Umma's Olive Bread

Olive Loaf

Thoughts:

This is another easy bread recipe, and in fact, perhaps the easiest yet on the blog, as it takes no kneading.

That’s right, no kneading.

The resulting olive bread is very soft and airy, and the density of the olives is such that it’s difficult to find a single bite without a bit of olive in it. The classic combination of olives and savory herbs works well in this bread, the rosemary complementing the olives nicely.

A wonderful way of enjoying the bread is dipped in a mixture of olive oil and your favorite combination of salt, black pepper, herbs, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, and anything else you like.

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Honeycakes

Elizabethan Honeycakes

“She still remembered the innkeep, a fat woman named Masha Heddle who chewed sourleaf night and day and seemed to have an endless supply of smiles and sweet cakes for the children. The sweet cakes had been soaked with honey, rich and heavy on the tongue…” -A Game of Thrones

Modern Honey-ginger cakes

Our Thoughts:

We had initially intended to make two versions of this dessert, but after some trouble tracking down a suitable old one, and after tasting the modern version, we couldn’t wait to share.

While the Elizabethan version is very light, fluffy, and ohsotasty, it is more of a bun than a cake. As such, it didn’t respond well to my initial attempts to soak it in honey. It would accept a honey glaze once it had cooled down, but still lacked that really over the top sweet honey kick. So I went a step further, and filled them with honey. YES.

The modern cakes are also wonderful. They make these dense, doughy little cakes bursting with honey flavor and the subtlest of spices. We finished ours with lavender icing, and can’t imagine a better pairing. We thought they couldn’t get any better until we tried soaking a few in about 1/4″ of honey overnight. Result? Sheer decadence. The honey hits the tongue, the lavender hits the palate, and the whole thing is amazing. Our batch lasted about 5 whole minutes…

If anyone has a solid recipe for an older honeycake, we’d love to see it. In the meantime, we’ll be in the kitchen, eating these cakes until we run out, or can’t fit through the door.

Elizabethan Honeycake Recipe

Elizabethan Almond Cakes- Take one peck of flower, one pound of sugar, one pound of almons, beaten & strained with as much ale as will stiffen your paste, put theirto three spoonfulls of barme, & a few annisseds, then woork it well together, then make it in little cakes, prick them thick for rising & bake them. Elinor Fettiplace’s Receipt Book, 1604

Makes about 12 buns

Prep: 10 minutes Rising: 1.5 hour, minimum Baking: 15 minutes

Our changes: No aniseseeds, don’t like ’em. You are more than welcome to include them if you do, however. We basically used the original recipe, but added honey to the batter, as well as soaking the cakes in honey for a while.

Ingredients:

up to 3 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. sugar
3 Tbs. ground almonds
1 packet yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp.
1/2 pint ale (1 bottle)
pinch of salt
honey for soaking, probably around 1/2 cup at least

Dissolve the yeast in the warmed ale, and leave to froth up. Grind the almonds and sugar in a food processor, then combine with the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a small well in the mixture, and pour in the yeasty ale. Adding the flour a bit at a time, work everything all together until it is a nice smooth, pliable consistency leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size. After it has risen, knock it down and knead it for a few minutes before shaping it into around 10 small buns.

Allow the buns to rise again for at least 15 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven for 10-20 minutes at 375 degrees F. The buns should be just slightly golden.

Using a small paring knife, cut a small hole (about 1/2″) in the tops of the buns, poking well down into the cake, but taking care to not poke all the way through. Take a small spoon and carefully fill each hole with honey. You may need to do this several times as the honey soaks into the cake. Put in at least 1 Tbs. honey per cake.

Modern Honeycake Recipe

Makes: never enough

Prep: 15 minutes Bake: ~30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk

Sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg and beat thoroughly, followed by the honey. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in alternating turns, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour into paper lined cupcake tins, or a greased muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until the cakes are a golden brown.

Martha Stewart’s lavender icing recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/340910/lavender-icing

Bread and Salt

“…[Once] a maiden girl could walk the kingsroad in her name-day gown and still go unmolested, and travelers could find fire, bread, and salt at many an inn and holdfast.”

Thoughts:

Bread and Salt are a staple of Westerosi culture and courtesy. They are the physical manifestation of the guest-right tradition, whereby anyone who receives such in a castle, inn, or home cannot be harmed while under that roof.

My version is loosely based on a traditional Russian bread. The salt is poured directly into the hollow of the bread, and each guest may tear off a piece of bread and dip it into the salt. The bread is like Easter bread (bring it to family gatherings!) in flavor and texture, but the taste with the salt is reminiscent of soft pretzels.

The inspiration credit for this goes to reader and commenter Random.

NB: Any spoilers related to this post will be deleted.

Bread and Salt Recipe

makes 2 large loaves

Ingredients

5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoon salt
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 1/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
4 eggs, 2 left whole for baking into the dough
1 egg, beaten, for glaze

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast; stir well. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then add the milk. Remove from heat before it becomes hotter than warm; if too hot, it will kill the yeast.

Gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture while stirring. Add two eggs and 1/2 cup more flour and beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Lightly grease a large bowl, put the dough in, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each of the pieces into long rolls about 1 1/2 inches thick. Using the three long pieces of dough, form a loose braid. Divide this braid in half, then form each half into a round, sealing the ends together and tucking them under.

Cover your two whole eggs with butter or oil, then slip them carefully into the middle of each loaf. They should be tucked in about halfway. These whole raw eggs bake in the oven right along with the bread.

Place loaves on a greased baking sheet and cover loosely with a damp towel. Place loaf in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush risen loaves with beaten eggs, and bake in for 45 to 55 minutes, or until dark golden.

Once the loaves have cooled somewhat, you can pull the egg out of the middle and fill the remaining divot with 1-2 Tbs. salt. The whole eggs will be somewhere between soft and hard boiled, and delicious with the freshly baked bread!

Oatbread w/bits of date, apple, and orange

“Tyrion listened with half an ear as he sampled sweetcorn fritters and hot oatbread baked with bits of date, apple, and orange, and gnawed on the ribs of a wild boar.” -A Storm of Swords
Oatbread

Our Thoughts:

This is a really fantastic bread. Each bite has a different combination of fruity filling, but the entire loaf is soft and delicious, with the oats providing a subtle heartiness. A bite with a bit of candied orange peel is so utterly sweet and wonderful that it will keep you coming back for more and more. A bit of fresh butter or honey pairs extremely well, and try it alongside a glass of iced milk.

Get the recipe in the Official Cookbook!

Simple Dornish fare

When the sun set the air grew cool and the children went inside in search of supper, still the prince remained beneath his orange trees, looking out over the still pools and the sea beyond. A serving man brought him a bowl of purple olives with flatbread, cheese, and chickpea paste. He ate a bit of it, and drank a cup of the sweet, heavy strongwine that he loved. -A Feast for Crows

Simple Dornish Fare

Thoughts:

Mmmm…hummus. It’s really tough to go wrong with simple, basic, quality ingredients, and this spread is no exception. While you can certainly substitute pre-made pita or naan, nothing quite beats fresh flatbread, warm and straight from the oven. It’s so good that I have twice eaten it all before being able to photograph it.

Add to that some nice olives, a bit of tangy feta cheese, and a glass of strongwine, and this is a simple, easy, light meal perfect for the heat of Dorne, or the heat of summer.

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Buns with raisins, dried apple, and pine nuts

Elizabethan buns

“‘Eat,’ Jon told him. ‘There’s no knowing when you’ll have another chance.’ He took two buns himself. The nuts were pine nuts, and besides the raisins there were bits of dried apple.” -A Storm of Swords

Modern Buns

Our Thoughts:

The Elizabethan buns look cute, if a little strange, but they taste very good. The sherry gives them an innate sweetness that is only increased if you have a bite with a raisin in it. I was fairly unimpressed when I first tried them, but found that the more I ate, the fonder I became of these little buns. And if you imagine yourself to be on the Wall, facing down dangerous threats and overwhelming odds, they’re even better.

Check out this entry in The Cookbook for another historical recipe, as well as a delicious modern version!

Get the Recipe!

Crusty, fresh-baked Bread

“The Great Hall of Winterfell was hazy with smoke and heavy with the smell of roasted meat and fresh-baked bread.”

-A Game of Thrones

Thoughts:

This was one of my first attempts at making country-style fresh bread, and have to say that it was a smashing success. The crusts are crusty, the insides soft and gobbleable. This is the ideal bread accompaniment to soups, stews, or a large pot of honey.

Get the recipe!

Oatcakes

“When they woke the next morning, the fire had gone out and the Liddle was gone, but he’d left a sausage for them, and a dozen oatcakes folded up neatly in a green and white cloth. Some of the cakes had pinenuts baked in them and some had blackberries. Bran ate one of each, and still did not know which sort he liked the best.” -A Storm of Swords

Traditional Bannocks

Thoughts:

While we liked both of these recipes, the traditional version really matched what we imagined from the book. They are a unique combination of crisp and soft, dry and moist. Because of their texture, they are wonderful with tea, or on a hike. We also liked the contrasting colors that resulted from mixing the blackberries in with the dough. We’d like to nibble them while out in the countryside, followed by a drink from a cold mountain stream. However, we’re glad we aren’t relying on them during a mad survival dash for The Wall…

Both recipes are available in The Cookbook!

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