I love making bread. It is part of my weekly routine as I know that everybody at home will enjoy it. I have tried so many recipes of bread with different flours but Chestnut bread is my favourite. I love the sweetness and the nutty taste that the chestnut flour gives to the bread.
I would like to be honest here, chestnut flour is not a cheap product but it is worth purchasing if you want to give a twist to your morning breakfast or when you eat some cheese. Also it can be use in so different ways such as cakes, sauce blanche or crepes. But I like to keep it simple.
The recipe below requires the use of a bread maker for the first part of the recipe and a slow cook pot such as Le Creuset to cook the bread.
You will need:
360ml of water
450gr white bread flour
150gr chestnut flour
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 quick dried yeast
1 good tbsp of acacia honey
1 tsp of coarse salt
In your bread maker pan pour the water and place it on a scale to measure your white flour and then your chestnut flour.
In one corner of your bread maker pan pour the quick dried yeast, on an other corner pour the salt and an other one the honey. They must not touch each other. Then pour the olive oil in the middle.
Place the pan in your bread maker and use a programme just to knead and rise only your bread. It should be roughly 1h30.
Meanwhile place your Le creuset pot in the oven and turn it on at 220C.
Once the programme of your bread maker is finished, remove the doug
h from the pan and place it on a well floured worktop to make a round shape. Do not work the dough too much though to keep the air in the dough.
Once your oven is hot, take out your Le creuset pot, flour it a bit and place the dough inside. With a scissor make a cross in the middle of the dough. Then cover the pot and place it back in the oven for 33 – 35 mn.
Then here it is a fantastic bread full a flavour with a nice crust. You can keep it over a week well wrap in a kitchen towel.
With some fresh goat cheese and a bit of honey it’s wonderful!!
