This was written before we took up caretaking jobs on the coast. Today we make bread in the breadmaker, but sometimes revert to this recipe using dough that has to be panned in an oven.
Warning: Before you read on, you should be aware that hot bread made this way is highly addictive.
I use small bread pans in a Flavel gas oven.
We have the time, and the raw materials. In the late seventies we had no oven on our first boat and made a rudimentary bread by putting batter into a pan and cooking slowly over the paraffin (kerosine) stove. The product was ok if you ate it immediately. A little too much heat and the bottom would burn like heck.
A bit of experience and the consistency will be right.
Batter bread recipe. This is not a knead bread. No knead to get your hands mucky. It is a stir bread, and is all done in the mixing bowl. This batter bread just involves a bit of beating with a spoon in a bowl for a few minutes, then pouring the result into two pans for cooking, which takes about 40 minutes. The bread comes out as a moist dark bread much like a Vogels loaf.
Ingredients are: 2 mugs of luke warm water, one can be salt if you are at sea. 1 t salt, 1 T milk powder, 2 T oil of choice, 1 t sugar, a handful of ground flax seeds, a handful of sunflower seeds, a handful of bran and any other groovy additive you fancy. A 1/2 cup w/m flour, and enough white flour to make a stiff batter. You can also add a little treacle to give colour (color) and flavour. (Flavor) Sesame seed oil is great too.
You should be just able to pour the batter. It needs coaxing out.
Method. You will build big biceps. Mix to a good consistency until you feel stuffed. Keep mixing past the stage where it becomes stringy. Leave in a warm place. You can rest it half hour and mix again. Let it double in size. Punch down with some more mixing, then pour into two bread pans. Cook until it is brown and sounds hollow when tapped. I use teflon paper on the base of the pans to stop sticking. You have to realise this was cooked in paeleolithic oven (Flavel gas). It’s an old caravan oven that cooked two loaves like this every other day for four boat crew.
Best eaten hot
Devour at lunch with slabs of butter laid on.
Rita and Wendy enjoying hot bread
