Home > Spelt Breads > Crushed Fennel Faggots
by Rod
(Dallas, TX)
According to legend, an English baker once allowed his young son, Isak, to play after school in the father’s modest bakery in a remote Nordic village. His father often invited the boy to tie together small bundles (called “faggots”) of broken breadsticks and give them to friendly customers; any money offered by the customer became part of the boy’s weekly allowance. Customers rarely paid for the bundles until tasty, crushed fennel breadsticks were baked. Soon thereafter “Isak’s Crushed Fennel Faggots” became very popular, providing a significant source of income for the bakery, not to mention his generous allowance.
Crushed Fennel Faggots
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups spelt flour
1 cup bread flour
2 tbsp white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp organic honey
1/3 cup bread flour
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp crushed fennel seeds
Light olive oil to coat cookie sheet
1/2 cup bread flour for kneading dough
Directions:
Lightly coat a cookie sheet with olive oil and set aside; pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a warm glass quart measuring cup, add warm water, then stir in yeast, honey, and 1/3 cup bread flour; cover and let mixture rest 10 min. in a warm place.
In a large mixing bowl, combine spelt flour with remaining bread flour, sugar, and salt, then cover and set aside.
When yeast mixture is ready, stir in olive oil, then pour into spelt flour mixture. Stir with a large wooden spoon to combine, then knead dough with the spoon 5 min.
Sprinkle crushed fennel seeds onto dough and continue kneading with the spoon 5 min. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm place 20 min.
Sprinkle bread flour onto a flat surface, then spoon dough onto surface and knead gently with hands 5 min., adding sprinkles of flour to keep dough from sticking to hands and surface.
Roll dough (or flatten with hands) into oblong shape about the size of the cookie sheet, adding sprinkles of flour as necessary. Carefully place dough on cookie sheet, stretching to smooth the surface and fill the cookie sheet.
Roll dough with a pizza cutter into narrow strips, about 3/4″ wide, with one perpendicular cut in the middle of the cookie sheet. Place sheet in a warm place to let dough rise 20 min., then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake 30 min.
Roll baked strips with a pizza cutter to separate into 6 oblong sections. With a spatula, flip the sections over and bake another 5 min., then flip the sections over again before serving.
Notes:
1) This recipe creates pull-apart breadsticks – roll by hand to create traditional breadsticks.
2) To crush fennel seeds, grind with mortar and pestle or use a coffee grinder; coarse grind is best.
Comments for Crushed Fennel Faggots
Feb 15, 2015
Crushed Fennel ‘n Chives Loaf
by: Rod
Long story short: What to do with leftover steel-cut oats.
Preface (pumpkin-puree/oat-broth soup base) …
In a large sauce pan, rinse then simmer 1 cup quick cook (less coarse) steel-cut oats in 4 cups water, stirring occasionally until mixture is thick and pours slowly (about 30 min.). Stir in 1 cup hot water, then strain “broth” into another large sauce pan, saving cooked oats in a medium bowl (oats will be very moist but not settle quickly when spooned into bowl).
Whisk a 15oz can of pumpkin puree into broth, then add 2 tsp Herbes de Provence seasoning, 1/4 tsp garlic granules, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper; whisk to combine then refrigerate in a covered container until use (spices are optional)*.
* Try this Pumpkin Soup with chopped & sautéed vegetables: In a large sauce pan, sauté until al dente 3 tbsp virgin olive oil, 1 large yellow onion, 2 cups asparagus, and 1 1/2 cups carrots. Stir in pumpkin soup base and simmer covered 35 min., stirring occasionally. Then stir in a 15oz can of rinsed cannellini beans and simmer until soup is hot; if desired, add more water to thin soup.
Preparing the one-rise Fennel ‘n Chives Loaf …
Lightly oil a bread pan and set aside; pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Spoon 1 1/2 cups of warm cooked oats into a large mixing bowl, then stir in 2 tsp dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar. With a large wooden spoon, stir in 3/4 cup spelt flour, then sprinkle on 1/2 tsp salt and stir in 2/3 cups bread flour. Dribble on 1 tbsp virgin olive oil and knead with spoon about 5 min.
Transfer dough to a floured surface and gently knead by hand 5 min., adding sprinkles of bread flour to keep dough from sticking to hands and surface.
Flatten dough to about 1/2″ thickness, sprinkle on 2 tsp crushed fennel seeds and 1 1/2 tbsp dried chives, then tightly roll up dough and continue kneading 5 min., adding sprinkles of bread flour as necessary.
Form dough into a round oval and place in oiled bread pan. Let rise one hour in a warm place, then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake one hour or until crust is golden brown.
Jan 31, 2015
EZ Herb Spread
by: Rod
In a chilled bowl, combine a cold 7oz container of “Butter with Olive Oil”, 2 tbsp dried parsley, and 1 tsp garlic granules. Spoon back into container and refrigerate overnight before use.
This versatile spread is also great for cooked brown rice, whole grain pasta, potatoes, some cooked veggies (especially carrots), as well as many breads.
Jan 29, 2015
Really Raisin Bread
by: Rod
When Isak graduated from school, his father financed Isak’s Kalevala Bakery in another village, even more remote. The bakery’s first popular item: Isak’s Really Raisin Bread, an adaptation of the dough used for the breadsticks:
Increase the yeast to 2 tsp, skip the crushed fennel seeds and, when the dough is rolled out, spread on 1 1/2 cups dark raisins, then sprinkle on 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. Then, if you “feel like a nut”, sprinkle on 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.
Finally, roll up the dough and let rise 1 hour in an oiled bread pan, then bake at 350 degrees 45-55 min, depending on pan size.
Leave a Reply