It has been quite a while since I have participated in the Tuesdays with Dorie baking. What can I say, life gets in the way? Partly, the other angle; having a pile of sweets in the house for just two of us means we eat way more than we should! When I saw the choices included a bread recipe this month, I decided to get in gear and give it a go.
Limpa is a type of black bread. The dough is made with rye flour and is a bit on the sweet side from the addition of molasses and brown sugar but what gives it the most flavor are the aromatic seeds in the dough. Anise, caraway and fennel seeds are crushed and added to the mix and so is a bit of orange zest (which I skipped) and the result is a slightly sweet, bread that has a touch of licorice flavor and a nice compact crumb. The recipe suggests using it for sandwiches, much like they do in Sweden, layering it with smoked meats and cheeses. We preferred to slice it and enjoy it toasted with butter.
Rather than bake it in the round 9 inch pans the recipe calls for, I used 6 inch square pans. They made the most perfect cube shaped loaves and the slices were just large enough that two thin slices of toast were more than filling.
My rye flour was stone ground and it added a nice texture to the crumb. Little flecks of rye and seeds, this one is a keeper. Since the recipe made two loaves, I froze one for later.
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will garden for cake 