Buttermilk high-top loaf
Buttermilk high-top loaf
makes 2 loaves
The culinary timeline of white Australia is relatively short. In terms of bread, it is only very recently that the general population started to enjoy the delights of other cultures.
I think it was 1990 before I had focaccia for the first time. Those were heady days, when everything was new to me.
As a country kid of the ’70s, I would be sent to Nino’s deli down the road for fresh bread. There were three choices: tank loaf, square loaf and high-top. Same bread, different shapes. This recipe trades on that memory and, with the addition of buttermilk, perhaps improves it.
1.2 litres (41 fl oz) buttermilk
1 kg (2 lb 3 oz/62⁄3 cups) bread flour
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) plain (all-purpose/31⁄3 cups) flour
15 g (1⁄2 oz) fresh yeast
15 g (1⁄2 oz) Murray River pink salt
Pour the buttermilk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Sift the flours together into a bowl. Rub the yeast into the flour then add the mixture to the buttermilk. Mix on slow speed until a rough dough forms. Add the salt and mix on medium speed for 15 minutes.
Place a clean cloth over the bowl and leave in a warm spot for 11⁄2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. If it’s a cold day, warm the oven (or use the proving function if it has one) to 50°C (120°F), turn it off and put the bowl inside.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
You will need two 23 × 13 × 7 cm (9 × 5 × 23⁄4 in) loaf (bar) tins.
Place two balls seam side down, into each tin. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to prove in a warm place for another 11⁄2 hours or until the dough reaches the tops of the tins.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Add a small tray of water or use the steam/bake function of your oven
Bake the loaves for 15 minutes until the top is golden. Reduce the heat to 170°C (340°F) and bake for a further 25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 90°C (194°F). Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Adapted from a recipe by Mark Best ‘Best Kitchen Basics’ Published by Hardie Grant