When I was a little kid all I wanted for lunch was a white sliced sandwich in triangles. Ideally with devon, tomato sauce and slapped together with so much butter it would make even a French chef frown. Why did I want that? Because that’s what I didn’t have. That’s what other kids had.
I had the sensible bread with grains or wholemeal, with nutritious things inside. Up until about 9 years old I could potentially have a cheese, chutney and sprouts sandwich. This was my mum’s idea of a delicious sandwich, and perfect for a healthy growing-at- a-cracking-rate young girls lunch. At 9 years old though, enough was enough. My palate wasn’t that developed yet. Not developed enough for chutney and sprouts anyway. Although I never threw my sandwich out, I did hastily eat it hoping it would just quickly fill me up and no one would see it and say ….ewww whats that? On the odd occasion it may have found itself under my bed…where it may have sat there, next to a book (The Secret Seven) and slowly grow its own penicillin…
Alright that only happened the once, but at 9 years old I decided that I would take over the reins of making my own sandwiches. No more chutney and sprouts thanks. Salami and cheese would be fine. Salami and tomato. Tomato and cheese. They were the three combinations I had pretty much throughout my school career. Until I got to my final year of highschool and I stepped it up a notch and had capsicum and cheese. They were certainly exciting sandwich times.
How things have changed now though. As an adult…phew. Bread and all its loveliness. All the wonderful concoctions you can have for a simple sanga. Since embracing the heady world of sourdough, those concoctions have got even more enticing. This Apple Walnut Rye included…
* So will The Monkeys be having white sliced bread with devon and tomato sauce for their school lunches? Hell no! Do you know what’s in that stuff?!
Apple Walnut Rye Sourdough
200gms starter
225gms of rye flour
225gms of plain flour
200mls water (approx)
1 1/2 tps salt
1/2 chopped apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
a shake of cinnamon
Mix up rye dough as usual, when it’s time for the first fold, add apple and nuts. Folding them carefully in. I did an over night ferment, then baked at 250C until top was golden looking. Then popped it out of the tin and baked a further 10 minutes, while turning the oven down to 200C.
The top came out a little messy, but I was happy with the consistency and it just feels so healthy when you eat it. I’m loving this one for breakfast at the moment. And to totally cancel out the health factor, slap some peanut butter on there- so thick you could walk on it…mmmm.
Light Rye Sourdough
350gms starter
300gms rye meal
300gms bakers flour
480 mls water
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tps salt
Mix ingredients. Wait for 20 minutes, then add salt and mix again. Let it prove for 1 1/2 hours. First fold. Prove for another 1hour. 2nd fold. In oiled tin, rise for another hour. 11 hour ferment in fridge. Out for 1/2 an hour on the bench. Slash. Then baked at 250C for 20mins top shelf, (steam) then a further 15 mins on the second shelf.
*This post submitted to Yeast Spotting
cityhippyfarmgirl 
“Just slap the peanut butter on” ohh how I wish it was that easy…finding peanut butter ..not too bad..don’t even think vegemite..my mum ships it over to me! This sounds absolutely delicious apple,walnuts and cinnamon what a great combo!
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Oh Yvette, I remember well the lack of peanut butter and vegemite in Italia. 17 years ago I would impatiently wait for jars of gold to be posted to me. Peanut butter would only be eaten with a spoon!
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Ahh yes. The ol’ lunch hour was often a delicate time of the day for me too. Having parents who ran a Chinese restaurant it was fair to say that not all lunchtimes involved bisected white bread with the standard toppings. I think my brother and I forged the way with occasional leftovers in Chinese takeaway containers, which probably sounds a bit hip now but was less so in the moderate late 70’s.
Bet your kids will have all the others glancing enviously at their lunchboxes. Excellent.
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It’s funny Monkey Boy’s favourite thing to take for pre-school is a sourdough apple breadroll. Loves the things…and I’m very mindful not to put chutney and sprouts anywhere near his lunch.
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mmm! I’m thinking toast.
I’m thinking Pb+J,
I’m thinking honey.
I’m thinking I better make this bread.
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I’m thinking you should too Heidiannie 🙂
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Great minds think alike. My breakfast this week has been a serious slice of rye with walnuts topped with damson jam but sometimes with crunchy peanut butter. Spooky!
Were you allowed proper white knee high socks? I had interesting pale brown ones that fell down. How I wanted those white ones with the elastic that cut off your circulation. Socks, bread, some parallels there 🙂
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Crunchy Peanut Butter it can be no other. Why someone would invent smooth peanut butter perplexes me.
No knee high socks for me. Just boat sized shoes. I was tall quickly with feet to match…quickly.
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You made me laugh at your 9 yr old Brydie sandwich memories…, my Mum used to make my brother & I these homemade bread & all manner of homemade chutneys, relishes & yes …. those sprouts…. I secretly quite liked them but they were socially embarrassing & prone to deliver the most scathing of schoolyard teasings so I too used to scoff them down usually while playing some sport so no one would see. Maybe this is why *we* well fed youngun’s ended up loving & appreciating food.
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Anna you are soooooo right. Educating your palate. Mr Chocolate and I are always talking about this. I really do think that the reason why I enjoy and appreciate food so much is because I was exposed to so many different food tastes and ideas as a kid. Chutney and sprouts included.
Does your mum still make breads and preserves?
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Brydie, as you’ve been watching our garden grow, I’ve been watching your breadmaking just get better and better this year! I love how instinctive it’s become for you, and how fabulous your loaves are looking! Your little monkeys are very lucky indeed – and both those rye loaves look amazing!
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Thanks Celia. It’s funny looking back on some of the first pictures of my sourdoughs. I was so proud of them and thought they were really tasty, but I can see how they have definitely changed over the past few months. It still excites me, drawing the tray out of the oven, seeing how they look.
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I have no fondness for the memories of my school lunches – vegemite and cheese sangers or soggy tomato on white bread. The latter was especially unpleasant on a really hot day.
PS – love the name of this post – very clever!
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That’s right Amanda! None of this cooler lunch boxes kids have now. Processed meat and cheese in a little greaseproof paper and sweltering in an Australian summer in your bag….ah, lovely.
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That looks delicious!
Yep – i remember having devon sandwiches, or egg. On white bread!
Were not really huge bread eaters so i’ve not been tempted to make sourdough….until I saw this post http://spaininiowa.blogspot.com/2010/10/seasonal-and-rustic-sourdough-pizza.html.
We love pizza….so i’m thinking I HAVE to make a sourdough starter. I’ve found your post from June about making a starter so will give it a go. Any other hints since that post? 🙂
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I love pizza and that post makes me love pizza all the more! Great pictures.
For my starter I used rye flour to kick start it. Apparently it’s a tad easier to get going than normal flour, then a week into it you just switch the flour over. I did it in just a large bowl, covered in cling wrap, and sat it on top of the fridge. 50% ratio, flour:water. Tap water….hmmm, what else….if there are any specific questions get back to me.
I started off with 50gms flour, 50mls water.
2nd day 50gms:50mls.
Third day 100 gms:100mls.
Day Four 200gms:200mls.
Day Five you need to discard some otherwise there will be too much. It should be weighing 800gms by now, so you take out 700gms and start again at 100gms. ie. 50gms:50mls.
Day 6 100gms:100mls.
Day 7 200gms:200mls. Next day drop it back down to the 100gms again. After 3 weeks, your starter should be strong enough to make that pizza.
Hope that makes sense!
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Yep, makes sense. Thanks! I’ll start it in the next few days.
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I want to try to make this bread. It looks so yummy.
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Hah! This post made me laugh because I happen to love devon and tomato sauce sandwiches in the same way that I love chip sandwiches. But my mum always cut my sandwiches straight down giving me two rectangles whereas I just wanted two triangles *sigh* the injustice of it all 😉
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Lorraine, Mr Chocolate and I frequently ask ourselves why our respective parents couldn’t have angled that knife a little to the side. Neither of us got triangles either….Obviously thats all I eat now- they taste better cut that way 🙂
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Apple Walnut Rye…. now that sounds like a pretty good loaf to me.
It’s funny how your taste can change so rapidly when you ‘grow up’ – I now eat almost the exact opposite of what I did when I was a kid!
However, Devon sandwiches are still great 🙂
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Your youthful sandwiches made me laugh – I always got brown bread with mashed banana and date. And I so wanted the white sliced stuff. Luckily, my mother didn’t give in to that.
You are so inventive – I make my rye sourdough every week in exactly the same way using the same ingredients. I keep thinking I must try and add something different, but haven’t been at all adventurous. Always a few pumpkin seeds, except when I ran out and used sunflower instead and sometimes a few caraway seeds as well. But next week (if I remember) I’m going to put some apple, walnuts and cinnamon in at least one of the loaves.
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Forgot to ask – what is devon?
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Devon…pretend meat basically. I think maaybe it’s called luncheon meat in the UK or possibly bologny in the US- not 100% on that though. Processed within an inch of its life anyway.
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Absolutely beautiful. Consider these recipes saved. You’ve got such a beautiful blog.
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Thank you Turid. That’s really kind. But right back at you. I think yours is stunning.
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