BLACK PUDDING BREAD
Blood pudding ( also called black pudding ) is an ancient food, it is believed to have been created around the time of Homer in Greece. I'm not sure if this is true or not, just something that i read, but it definitely goes way back and I'm sure a lot of countries try to lay claim to it, just like the hamburger and many other food items. Blood pudding is actually a sausage not a pudding, it is made of course with blood, also a blend of other ingredients like oatmeal, onions, fat and spices. I've eaten blood pudding in Ireland, England and Scotland, mostly in Scotland, as that's where my ancestry is and my wife's even more, as many of her relatives are still living in Scotland. I enjoy most of the blood puddings that I've tried, but my favorite is Stornoway Black Pudding, which is considered to be one of the best. It's made in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in The Outer Hebrides. The blood pudding that i buy made in America by Irish and Scottish butchers doesn't taste anything like what you get in Scotland. I keep buying it from different sources, but I'm never happy with the quality. I recently purchased another pound and ate a small piece and put the rest in the freezer and it sat there for the longest time and my wife was on me to either eat it or throw it away. Then i remembered jotting down a recipe a few years ago from an old lady that was in a butcher shop buying some black pudding, that i struck up a conversation with about black puddings. She told me about a black pudding bread that she makes with left overs. She gave me the ingredients in metric, which i converted and either i didn't write them down exactly or she didn't quite remember them correctly. But in any case when i made it, the dough was too loose almost like a batter, so i added more flour, but i wasn't able to accurately measure the additional, so my recipe may not be exact, until i can do another batch and have all the extra flour measured and sitting there ready to use and record. When i made this i didn't know if it was going to be any good or if i would end up with a lot of bird food. When they came out of the oven, i let them cool and as soon as i could i cut a piece and just added a little butter and was delighted that it was delicious. I offered a piece to the business man next to my store and i was sure he would say no way, but to my surprise he not only tried it, but he liked it. Now I'm taking it home tonight, as i baked this here at work. I'm fortunate to have a kitchen here, as it's hard to make bread at home, because of the length of time needed. I usually do part of it at home, then transport everything to work and let it rise here and bake it here. Now the real test will see if my wife likes it, she usually doesn't care for black pudding, scrapple or things along that line. She'll taste them, but that's about it.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. bread flour ( i was told 1 lb., but it was closer 1 1/2, I'll have a more exact amount
on the next batch )
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. instant yeast ( King Arthur Flour )
4 Tbs. Crisco
2 cups water
7 oz. blood pudding
honey - about 4 Tbs. - 2 for each loaf
sesame seeds - 2 Tbs. - 1 for each loaf
In a medium size mixing bowl, add the flour, salt. yeast and the Crisco. Use 2 knives and cut the Crisco into the flour. Now add the water and use a spoon to start stirring the water into the flour mixture. At a certain point forget the spoon and spray your hands with a little oil and start working the dough by hand to incorporate everything. Kneed the dough for about 5 to seven minutes. Now take a larger mixing bowl and spray it with a little oil and transfer the dough ball. Take a piece of handy wrap and spray it and lay over the bowl, sprayed side down. Set the bowl in a warm area and let it rise until doubled in size about 1 1/2 hours. Then take a cookie sheet and spray with a little oil and dump the dough onto it and press it down and stretch it out. Next add the crumbled blood pudding across the dough and start folding it up and kneading it to work the blood pudding into the dough. Now put it back into the dough bowl and cover it again and let it rise for another hour. After that spray two round cake pans with spray oil and set aside. Next divide the dough in half and work each ball to smooth it out and put into the cake pans, again cover with the oiled handy wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes. After that put the pans into a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes ( keeping in mind that all ovens are different. I have a 10 minutes difference between my oven at home and at work. ) . After the baking time pull the pans out and pour the honey on the top of the loaf and spread it out with a brush, then sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Repeat this with the other loaf and put them back into the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and set them on racks to cool. I served with just a little butter. But they would also be good with a fried egg, to make a breakfast sandwich.
Blood pudding ( also called black pudding ) is an ancient food, it is believed to have been created around the time of Homer in Greece. I'm not sure if this is true or not, just something that i read, but it definitely goes way back and I'm sure a lot of countries try to lay claim to it, just like the hamburger and many other food items. Blood pudding is actually a sausage not a pudding, it is made of course with blood, also a blend of other ingredients like oatmeal, onions, fat and spices. I've eaten blood pudding in Ireland, England and Scotland, mostly in Scotland, as that's where my ancestry is and my wife's even more, as many of her relatives are still living in Scotland. I enjoy most of the blood puddings that I've tried, but my favorite is Stornoway Black Pudding, which is considered to be one of the best. It's made in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in The Outer Hebrides. The blood pudding that i buy made in America by Irish and Scottish butchers doesn't taste anything like what you get in Scotland. I keep buying it from different sources, but I'm never happy with the quality. I recently purchased another pound and ate a small piece and put the rest in the freezer and it sat there for the longest time and my wife was on me to either eat it or throw it away. Then i remembered jotting down a recipe a few years ago from an old lady that was in a butcher shop buying some black pudding, that i struck up a conversation with about black puddings. She told me about a black pudding bread that she makes with left overs. She gave me the ingredients in metric, which i converted and either i didn't write them down exactly or she didn't quite remember them correctly. But in any case when i made it, the dough was too loose almost like a batter, so i added more flour, but i wasn't able to accurately measure the additional, so my recipe may not be exact, until i can do another batch and have all the extra flour measured and sitting there ready to use and record. When i made this i didn't know if it was going to be any good or if i would end up with a lot of bird food. When they came out of the oven, i let them cool and as soon as i could i cut a piece and just added a little butter and was delighted that it was delicious. I offered a piece to the business man next to my store and i was sure he would say no way, but to my surprise he not only tried it, but he liked it. Now I'm taking it home tonight, as i baked this here at work. I'm fortunate to have a kitchen here, as it's hard to make bread at home, because of the length of time needed. I usually do part of it at home, then transport everything to work and let it rise here and bake it here. Now the real test will see if my wife likes it, she usually doesn't care for black pudding, scrapple or things along that line. She'll taste them, but that's about it.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. bread flour ( i was told 1 lb., but it was closer 1 1/2, I'll have a more exact amount
on the next batch )
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. instant yeast ( King Arthur Flour )
4 Tbs. Crisco
2 cups water
7 oz. blood pudding
honey - about 4 Tbs. - 2 for each loaf
sesame seeds - 2 Tbs. - 1 for each loaf
In a medium size mixing bowl, add the flour, salt. yeast and the Crisco. Use 2 knives and cut the Crisco into the flour. Now add the water and use a spoon to start stirring the water into the flour mixture. At a certain point forget the spoon and spray your hands with a little oil and start working the dough by hand to incorporate everything. Kneed the dough for about 5 to seven minutes. Now take a larger mixing bowl and spray it with a little oil and transfer the dough ball. Take a piece of handy wrap and spray it and lay over the bowl, sprayed side down. Set the bowl in a warm area and let it rise until doubled in size about 1 1/2 hours. Then take a cookie sheet and spray with a little oil and dump the dough onto it and press it down and stretch it out. Next add the crumbled blood pudding across the dough and start folding it up and kneading it to work the blood pudding into the dough. Now put it back into the dough bowl and cover it again and let it rise for another hour. After that spray two round cake pans with spray oil and set aside. Next divide the dough in half and work each ball to smooth it out and put into the cake pans, again cover with the oiled handy wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes. After that put the pans into a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes ( keeping in mind that all ovens are different. I have a 10 minutes difference between my oven at home and at work. ) . After the baking time pull the pans out and pour the honey on the top of the loaf and spread it out with a brush, then sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Repeat this with the other loaf and put them back into the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and set them on racks to cool. I served with just a little butter. But they would also be good with a fried egg, to make a breakfast sandwich.
