Directions: |
Directions:Lightly butter a 9 x 5in (22.5 x 12.5cm) loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment as a "sling", meaning cut a piece that's the width of the long side of the pan and line through the long sides and bottom with the paper hanging over each side. Fold the paper back over the top edges slightly and stick the paper against the sides of the pan with the butter so that the paper stays in place well.
Preheat the oven to 325F/160C.
If the honey has any crystallization, warm it gently in bursts in the microwave in a microwavable bowl - warm around 10 - 15 seconds at a time, stir well and repeat if needed so crystals dissolve into the rest of the honey. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients - rye flour, all purpose/plain flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, coriander and cloves. Whisk them together so everything is well distributed and there aren't any clumps or lumps.
Add the honey, molasses and milk and mix so everything is well mixed, but take care not to over-mix. You want everything well distributed and mixed so there aren't lumps but you don't want to lose the air bubbles that might be forming as the baking powder is activated.
Pour the mixture into the lined loaf pan and smooth the top, as needed. Clean off any drips, if there are any, then transfer the pan to the oven and bake for around 45 - 50 minutes until golden brown, the top springs back when you touch it and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Sit the pan on a cooling rack for around 10 minutes to cool before using the parchment paper to remove the loaf from the tin. If the ends are a little stuck, carefully use a knife to loosen the loaf and try again. Peel off the parchment paper and either leave whole until ready to use, or slice. It will have a slight crisp top on the first day, but otherwise it will be slightly sticky. Store at room temperature in a sealed container. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Make a "sling" of parchment to line the loaf pan. This is an easy way to line the pan without having to make any trickier cuts for the corners. Yet it makes a huge difference in helping the loaf be easy to remove from the pan.
Gently butter the pan to help the paper stay in place. The sling won't do it's job if the batter gets in behind it! To help avoid this, if you gently butter the loaf pan, the paper gently sticks to the pan.
Make sure you mix the dry ingredients first. You want to make sure the spices and baking powder, in particular, are well distributed so that you don't get clumps anywhere.
Warm the honey if it has crystalized - you want to make sure it's nice and smooth, without any crunchy crystals. But don't worry if your honey has started to crystalize - you can easily recover it by warming. I suggest measuring the honey into a small microwavable dish and warm in 10 - 15 second bursts. Stir after each warming, until the crystals have dissolved.
Bake in a relatively low oven. You'll see the temperature here is on the lower side, that's partly because of the honey that you shouldn't cook at high heat. Also, it helps the loaf cook evenly without burning or becoming too crisp. While as I say, I quite like the slight crisp edge when this is first out the oven, it's really about the soft stickiness.
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This recipe for Ontbijtkoek - Dutch spice cake (breakfast cake) is from