Oats and honey

One of the nicest loaves I made for Christmas was a 100% kamut loaf. I really like that flour - it has a light texture and a lovely sweet nutty taste. But it is relatively expensive. So what happens if you use it as part of the mix? Another thing I've been wanting to do is use oats in the mix. So here's the possibly over-complicated list of ingredients:


140 g kamut flour (ie the amount left in the bag)
230 g very strong white flour
50 g oats
4 g salt

300 g water
3 tsp honey
1 tsp dried yeast

I mixed all this up using traditional kneading, and let it rise near a radiator for 5 hours (which, for me, is almost instant). Knocked back and formed into a bloomer, which I proved for 45 minutes. Slashed and sprinkled with more oats then into a 240C oven for 15 mins then 220C for 25 more. I used a tip from Lorraine Pascale and put ice cubes in the tray below the shelf, to give more lasting steam. It's also quite a bit safer than splashing water around!

Here's the result. It's got the typical kamut colour, but I think the most striking thing about the bread is that it's a bit too sweet. Less, or no, honey would have been better. There's also a bit of a split along the sides near the base, which might mean it didn't prove long enough. But the texture seems fine and I enjoyed eating those first two slices. Will probably match strong cheese pretty well, or something saltier, like taramasalata or tapenade. I'll try tomorrow.