MESSY BAKER

 What I love about rye breads is the huge variety you get from different parts of the world – there are dark spicy loves from Easter Europe that remind me of my childhood, there are wholesome German breads tightly packed with grans, there are crusty French loaves full of flavour and there is the famous Pastrami on Rye sandwiches that you can find in New York. I’ve developed this recipe for a bread class I ran a few years back, taking a bit from all different cultures to create a dark bread, full of flavour and yes with a light crumb that can be eaten as it is or toasted for a crispier finish. New York Rye Bread 150 ml water 150 ml orange juice 1 tsp (10g) molasses 100g rye starter (100% hydration) 150g dark rye flour 220g white bread flour 30g roasted barley malt flour 1 tsp (10g) salt 1 ½ tsp fennel seeds ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander -     -  This is the mix of spices I love, but feel free to adjust the quantities Whole cori...

“Pandoro” is a beautiful golden colour, star-shaped bread dusted with powdered sugar. That gorgeous colour is what lent the bread its name -   “ pan d’oro ” meaning “golden bread”.   While Christmas is all about the cake and the pudding, the run up to Christmas, and New Years for me its all about Pandoro. Looks like I am not the only one that feels that way, as around 117 million breads sell every year in the run up to Christmas !!   You can buy Pandoro in many shops around the world, but nothing beats the one you make yourself … So, lets get on with the recipe - this recipe makes two Pandoro (or is it Pandori?) A couple of notes before you begin : FLOUR : if you can, use an artisan Italian flour – a fine white 00 flour with a very low white content. I use Shipton Mill Italian Flour as it really does make a difference to the texture of the bread. MOULDS : I use 1kg Pandoro bread moulds, you can buy them from many online retails, I got mine from BakeryBits ....