I was so happy to come across this recipe the other day in the latest issue of Saveur Magazine, not just because it looked like a delicious holiday season treat, but also because it allowed me to put some rarely used pantry items of mine to good use. It turns out that I had everything I needed to make this simple (though not quick) bread, including rye flour and Lyle's Golden Syrup on-hand. The syrup was left-over from making Anzac Biscuits with the boys some months ago, but for the life of me I can't tell you why I had not one, but TWO bags of rye flour in my pantry.
I do sometimes wonder where all this stuff comes from…. a pantry fairy perhaps?
While very quick to pull together, this dense loaf requires EIGHT hours of cooking time at 200℉, so a little advance planning is required when crafting this bread. The slightly sweet and moist bread is delicious toasted with a little salted butter at breakfast, but would also make a lovely addition to a cheese platter. I froze one of the loaves to serve alongside dinner rolls on my Thanksgiving table where I expect it will play nicely with the rest of the feast I have planned.
This heavy, rustic loaf is exactly the kind of thing I could see the Pilgrims baking back in the day, and in fact does remind me a little of a holiday staple in these parts, New England Brown Bread (oohhh…now that is something I need to make soon).
Cheers – Steve
Ingredients
- unsalted butter for greasing the pans
- 3 cups dark rye flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup golden syrup
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200℉. Grease 2 loaf pans with butter. Whisk flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Stir in buttermilk and syrup to form a smooth dough. Pour dough into prepared pans and cover with foil; bake until cooked through, about 8 hours.
- Let cool slightly and un-mold; serve with butter if you like.