No-Knead Black Bread

Eastern European black bread with stout, cocoa, treacle, fennel, caraway and Nigella seeds. Excellent with any smoked fish and pickled cucumber.

Nigella Lawson, Cook-Eat-Repeat (Book)

Start this a day before you want to eat it – it needs an overnight rise.

Ingredients

• 1 x 500ml bottle of Guinness or other dry dark stout, opened in advance if possible
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 x 15ml tablespoons (30g) dark muscovado sugar
• 2 x 15ml tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 x 15ml tablespoons black treacle
• 300g dark rye flour
• 300g strong white bread flour
• 4 x 15ml tablespoons (25g) cocoa (don’t use black cocoa, it makes it too dry)
• 1 teaspoon activated charcoal (optional: purely to darken the colour)
• 4 teaspoons nigella seeds, plus 1/2 teaspoon for the top of the loaf later
• 4 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 4 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon (1g) fast-action dried yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
• oil, for greasing loaf tin

Method

Pour the stout into a measuring jug to come up to 400ml; this will take a bit of time, as you need to wait for the frothing to subside. Don’t drink the rest yet – you may still need it. When its settled enough to be measured, add the white of the eggs (reserve the yolk covered in the fridge to use as glaze the next day), followed by the sugar, oil and the treacle. Stir or whisk gently to mix, it may fizz up a bit.

Mix the flours, cocoa, activated charcoal (if using it), seeds, yeast and salt in a large bowl.

Give the jug of dark liquid another stir, then pour a third into the bowl and mix. Repeat until all the liquid is used. You may need more liquid at this point – use some of the remaining stout if necessary. You want a stiff, sticky mixture. Cover with cling-film (or even better, a shower cap) and leave in the kitchen for 16 – 20 hours until it has increased in volume and has a slightly spongy texture and is bubbly on top.

Grease a sturdy 2 lb (900g) loaf tin, line the base with baking parchment. Scrape the dough into it, spreading and smoothing it very gently. Cover with a clean tea-towel and leave for 2 hours. It will rise a little, but not much. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/200C Fan.

Add a teaspoon of cold water to the reserved egg yolk and mix, then lightly paint the surface of the bread using a pastry brush. Don’t use it all. Sprinkle the Nigella seeds on top and put tin in the oven, turning the heat down immediately to 200C/180C Fan. Bake for 40 minutes, then – after giving a nudge around the edges with a palette knife – slip it out of the tin. It will feel almost cooked, but it is a dense, weighty loaf: don’t expect white-bread lightness; even when fully cooked this loaf is as heavy as a brick!

Give the loaf a knock underneath – it won’t sound hollow but remember the sound. Put it, out of its tin now, back in the oven directly on the shelf for another 10 – 15 minutes. It will feel firm, with a bit of give on the sides, and will sound hollower than before (but still not entirely hollow).

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before even thinking of cutting into it.

Freezes very well if pre-cut into slices.

Serve with hot-smoked salmon, dill sweet mustard (make your own or the Ikea bought one works brilliantly too) and Scandi Pickled Cucumber & Dill Salad. Serve a Green Mean Dirty Martini on the side too.