Herb bread

The following is a simple bread recipe, which tastes delicious and goes very well with soups such as mushroom or leek. I suggest making a smaller loaf than usual – ‘1 lb’ – because you will probably eat most of it at one sitting. If you’ve never made bread before, please read the recipe for Basic Bread, before making this one. If you don’t have an oven, follow the directions for The Perfect Ovenless Loaf.

You can use fresh garlic, if you prefer, but the flavour of the dried seems to permeate the bread more effectively than does fresh.

2 cups wholewheat flour 

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten 

½ tsp salt 

1 tsp instant dried yeast 

2 tbsp olive oil 

½ tsp sugar/honey 

1 cup lukewarm water 

1 tsp dried, minced garlic 

1 tbsp Annie’s Mixed Herbs

  

• Put half the flour (and the vwg) into a large bowl. Add the salt, dried yeast, (sweetener) and olive oil. Stir in the water. Mix them together into a smooth batter. 
• Add the garlic and herbs. 
• Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll it into a sausage and put this into a well-greased (or oiled) ‘1 lb’ loaf tin. Flatten it down and cover it. 
• Leave the bread to rise until it’s about 25 mm (1 inch) above the sides of the tin. 
• When your loaf is ready to cook, light the oven and cook it at a Moderate heat for about 30 minutes.
  

To enjoy this loaf’s flavour at its best, eat it warm. 

Variations:

• Use seawater instead of fresh water and salt. 
• If you have an oven, you can also use this dough to make up to 8 individual rolls.

Olive Bread

This is a full-flavoured bread, good with soups and salads. The following recipe makes a ‘1 lb’ loaf.

If you’ve never made bread before, please read the recipe for Basic Bread, before making this one. If you don’t have an oven, follow the directions for The Perfect Ovenless Loaf.

2 cups wholewheat flour 

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten 

½ tsp salt 

1 tsp instant dried yeast 

2 tbsp well-flavoured olive oil 

½ tsp honey/sugar 

1 cup lukewarm water 

12 black olives, stoned and quartered 

 

• Put half the flour (and the vwg) into a large bowl. Add the salt, dried yeast, (sweetener) and olive oil. Stir in the water. Mix them together into a smooth batter. 
• Throw in the olives, pour in the oil and mix well. 
• Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll it into a sausage and put this into a well-greased (or oiled) ‘1 lb’ loaf tin. Flatten it down and cover it. 
• Leave the bread to rise until it’s about 25 mm (1 inch) above the sides of the tin. 
• When your loaf is ready to cook, light the oven and cook it at a Moderate heat for about 30 minutes.
  

To enjoy this loaf’s flavour at its best, eat it warm. 

Variations:

•  Use seawater instead of fresh water and salt. 
• If you have an oven, you can also use this dough to make up to 8 individual rolls. 
• Use green olives, stuffed olives or a mixture. This can result in a particularly attractive loaf. 
• Serve with olive oil instead of butter.

 

Sun-dried tomato bread

The following makes attractive-looking bread that is wonderful with Italian-style soups, or salad. I suggest making a smaller loaf than usual – ‘1 lb’ – because you will probably eat most of it at one sitting.

If you’ve never made bread before, please read the recipe for Basic Bread, before making this one. If you don’t have an oven, follow the directions for The Perfect Ovenless Loaf.

2 cups wholewheat flour 

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten 

½ tsp salt 

1 tsp instant dried yeast 

½ tsp honey/sugar 

1 cup lukewarm water 

8 sun-dried tomatoes in (olive) oil

• Put half the flour (and the vwg) into a large bowl. Add the salt, dried yeast (sweetener) and olive oil. Stir in the water. Mix them together into a smooth batter. 
• Using scissors, cut the sun-dried tomatoes into quarters, over the bowl so that the oil drips over the dough. Mix in the pieces of tomato. 
• Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll it into a sausage and put this into a well-greased (or oiled) ‘1 lb’ loaf tin. Flatten it down and cover it. 
• Leave the bread to rise until it’s about 25 mm (1 inch) above the sides of the tin. 
• When your loaf is ready to cook, light the oven and cook it at a Moderate heat for about 30 minutes. To enjoy this loaf’s flavour at its best, eat it warm. 

Variations:

• Use seawater instead of fresh water and salt. 
• If you have an oven, you can also use this dough to make up to 8 individual rolls. 
• Add 1 tsp basil with the salt, for a change. 
• If you have any pesto on board, combine this with the dough.
  

'Zebedee' bread

Zebedee Bread

This is the bread to make if you’ve forgotten all about it and want bread in a hurry. I call it Zebedee bread, because my friend, Alan, always makes it for his guests. It’s chewy and delicious, especially made with wholewheat flour and is absolutely foolproof so long as you have fresh baking powder and let the frying pan get hot enough. The amounts sound a bit fussy, but 1 cup of flour really doesn’t make quite enough bread for two.

1⅓ cup flour 

¼ tsp salt 

1 rounded tsp baking powder 

⅔ cup water 

 

• Light the cooker and put a heavy frying pan over the flame. 
• Put the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and mix them. 
• Add the water and mix until a soft dough is formed. 
  
• Knead this for a few moments on a floured board, adding more flour if necessary, so that the dough is no longer sticky and is easily handled. 
• Form into four flat rectangles. Either roll these out to about 1 cm (½ in) or flatten them out with your hands. 
• Cook them 2 at a time over a fairly high heat, in the frying pan, turning occasionally. 
• Serve warm.

Chapati/Roti

 

Chapati and roti are much the same thing, and have a variety of spellings and names, but they consist of a disc of soft, unleavened, wheaten bread. In the areas of India where rice doesn’t grow and wheat flourishes, chapati are the traditional accompaniment to curries. I once read a delightful story about an elephant who was fed several of these every day. They were the size of cart wheels and when his keeper brought them to him, at the start of the day’s work, the elephant would weigh each one in his trunk before eating it. Any considered under weight would be thrown to one side and the elephant would refuse to work until they were replaced with some of the correct size.

This recipe makes about half a dozen rather smaller ones: 180mm/7in chapati, that will roll out to fit in your frying pan. I have found that the addition of the vital wheat gluten seems to make it easier to keep the soft. Overcooked and they become brittle.

Chapati can also be used as ‘wraps’ round any sort of sandwich filling and although on the small side, will provide a suitable case for roti, that delectable Trinidadian dish. Put hot curry in the centre of the chapatti and fold it into a parcel so that it can be eaten out of the hand. I will warn you that they tend to be messy and you might prefer to use a plate!  However, you probably need an extra large frying pan to make these, something rarely available on a boat.

½ cup flour 

2 tsp vital wheat gluten 

good pinch salt 

1 tsp (olive) oil 

¼ warm cup water

 

• Combine the flours and salt in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon oil, and the water. Grease your hands, and knead to make fairly smooth and not too sticky dough. Add more water (1 teaspoon at a time) during the process if the dough seems dry or starts to come together as stiff dough. Brush the dough lightly with oil, cover, and let it rest for 15 minutes. 
• Grease your hands, knead the dough for a few seconds, and then divide into 6 equal parts. Roll them into smooth balls. Keep the balls covered while you roll out and cook each flatbread. 
• Take one ball, flatten it, and dip into your flour container, coating it fully. (The more fastidious can set aside some flour for this purpose. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a thin, 180mm/7in flatbread. Dust the dough with flour as you roll, to help prevent it from sticking. 
• Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it’s hot, place the flatbread on the pan. Cook for about 20 seconds, until a few small bubbles start to appear. Flip it over and cook for another 20 or 30 seconds, until more bubbles appear and some become larger. Now, you can puff the flatbread on the frying pan or on the flame. 
• To puff the chapati on the pan: turn it and using a flat spatula, lightly press the flatbread on and around the puffed spots so the air can move around and the flatbread puffs up evenly, which takes about 10 to 20 seconds. Remove the bread from the skillet and set aside. 
• To puff the flatbread directly on the flame (preferable with an alcohol stove): use tongs to place the flatbread on the open flame (medium high or high heat). Move it every 1 to 2 seconds so it puffs up like a balloon. Turn it once. Traditionally you would brush the chapati with some melted coconut oil or melted vegan butter (if you have such a thing!) 

Note

I find it best to stack the chapati on a plate and cover them with another, to keep them moist; underway, wrap them in a tea towel.

Annie's Mixed Herbs

I once bought a container of ‘Italian mixed herbs’ and for ages tried to puzzle out what was so special about it. At last, it came to me – there was a lot of fennel in the mixture. I found I much preferred the flavour to normal mixed herbs and when the container was finished, experimented with a number of combinations, until I came up with the following. I think there is a satisfying balance here between the sweet, the pungent and the robust, with the fennel adding that certain je ne sais quoi to the whole deal.You could, if you preferred, use ground fennel, but I always have fennel seed on board for my curries and if you happen to bite one, they add a delicious burst of flavour.

Incidentally, don’t even think of using ‘ground garlic’ in this – it tends to gum everything together.  If you don't have dried, minced garlic, then leave it out.   

The following recipe makes about ¼ of a cup.

1 tsp dried basil 

1.5 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp dried, minced garlic 

1 tsp dried mint 

1 tsp dried oregano 

1.5 tsp dried rosemary 

1.5 tsp dried sage

1 tsp dried thyme 

1/2 tsp ground cinammon 

1 tsp chilli flakes

 Mix everything together in a bowl and then put into an airtight jar.