This month Helen from Fuss Free Flavours gave us a really different challenge. She basically let us make whatever we wanted but we had to use flour that we knew either where it was grown or where it was milled. In other words, supporting local, small growers and millers.
I didn't successfully locate a flour local to me but as soon as I saw the challenge I thought of The Oatmeal Of Alford. This is a staple of my kitchen cupboard and we use it for loads of things. Best of all, the oats are grown in Laurencekirk just a few miles south of Aberdeen and then milled at Montgarrie Mill in Alford, just a few miles west of Aberdeen. Very local.
I thought that there would be loads of bread recipes with oatmeal as a main ingredient but my cook books didn't have any. They had bread made with flour and then some oats scattered over the top and they called it oat bread. Not what I was looking for. So I went to The Oatmeal Of Alford Website and, of course, they had a recipe for Oatmeal Bread.
I would just like to point out that I have no connections at all to this company and am not sponsored by them. I have used their oatmeal all of my life, though.
So, I made two loaves. They didn't rise a lot and seemed a little dense, but, toasted, it is a lovely bread. It has a really wholesome nutty flavour. Spread with the fancy butter with the big chunks of sea salt - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Loved the challenge - thanks Helen. I now have a new, easy, bread recipe using a local, healthy ingredient. I will also continue to be on the look out for other local ingredients and producers.
See here for a round up of how the others fared at finding local flours and what they made with them.
