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Oh dear. Here we are again on the brink of Fornacalia and, to my shame and despite this website’s name, I have not prepared anything special. I was going to do my 100% rye sourdough, with a nod to some Norse deities, but a microbe attacked my throat and nose on Friday so I didn’t really feel up to it.

A cut loaf of pale brown bread, the top dusted with flour spots, the tight crumb flecked with black seeds of Kalonji, Nigella sativa. The loaf sits on an olive wood bread board and some walnuts are visible in the background

Last week’s big bake was of Kalonji bread, which I’ve written about before.

These days, I tend to omit the olive oil of the second recipe above and to bump the hydration a bit to 70%. The resulting loaf, as seen above, rises well, has a reasonably tight crumb – good for toast – and tastes delicious.