Rice bread

All sorts of things can be added to plain flour to vary the taste and texture of bread.  In the 19th century, white flour was expensive, and other things were added to extend the flour and make more loaves.  Some of the less reputable additions include ground human bones, chalk, brick dust etc but I think we'll consign those to the past.  Rice was commonly added to bread, as well as potatoes, pumpkins etc.  Now flour is cheap, and rice is expensive, but it still makes great bread and the concept of additions to the flour is worth exploring.

Rice bread is soft, not crusty, and it retains its moisture and freshness longer than plain bread.  Food writers of the early 20th century recommended using rice bread for chicken sandwiches, and I agree, it makes very nice springy, spongy sandwiches with roast chicken. It is also great for toast, and I think makes the best toast of any bread I've ever made.  If you can imagine toast that tastes like crumpets you'll get the idea.  Having complained repeatedly about supermarket bread, it's ironic that this loaf looks and feels exactly like that when it is sliced, I suppose because the rice makes it lighter and softer.  I can assure you though, it tastes much better.

Ingredients

85g white rice - doesn't matter what type of rice
1.5 cups water

You will need 2 separate amounts of water, the first (above) is to cook the rice.  The second is for the dough itself.  Put the dry rice in a measuring cup and note its volume.  You need 3 times the volume of the rice for the dough.

500g strong white flour
10g dried yeast
10g salt
water 3 times the volume of the dry rice

Method


First cook the rice, via the absorption method.  Bring the rice to the boil with the 1.5 cups water, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 25 minutes.  It is ready when the water has gone and there are little holes on the surface from where the bubbles are.  If it's still not ready check every 5 minutes until it is done.  Let the rice cool until it is warm to the touch, but not hot.

Dissolve the salt in the other water (the 3 times the rice volume amount).  It should be lukewarm.  Mix the warm rice with the flour, crumbling it gently and lightly with your fingers until it is all mixed in.  Add the yeast and the water, and knead for a couple of minutes only.  It's meant to be soft but not wet, so if it seems too sticky add some more flour - but not too much.  It doesn't require a lot of kneading, just enough to be well mixed.  Place it in an oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for about an hour, or a bit longer, until it has doubled in size.  Knock it down and shape into a loaf, and place into a greased baking tin, of 1.5 - 2 litre capacity.

Pre-heat oven to 230 C and cover the loaf, placing it somewhere warm.  Leave for about 45 minutes or until it has doubled again.  Place it on the oven:

230 C for 15 minutes
200 C for 15 minutes
Tip it out of the tin and onto its side, and leave for another 15-20 mins at 200 C

Keep an eye on it while it is in the oven, because it can burn.  If it's looking too dark, cover it with some aluminium foil at the first temperature change.

Again, this recipe is from Elizabeth David, which I have tweaked a bit, who in turn developed hers from Eliza Acton, a 19th century cookery author.  Most of the recipes we use, from any source, owe much to previous cooks and writers, so very little is new.  It's very important to acknowledge our sources though, even though I have noticed some modern TV cooks blatantly plagiarise their counterparts of yesteryear and give them no credit.

If you want to make some delicious chicken sandwiches, try mixing chopped roast chicken, a small amount of cream enough to bind the chicken together, toasted almond flakes or slivers, chopped flat leaf parsley, salt, pepper and a little paprika.