Hello, welcome to newsletter no. 11. Thank you for taking the time to be here again this week, and if it’s your first time here, welcome!
If you’re the kind of soul that loves good commentary, ideas and inspiration concerning the world of baking, including its more esoteric bits and pieces, then you’re in the right place. Here we explore such things with a resourceful approach that aims to champion flavour and wholesome, seasonal ingredients.
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I firmly believe in art and craft as therapy, practices that occupy the mind and the hands in a creative pursuit, serve to unwind, make you forget and allow you to escape the world and yourself for a while.
There’s always been an overlap for me when it comes to art and food, ingredients are a medium for culinary composition and design, and a completed dish or dessert is colour, shape and texture brought together in a way you see fit.
No matter your creative persuasion, Easter (along with Christmas) is a prime time to get playful as the traditions and iconography of the season are celebrated, from chocolate eggs to braided bread, art and food intersect. At its simplest, this can be achieved with some good old-fashioned cut-out and play.
So prepare to rummage in the box of biscuit cutters for this week’s recipe as we make Spiced Rye & Almond Eggs.
Subscribers to the Extra Credit portion of Bake Sense will find a bonus recipe for the Salted Chocolate Caramel I used to fill these. It’s a versatile recipe that makes an excellent filling for cakes and biscuits and comes into its own as a sauce for ice cream sundaes and hot puddings. Plus, it makes an incomparable chocolate spread for fresh bread, toast and pancakes.
Spiced Rye & Almond Linzers
Biscuits hold a special place in my heart and are always one of the first ports of call when attempting to learn more about the flavour and texture of a new wheat variety or its properties when used as 100% wholegrain.
We’ve come a long way since the days of hard-tack Ship’s Biscuits, and the purpose of a biscuit is no longer solely a means of having spoilage-free nourishment on long trips at sea. These original biscuits used coarse, wholegrain meals and flour, and that’s something I think we can take inspiration from when making biscuits and cookies all the more interesting and flavourful.
Here I’ve called on a combination of rye, wholemeal flour, sifted flour and ground almonds for texture and flavour. There’s a rich flavour, and satisfactory snap but also tenderness, the perfect combination. Most importantly, the sugar and salt are in check, meaning the filling can be another opportunity to add flavour and texture as a compliment without the overall result becoming too sweet. Jam, marmalade, fruit curd, caramel, and praline paste are all great candidates.
A couple of notes on the flours used, the rye flour was dark, and the wholemeal was a variety called Ølands which has lots of character and great flavour. ‘Plain’ or ‘all purpose’ flour can be used in place of soft sifted wheat flour, and the ground almonds were unblanched, ground with skins still on.
Ingredients
(Makes 8-10 sandwich biscuits with a 7cm egg cutter)
75g dark rye
75g wholemeal flour
50g sifted wheat flour
100g ground almonds (skin on)
1/2tsp mixed spice
1/4tsp fine sea salt
120g unsalted butter (cool room temp, cubed)
105g caster sugar
1 egg
Jam, curd or caramel to fill
Icing sugar, cocoa powder or dehydrated fruit powder to finish
Method
Combine the flours, ground almonds, mixed spice and sea salt in the bowl of a stand mixer; add the cubed butter and mix with the paddle attachment until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the caster sugar and briefly mix to distribute; add the egg and mix to bring the dough together.
Remove from the bowl and roll out between two sheets of greaseproof paper to 4-5mm thick. Chill the dough until firm.
Once chilled, cut out shapes from the dough with your chosen cutter, ensuring you have an equal number of bases and tops for the sandwiches. Then, transfer the cut-out shapes to the freezer until completely frozen.
To bake, preheat the oven to 170 degrees C and bake for 8 minutes; rotate and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the biscuits have taken on some colour around the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before filling.