Oatmeal Sandwich Bread and Meyer Lemon Blood Orange Marmalade
I finally had the opportunity to slooooooowww down this weekend and so I was happy to take advantage: I caught up on trashy reality tv, filled the apartment with the warmth and aroma of freshly baked whole wheat oatmeal bread (I wish I could bottle it!), and attempted to make jam for the very first time.
This bread is so good that I have actually been looking forward to waking up every morning for a toasted slice! It’s perfect with just a pat of butter, and even better with a bit of jam. It is earthy from the whole wheat and oatmeal, sweet from a touch of molasses, with a soft and tender crumb.
I’ve been eating this bread with a generous helping of home-made meyer lemon and blood orange marmalade. I was intrigued by the unique combination of Meyer lemon (a lemon-tangerine hybrid) and blood oranges and it certainly did not disappoint. It is a perfect balance of tart and sweet, like a little jolt of sunshine to break me out of my winter blues. Because both Meyer lemons and blood oranges are sweeter and less acidic than their lemon and orange relatives, the jam is not as mouth-puckering as one might expect from a fresh marmalade- the citrus is still a bit tart, but subtly so.
Making the jam was actually very easy, especially because I did not bother with canning the jam (trusting that I would succeed in eating the jam within a month, which, at the rate I am going through this jam, will not pose a problem!). Slices of fruit are cooked down until the pith and peel are soft and tender, then white sugar (for sweet) and raw demerara sugar (for slightly carmamelized flavor) are added until the mixture cooks down and sets into a sweet jammy goop. For next time, I would cut the slices into smaller segments, because although the cooking process renders the pith and peel into soft citrus candy, it is a bit difficult to spread these long tendrils on toast. I also think adding a bit of crystallized ginger might be heavenly. And I would love to learn to can, so I could make huge batches and enjoy all year round!
