Canada: Newfoundland White Bread

 I grew up eating whole wheat bread. My father was rather ahead of his time and had my brothers and I eating whole wheat bread, brewer's yeast powder drinks and wheat germ on our cereal. This was...uncommon and underappreciated by my brothers and I. However, my taste developed with whole wheat bread as the norm and, due to this, I found white bread bland and unappealing.

I still buy only whole wheat sliced bread and whole wheat pasta, but since I started baking, I have developed an appreciation and a taste for white bread. Not the sliced white bread you find in the bread aisle, but in handmade loaves and bakery loaves, There is a delicious variety of white breads out there.

This is why I wanted to try Newfoundland White Bread as my next bread. It is a traditional bread in...you guessed it, Newfoundland. This white bread was a staple in most kitchens and it was hard to find a housewife without her own white bread pan. The pan was long and deep and is not easy to find anymore. Many of the bread pans in this traditional shape that are still around have been passed down from mother to daughter. 

This bread was treasured and saw many a Newfoundlander through lean times and there are many variations of a basic Newfoundland White Bread recipe to be found. Some recipes include added on information for a food item called Toutons. Toutons are the scraps of Newfoundland White Bread dough that are fried and served with jam as a sweet treat. I opted for a recipe I discovered here: https://www.acanadianfoodie.com/2017/07/21/traditional-newfoundland-white-bread/. This recipe also gives information on Toutons, but I am only going to be making the bread.

This is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 5 cups or 635 grams All Purpose Flour
• 1 package or 7 grams traditional active dry yeast 
• 2 teaspoons or 10 grams of fine salt 
• 3 tablespoons or 45 grams sugar
• 3 tablespoons or 55 grams butter, melted (need only 45 grams, use the rest to grease proofing bowl)
• 2 cups or 290 grams milk, lukewarm

Instructions for Making by Hand

1. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of sugar into half cup lukewarm water; sprinkle yeast over surface of water. Let stand for about 15 minutes until yeast foams well, then stir to combine.

2. Combine 3 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt into large bowl; add prepared yeast, melted butter and warm milk. Using wooden spoon, mix for 4 to 5 minutes until mixture is smooth.

3. Slowly incorporate remaining 2 cups flour; mixing gradually until soft dough forms and leaves sides of bowl. You may need to use a little more or a little less flour: add only enough flour to form a dough that releases from sides of bowl and remains slightly tacky but able to be handled with your bare hands.

4. Turn the dough out onto work -surface to knead; knead for 8 minutes, then form into ball and place in large greased bowl.

5. Cover dough; proof in warm place for one hour until double in size.

6. FOR TOUTONS: Slice off portions of dough, shaping them by hand into rustic circles; lay on cloth until ready to fry.

7. Punch dough down; knead a few minutes by hand before resting for another 10 minutes.

8. Grease 2 medium loaf pans; divide dough into 4-6 equal portions. Form each division into a ball, placing 2 or 3 balls of dough in each loaf pan.

9. Cover with clean tea towel; proof until about 2 inches above rim of loaf pan (approx. 2 hours, depending upon room temperature).

10. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes depending on size of pans, or until loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped.

11. Turn loaves onto wire rack to cool; brush tops with melted butter to soften top crust.

The result:

The honey brown crust was gorgeous and it smelled great. The right third has a different look from the rest of loaf. I did have a 9 year old helper today that was responsible for forming one of the balls before it went into the baking tin, so I am thinking that accounts for the difference.

It was very tasty. However, it was underdone. It was cooked for 35 minutes and felt hollow, but was it was not ready. That said, my family kept asking for extra pieces, which I consider a mark of success. A success, albeit an slightly underdone one.

Canada: Bannock Bread

 As I am located in the USA, I thought starting with our northern neighbors made sense. It is also a little sentimental for me. My father was a huge Jack London fan and he read extensively about the indigenous people in Canada. Since one of the breads that kept popping up during my research is a staple in many of the indigenous nations of Canada, I felt it fitting that this bread would be the first bread of my adventure.

It is called Bannock. Although, it goes by many names in Canada.  Inuit call it palauga, Mi’kmaq luskinikn, and Ojibwa ba‘wezhiganag. Bannock bread first made it's way to Canada in the 18th century, by way of Scottish trappers and was quickly adopted by the indigenous people. It remains a staple in parts of Canada, to this day.

There are as many slightly unique recipes for Bannock as there are bakers that bake this type of bread. It is ideal for cooking over a fire and has a long shelf life would contributed to it's popularity amongst the explorers and workers in the Canadian wilderness. On a different practical note, it is dense and carb heavy which provides much needed energy in the wild.

I chose a basic recipe for Bannock. It can be found in the '150th Canadian Celebration Cookbook' by Theresa Buker.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted Butter softened
• 1 cup water

1. In a large bowl and with a wire whisk, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. With a pastry blender, mix the unsalted butter into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs.
3. With a fork, mix the water into the flour, until it becomes a sticky dough.   
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 8 to 10 times
5. Pat out to about ½ inch thick
6. Lightly grease the electric frying pan. Set the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Place the flattened Bannock dough into the frying pan. Cover with the lid. Set the timer for 8 minutes.
8. When the timer goes off, turn the Bannock over. Reset the timer for another 7 minutes.
9. The dough will be thick and golden on both sides.
10. Remove from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with butter.  

Notes: I broke the dough up into smaller pieces and cooked them, 3 at a time, in a ceramic coated saute pan and cooked on an electric range on medium low heat.

The result:

My panel of taste tasters: my husband, my 9 year old daughter, my 6 year old son, and myself. We all liked it. It was salty and kind of heavy, but crumbled nicely. It tasted like a cross between a pancake and biscuit and it is very easy to see it's appeal for helping people to get through a long trek or some cold nights.

 I started cooking in my early 30s. Before then, I assembled more than I actually cooked. Baking was still years away. Cooking was fun and my husband and I enjoyed trying all sorts of new types of food. Cooking is forgiving, it is rarely precise. You can make small errors and often turn out with something even better. 

While I had an appreciation for baked goods, I knew that baking is exact. It is science and even small errors can totally ruin a bake. It wasn't until I started watching a baking competition that my interest was piqued. The Great British Bake Off fascinated me. It covered a range of baked goods I had never seen before and I decided to try some of the recipes used on the show. 

As it turned out, I have a knack for baking and really enjoy the mixing and kneading and shaping and piping. It is fair to say that my children prefer when I bake sweet things and my husband likes everything that I bake. But me, well,  I enjoy baking bread more than anything else. 

Bread is basic and wholesome and ancient. And there is a world of bread to try, all different flavors and textures and native ingredients. So, I have set myself a goal. I want to bake the breads of each country. Or, at the very least, each region, should I not be able to find a specific recipe for a specific country. Wish me luck.