer avec des flocons d'avoine et des graines et placer dans le four froid (milieu).

4. Régler le four à 100° C. Après 30 minutes, augmenter la température à 175° C et continuer à cuire le pain pendant 1 heure (voir remarques).
5. Quand le pain commence à devenir brun et qu'il a une belle croûte, le sortir du four et le dégager des bords du moule avec un couteau. Puis, après 5 minutes le sortir du moule et le poser sur une grille.
6. Faire refroidir le pain complètement avant de le consommer (afin d'éviter que l'intérieur soit "gommeux").

Remarques:
J'ai utilisé 3 CS de graines de tournesol, 3 CS de graines de lin et 2 CS de graines de courge car je n'avait pas de son de blé ou de germes de blé.
Nigella recommande de tester le pain avec la pointe d'un couteau afin d'être bien sûr que le pain soit cuit (dans ce cas la lame en ressort propre). Il vous faudra alors peut-être remettre le pain dans le fourra pendant 10-15 minutes (si vous jugez que le pain est pas assez cuit - ce que j'ai fait).

Idées de présentation:
Couper en tranches très fines et servir avec du fromage, de la viande séchée, de la charcuterie ou du roastbeef froid, du saumon fumé, du Gravlax ou du maquereau/harreng fumé.