Holecake (from Norway )

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Ingredients

Metric

  • 40g fresh yeast
  • or
  • 20g dried yeast with 1 teaspoon sugar
  • approx. 300ml milk
  • 65g butter or margarine, melted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 100g treacle
  • 2 teaspoons ground aniseed or ground fennel seeds
  • 750g rye flour and strong white flour, mixed
  • 225g plain flour

Imperial / American

  • 1 1/2oz fresh yeast
  • or
  • 3/4oz dried yeast with 1 teaspoon sugar
  • approx. 1/2 pint milk
  • 2 1/2oz butter or margarine, melted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4oz treacle
  • 2 teaspoons ground aniseed or ground fennel seeds
  • 1 1/2lb rye flour and strong white flour, mixed
  • 8oz plain flour

Method

Cream the fresh yeast with a little milk in a bowl. If using dried yeast, dissolve it in a 4 tablespoons milk with the sugar and leave to froth.

Warm the rest of the milk, and add the melted butter of margarine and pour into the yeast. Stir in the salt, treacle and ground spice. Sift and gradually mix the flours and work into a dough, adding a little extra warm water if necessary. Beat until it leaves the sides of the bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

Knock the dough back and kneed until smooth. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll out into 20 cm / 8 inch rounds. With a tumbler, cut out a hole in the center of each cake. Place the cakes on a greased baking sheet, cover and leave in a warm place to rise. (The cut out circles can be made into scones or worked up into another flat cake.)

Prick the cakes all over and cook in a preheated moderately hot oven at 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6 for about 35 minutes. Brush with salted water and cool on a wire tray.