Groninger Koek

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23 x 13cm loaf tin
• •Baking paper
• •Small saucepan
• •Sturdy wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the tin

   Heat the oven to 160C. Grease a 23 x 13cm loaf tin with butter and line it with baking paper, leaving a little overhang so you can lift the koek out cleanly later. This is a sticky loaf, and pride is no substitute for paper.

2. 2

   Mix the dry

   In a large bowl, whisk together the rye flour, plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, aniseed, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Break up any little clumps of spice with your fingers. Rye is patient but not forgiving of pockets of soda.

3. 3

   Warm the syrup

   Put the stroop and brown sugar in a small pan over low heat and warm just until loose and pourable, stirring often. Do not boil it. You want the syrup relaxed enough to mix through the flour, not cooked into bitterness before the oven has had its say.

   If your stroop is very thick, stand the jar in hot water for ten minutes first. That is the honest shortcut: you soften the syrup, you don't thin the flavour.
4. 4

   Make the batter

   Whisk the buttermilk and egg together, then stir in the warm syrup mixture. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix with a sturdy spoon until no dry flour remains. The batter will be thick, glossy, and reluctant, exactly right. Don't beat it as if it were a sponge cake; Groninger koek is built for slicing, not floating away.

5. 5

   Bake slowly

   Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a wet spoon. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the top is deep brown and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out with only a few sticky crumbs. If the top darkens too quickly, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it for the last twenty minutes.

6. 6

   Wrap and wait

   Let the koek cool in the tin for fifteen minutes, then lift it out and cool completely on a rack. Wrap it tightly in baking paper and foil, and leave it at room temperature until the next day. This rest is not politeness, it is the recipe finishing itself: the rye softens, the spices settle, and the crumb becomes sliceable rather than merely baked.

7. 7

   Slice with butter

   Cut the koek into thick slices with a sharp bread knife and serve with cold butter. The butter should sit on top in pale streaks, not vanish. A thin slice is for someone pretending not to want a second one.

Chef Tips

• •Use rye flour that smells fresh and nutty. Old rye tastes dusty, and this loaf has nowhere to hide it.
• •Dutch stroop gives the cleanest old-fashioned flavour, but dark treacle or a mix of molasses and golden syrup will stand in honestly if that is what your cupboard allows.
• •Do not skip the overnight rest. Fresh from the oven the koek is good; after a day it becomes itself.
• •Serve it with unsalted cold butter and strong coffee. Groningen does not require decoration, only proper company.

Advance Preparation

• •Best baked one full day before serving, then wrapped tightly and kept at room temperature.
• •Keeps well for five to seven days wrapped in baking paper and foil; the flavour deepens for the first two days.
• •Slices freeze well for up to two months. Wrap individually, then thaw at room temperature before buttering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)