Decided, on a whim, to make bread. That was until I discovered that there wasn’t any more yeast left! So I went with an Irish soda bread (Okay, inspired by masterchef again) and tweaked the flavours a whole lot. Here’s a combination of sweet and savoury – rosemary infused into the browned butter, or beurre noisette, with it nuttiness and richness. The loaf was brightened with citrus notes from the orange zest and the currants gave it little pockets of sweetness. Finally, a little black pepper and sea salt to round off.
I like that the loaf wasn’t too heavy or fluffy with an almost-perfect slightly chewy texture, thanks to the whole wheat flour. This particular one must be toasted before eating. Lightly golden, crisp just around the edges and oh the difference it makes to the flavour! The combination of rosemary, black pepper, citrus and currants is magical. Now let me rave about the wonders of browned butter – it’s so freakin’ amazing. Sure, it requires some extra effort to make and careful attention to prevent it from becoming all burnt and bitter. But it is soo soo worth it! The depth and nuttiness, makes everything taste better. The loaf was gone so quickly that I had to make a ‘cake version’ the following night to take to school, as promised. Continue reading