Happy New Year, everyone! I’m starting 2025 off with a menu inspired by one of my favorite authors: Anne Brontë. I’m a big fan of all the Brontë sisters, and I’ve done menus for them before (check out my recipes from Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). Today, I’m making a menu inspired by AGNES GREY, which I read for the first time last year.
I really enjoyed AGNES GREY, though it’s definitely different from other Brontë books I’ve read. While works like JANE EYRE and THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL are Gothic romances with a touch of mystery and scandal, AGNES GREY is more autobiographical and realistic—a slice-of-life of a Victorian governess. It deals with a lot of the same themes as other Brontë books, such as isolation and oppression, but it has an Austen-esque sensibility that I appreciated. It’s much less Gothic than what I’m used to seeing from the Brontës but still masterfully written.
Since AGNES GREY is a Victorian novel—not only in its setting, but also in its subject and themes—I decided to give all my recipes for this menu a Victorian spin. Bread is eaten multiple times throughout the story and was a staple of the Victorian diet, so I went on the hunt for an era-appropriate bread variety and stumbled upon graham bread, which I’d never heard of before.
Graham bread is much like a standard yeasted bread, though it’s made with graham flour instead of all-purpose. Graham flour is a more coursely-ground version of whole-wheat flour, which means it has more bran and wheat germ in it. This produces a loaf with a hearty, delightfully nutty flavor, which is accentuated when it’s toasted.
Using these recipes for 1850s graham bread and honey graham bread as a jumping off point, I made some adjustments to suit my needs and developed a recipe that approximates a Victorian-style graham bread while still being suited to a modern kitchen. Since most grocery stores don’t carry graham flour, I made my own by mixing all-purpose flour, wheat bran, and wheat germ (I provide instructions for that in the recipe below). However, you can also order graham flour online.
I love how this turned out, and I’ll definitely make it again. I brought some to Christmas Eve dinner with my husband’s family, and it was a big hit. One of the kids even asked if he could take the rest of the loaf home with him!
A
Graham Bread
“Wonderful to state, the girls did their part; but Tom was in such a fury that he flew upon the table, scattered the bread and milk about the floor, struck his sisters, kicked the coals out of the coal-pan, attempted to overthrow the table and chairs, and seemed inclined to make a Douglas-larder of the whole contents of the room . . .”
— AGNES GREY
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 3/4 cup warm water (100°F–110°F)
- 1/2 packet active dry yeast (3.5 g, approx. 1 1/8 tsp)
- 2 cups graham flour
- To make your own, stir together 1 1/3 cups (200 g) white flour, a scant 2/3 cup (30 g) wheat bran, and 3 tsp (5 g) wheat germ.
- 1 tsp salt
Makes 1 9-inch loaf graham bread
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Stir the molasses into the warm water until it is dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow to rest for 5 minutes. While you wait, thinly coat a large bowl with cooking oil and set aside. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Stir the yeast mix into the flour mix until fully combined. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes, reflouring frequently to prevent sticking. Shape the dough into a ball.
- Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a kitchen cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place until roughly doubled in size. While you wait, coat a 9-inch loaf tin with cooking spray and set aside.
- Punch down dough and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 10-inch circle. Starting at the side closest to you, tightly roll up the circle into a log. Flip seam-side up and fold the two ends over slightly to create an 8-inch loaf. Press the seam and ends into place to make sure there are no open folds for air to get in. Turn seam-side down and transfer dough to the prepared loaf tin. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour. While you wait, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Score 3 lines approx. 3 inches long across the top of the loaf with a small, sharp knife, cutting about 1/2 inch into the loaf. Bake for 30-35 minutes until loaf is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped. Remove from pan and set on a wire rack until completely cool.
- Serve to a Victorian governess to fortify her after she manages to subdue her unruly pupils.
Leave a Reply