ALL YEAR ROUND // Recipe for four

Dark rye and oat bread rolls

Baking and breaking bread is one of the most important ceremonies we have at Biota. All the cooks in the kitchen are able to make great bread and it plays an important role in our dining room. We serve the bread in small pouches made from kangaroo pelt – the winter coat of the large grey kangaroo – which keeps the bread warm on the table.

MOTHER

225 g (8 oz) dark rye flour

80 ml (2½ fl oz) dark beer

Put 185 ml (6 fl oz) water in a clean metal bowl with the flour and mix with a large metal spoon. Add the beer and fold in. Wrap in plastic wrap and store at approximately 26°C (79°F) overnight to get a slight ferment.

Store the mother in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks, using it up as you make your bread.

STARTER

20 g (³/₄ oz) mother (left)

100 g (3½ oz) dark rye flour

Put the mother in an electric mixer with the dough hook attached. Add 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water and mix well. Add the dark rye flour and mix to a smooth paste. Place the dough in a clean metal bowl and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to ferment at approximately 26°C (79°F) for a minimum of 16 hours and up to 24 hours.

DOUGH

250 g (9 oz) dark rye flour

10 g (¼ oz) salt

200 g (7 oz) bakers’ (strong) flour

150 g (5½ oz) starter (left)

Natural yoghurt and rolled oats

Attach a dough hook to an electric mixer. Put the ingredients in the bowl in the following order: dark rye flour, salt, bakers’ flour, starter and 230 ml (8 fl oz) water. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes, then medium speed for a further 2 minutes. Place the dough in a clean metal bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Leave to prove at approximately 26°C (79°F) for 90 minutes. Gently give the dough three or four folds at 40-minute intervals to further strengthen it.

Turn out onto a clean work surface and gently fold the dough three or four times, or just enough to release any excess gas trapped in the dough. At this stage the dough will need to be covered with a damp cloth so it doesn’t dry out.

Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F). Cut the dough into 100 g (3½ oz) pieces and roll into balls. Press out flat to about 1 cm (½ in) thick and place on semolina-dusted baking trays. Brush each roll with yoghurt, making sure you brush all the way around, from the base up. Scatter with oats.

Bake for approximately 16 minutes, steaming the oven as the bread goes in, then twice more at 3-minute intervals, by adding 125 ml (4 fl oz) water each time.