Darina Allen: recipes from the New Ballymaloe Bread Book

Recipes from Ballymaloe's New Bread Book

I’m on a mission to show everyone how easy it is to make a loaf of homemade bread. 

Anyone, and I mean anyone can make a simple loaf of soda bread: just mix, pour (or if you don’t have a bread tin, shape it into a floury round and transfer to a baking tray) and pop it into the oven. 

You wouldn’t have found your car keys and be back from the shops by the time it’s baked!

The original Ballymaloe Bread Book, published in 2001 is still in print over 20 years later but since then, we have added many new recipes to our repertoire. 

In 2016 the Ballymaloe Bread Shed, a tiny artisan bakery and classroom where magic happens every day, was established in a trailer beside the cookery school. 

Our natural sourdough bread is made from just four ingredients (flour, water, salt and natural starter), is fermented for a minimum of 48 hours or up to 72 or 96 hours over the weekend.

This revised edition was triggered by several considerations. Remember the frenzy of sourdough bread-making during the pandemic, when many homebakers became intrigued by the challenge, frustration and occasional delight of making bread with a living starter?

The ‘Beast from the East’ in 2018 also spurred me into action. There was chaos in the supermarket aisles when bread ran out. 

Elegantly dressed ladies wrenched sliced pans from each other in panic. Ironically, packs of flour, buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda were stacked up on nearby shelves, but many of us have lost the skill of making a simple loaf of soda bread, which can be made in mere minutes.

Something had to be done, so I picked up my pen and three years later, this revised edition, The New Ballymaloe Bread Book, is the result.

I fervently hope it will take the mystery out of bread-making for everyone and upskill those who feel that making a loaf of bread is beyond them.

It’s definitely not rocket science, but it is a science. 

I promise you that if you follow each tried-and-tasted recipe, you will absolutely be able to bake irresistible bread at home.

• The New Ballymaloe Bread Book by Darina Allen is out now (Gill)

Richard’s Super-Easy ‘No Knead’ Yeast Bread

A brilliant, super-easy recipe, with no need for a food mixer. Makes 2-3 loaves.

Preparation Time

 5 hours 45 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 6 hours 20 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 20g granulated sugar

• 740g tepid water (weigh the water for accuracy)

• 10g fresh yeast

• 1kg strong white flour

• 16g dairy salt

Method

1. Stir the sugar into the tepid water, then crumble in the yeast. Allow to sit for a few minutes. After about 5 minutes, it will have a creamy, slightly frothy appearance on top.

2. Sieve the flour and salt into a large bowl, then add all the liquid. Mix well using a spatula or dough scraper until the mixture is very well combined. The dough will be wet and shaggy looking. Cover with a light cloth and allow to rest for 15–20 minutes.

3. It’s time to start the folding process. With the dough still in the bowl and starting at the 12 o’clock position, lift and pull the dough towards you using a dough scraper or spatula. Repeat this technique at the one o’clock position, 2 o’clock position, and so on until you return to your original starting point, giving it 12 folds in total. Turn the bowl as required to ease the process.

4. Cover and allow to rest again for 30 minutes, then repeat the folding process. Do this process six times, every 30 minutes – this will take 3 hours in total.

5. Shape the dough into two or three loaves or a combination of a loaf, plait and bread rolls. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for 1–2 hours, until doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 220°C/430°F/gas mark 7.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and bake for a further 15–20 minutes, until fully cooked and the base sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Ballymaloe Irish Tea Barmbrack

recipe by:Darina Allen

A Halloween favourite, but one that takes a bit of overnight preparation - makes 1 large loaf or 3 small ones.

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 40 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 10 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 110g sultanas

• 110g raisins

• 110g currants

• 50g natural glacé cherries, halved or quartered

• 300ml hot strong tea or 225ml tea plus 50ml Irish whiskey

• 225g self-raising flour

• 175g soft brown sugar

• 50g candied peel

• 1 level tsp mixed spice

• 1 egg, whisked

• For the bun wash:

• 150ml water

• 110g granulated sugar

Method

1. Put the dried fruit and cherries in a bowl. Cover with the hot strong tea (or the tea and whiskey) and leave to plump up overnight.

2. The next day, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a 13cm × 20cm (450g) loaf tin or three small loaf tins (14.6cm × 7.6cm) with parchment paper.

3. Add the flour, soft brown sugar, candied peel, mixed spice and whisked egg to the fruit and tea mixture. Stir well, then put the mixture into the lined loaf tin(s).

4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours, until a skewer comes out clean.

5. Make the bun wash by boiling the water and granulated sugar for 5 minutes.

6. Remove the brack from oven and brush immediately with the bun wash to give it a sweet, sticky glaze. Cool on a wire rack. This keeps very well in an airtight tin.

Grandma’s Sweet White Scones

recipe by:Darina Allen

The trick to these sweet white scones is to make sure that the butter is really chilled so that it breaks and crumbles into the flour to give the scones their extra-special light texture.

Servings

20

Preparation Time

 50 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• Makes 18-20 scones using a 7.5cm cutter

• 900g plain flour

• 50g caster sugar

• 3 heaped tsp (60g) baking powder

• pinch of salt

• 175g butter, cut into small cubes and chilled

• 3 eggs

• 450ml full-fat milk (approx.)

• egg wash (1 egg whisked thoroughly with 1 dessertspoon milk)

• 75g crunchy Demerara sugar or coarse granulated sugar (approx.), for the tops of the scones

• To serve: homemade jam and whipped cream or butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C/480°F/gas mark 9.

2. Sieve all the dry ingredients together into a large, wide bowl. Toss the chilled butter cubes in the flour and rub them in by hand until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the eggs with the milk, then add to the dry ingredients in one go and mix to a soft dough.

4. Turn the dough out onto a floured worktop. Don’t knead, but shape just enough to make a round. Roll out to about 2.5cm thick and cut or stamp into scones. Try to stamp them out with as little waste as possible, as the first scones will be lighter than the second rolling.

5. For the topping, brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, then dip each one in crunchy Demerara or coarse granulated sugar.

6. Put the scones on two baking trays – no need to grease. Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.

7. Serve split in half with homemade jam and a blob of whipped cream or just butter and jam.

Gluten-Free Focaccia with Rosemary, Olives & Sea Salt

recipe by:Darina Allen

This is a light, tasty, single-rise bread. It’s best eaten on the day it’s made, but if it’s gone stale, slice and use for bruschetta.

Preparation Time

 2 hours 40 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 30 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil

• 20g fresh yeast or 10g Doves Farm gluten-free quick yeast

• 2 tsp honey

• 2 tbsp warm water

• 550g Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour (or see the note)

• 1½ tsp xanthan gum

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 eggs, well beaten 300ml tepid milk

• 3 tbsp natural yoghurt

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

• 12 black olives, stones removed

• 1½ tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

• pinch of flaky sea salt

Method

1. Line a 25cm square brownie tin with parchment paper and oil it with good olive oil.

2. Put the yeast, honey and warm water in a small bowl in a warm place for 10–15 minutes, until it froths up.

3. Sift the flour and xanthan gum into a large, wide bowl.

4. Add the salt, eggs, warm milk, yogurt, vinegar and the yeast mixture, mixing well.

5. Put the dough into the lined tin.

6. Wet your fingers with cold water and make a few deep dimples in the dough.

7. Put a damp cloth or piece of muslin over the tin and put it in a warm place to rise for 1–1½ hours, until doubled in size.

8. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.

9. Gently dot the top of the dough with the stoned olives, then sprinkle on the chopped rosemary and sea salt.

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until it sounds hollow and light when you tap the base.

11. Drizzle with a little more good olive oil and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

12. NOTE: I use Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour for its nutritional value in this recipe and because it bakes well. However, it has a beany taste that not everyone enjoys. For a less dense, more neutral-tasting loaf, I find that using 275g Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour and 275g Doves Farm gluten-free plain flour produces a light loaf with a lovely texture. I have also successfully made this recipe with 550g Doves Farm gluten-free plain white flour.

Hot Tips

Planting and Caring for An Orchard with Chris Troy 

Ballymaloe Cookery School, Tuesday, 14th November 2023 

This is the perfect time of the year to plant a few apple trees.

The course tutor, Chris Troy is a TEAGASC-trained commercial horticulturist with over 40 years of practical experience of creating and caring for domestic orchards across Ireland.

This half-day course is a comprehensive introduction to planning and planting an apple orchard and Chris will have orchard starter packs so you can create your own orchard the very same day!

• For more information, see www.cookingisfun.ie 

Woodcock Smokery Hosts Staff Parties 

Woodcock Smokery is now hosting staff parties at their location in Castletownshend in West Cork. How about that for a fun evening!

They can personalise the event for your team with an in-house chef, smoking workshops and demonstrations, musicians, a DJ, quiz master… 

• For more information, please contact: [e-mail]