helo folks,

sorry its taken me so long to upload these posts! have been a bit busy with class and exams! =)  Today i am going to talk about how to make Grandma's 'Shearers savory bread'. It was always a big occasion whenever we were shearing on the farm. As my fathers wife, mum was expected to feed the 10 shearers for the 3 or 4 days they were shearing our farms sheep. It was an experience to be remembered and repeated several times a year. My memories of that time are of Great Grandma, Nana and Mum running around like headless chook's trying to get everything done on time! One memory i will always have was when i was 8, i think, and Grandmas morning tea bread for the shearer's didn't quite make it to the shed. 

Grandma was known by her bread in our district and it was something that was looked forward to by the shearers who came to our farm. She always served it with homemade butter, and still warm from the oven. Anyway on this day, Grandma had made her bread and left it too rise on the bench, while the oven was eating up. Unfortunately when she came back from her cup of  tea, and put the bread in the oven, she didn't check the oven and didn't realise that Nana had turned the oven up so she could start the roast for lunch. The first thing we noticed, was the smell and beginnings of black smoke coming out of the oven 20 minutes later. The smoke alarm went off and everyone ran to the kitchen to see what had happened. Unfortunately for the bread it was beyond saving at that point and had to be given to the chook's. The shearers had to make do with piklets that day and Grandma was never allowed to forget the one time she didn't check the oven before making the bread. Anyway here is Great Grandma's recipe for savory bread, i hope you have more luck with it than she did that time.

Grandma's Savory 'Shearers' Bread.

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 cups grated cheese
• 1 1/4 cups small-dice cooked ham  or bacon
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped.
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for coating the pan

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 160 degrees and arrange a rack in the middle. Generously coat a metal 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter; set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl until aerated and any large lumps are broken up. Add the cheese, ham, and spring onions and toss in the flour mixture until the pieces are separated and evenly coated; set aside.
3. Place the eggs, milk, yeast and melted butter in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add this egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until the flour is just incorporated, being careful not to overmix (a few streaks of flour are OK; the batter will be very thick).
4. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan, pushing it into the corners and smoothing the top. Leave bread to rise for 45 minutes. Bake until the bread is golden brown all over and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean about 40 to 45 minutes. Or if using a coal range bake at moderate heat for 1 hour.
5. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the bread and turn it out onto the rack. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes more before slicing.

ENJOY and remember to check the oven temperature before you cook. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It really bought bake memories of home and family when i baked this over the holidays. I ended up having to bake two loaves because dad felt left out when he shearers got some and he didn't.  I was really surprised by how popular the bread was and how some of the shearers could remember grandma baking it 15 years ago.