Welcome to the first installment of Making a Meal of It.

This time, Grandpa and I are making his wheat and rye bread (recipe below). It’s a recipe Pat has developed himself and produces a dense, brown-coloured bread, but one that’s not too heavy.

We also chat about Pat’s initial attempts at cooking and his memories of meeting his wife Mary.

Some of the sound quality is a bit shaky – bear with me, as I’m still learning the best ways to record and edit.

Any thoughts or comments on the recipe or the recording, let us know in the comments or Tweet Rebecca at @RebeccaKCooney

Recipe

This is recipe from a basic bread recipe which Pat has tested, refined and improved over the years.

Pat says:

“This recipe has got everything – it’s got taste and it’s got texture”

Pat’s Wheat and Rye Bread:

Ingredients 

• 50 grams course bran,
• 625 grams of wheat and rye bread flour mix or 400 grams rye flour and 225 grams white bread flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 grams dried yeast
• 1 dessert spoon molasses (you can also use treacle or golden syrup)
• 450 mls warm water
• 30 grams sunflower oil

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C.

Mix all the dry ingredients and the sunflower oil together in the food mixer for two minutes.

Meanwhile, dissolve the treacle in the warm water.

Add the water to the mixer and mix for a further five minutes, with a dough hook.

Grease the tins – either two 1lb loaf tins or one 2lb loaf tin.

Divide dough as required, shape it into a rounded log, place in the tin and pat in.

Cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove, until the dough has doubled in size (about 45 mins).

Place loaves in the oven and bake. If you’re doing one loaf, bake for 35 minutes, if you’re doing two, bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and wrap in a damp tea towel to cool – this will keep the crust soft.

Enjoy!

Pat’s marks for this recipe: 10/10

PS. This is the spread Pat recommends in the recording. You can get it from Lidl.