[Sca-cooks] Final Result Walnut Bread

[nickiandme at att.net]

I finished the bread.  It tasted very good.  Appearance could have been improved – but I ran into transportation problems so they were stuffed into a bag and not carried in a loving manner in nice layers in a box/pan.
 
LVIII Marvelous and good walnut bread (taken from Helwyse's site)
If you want to make a bread of walnuts.  Take walnuts and peel and grind them, and take good herbs, a little grated suet, sweet and strong spices and a little sugar.  Put these in a mortar with the walnuts and make a paste.  Then take wheat flour and make a sheet in the way (that one makes) lasagna, large and wide and thin.  Put this (nut) paste within and knead all this together in the same way that one makes bread.  Take the dough, when it has become soft like a cake, and put it to cook in the oven, and when it is cooked pull it out and let it cool. 
 
Final Recipe:
1 cup finely chopped nuts
1 / 2 cup butter
2 tablespoons dried herbs (sage, fennel, chives, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, winter/summer savories)
1 tablespoon spice mix (ground ginger, grains of paradise, cubeb, nutmeg, cinnamon, mace)
1 / 2 cup muscovo sugar (black sugar – strong molasses flavor)
 
3 cups flour
1 cup warm water (or less if flour is less dry)
1 teaspoon of yeast
1 / 2 teaspoon salt
 
Proof yeast, add to flour with warm water, salt.  Knead as you would bread.  Then divide and roll out to approx 1/4 inch thickeness.  Place on baking sheet.  Roll out other half and place on another baking sheet.
Mix rest of ingredients into a paste.  Divide into half.  Smear half on each baking sheet – making sure to cover entire surface of dough.  Press in using fingers to slightly knead into the dough.  Allow to rise for approx 2 – 3 hours.  Bake at 350 for 20 – 25 minutes.  Remove from pan immediately or at least run a spatula all around underneat to ensure it is not stuck. Cut with pizza cutter into squares when cool.
 
NOTES:  Use lipped baking sheets. The butter/sugar combo will melt, spread and drip.
I ended up adding the yeast to get a slight rise and reduce the total chewyness factor.  This result was still chewy – but not until your jaw ached.  Flavor was excellent.  Using a white sugar would change the appearance/flavor.  
If doing this again I might consider trying to lay one layer on top of another and then baking it.  So that you would have more of a layered bread – sweet sandwich type of thing.
I would like to try this with kumut or oat flour to play with the flavor/texture differences in the future. And perhaps with semolina flour - as the recipe did state to prepare it like a lasagne noodle.
 
Kateryn de Develyn
Residing in the Barony of Coeur d’Ennui
Kingdom of Calontir