Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Pesto Bread - A Taste of Summer


After taking a break for the past two bread braids with the Healthy Bread in Five group, I jumped back on the wagon with Pesto Bread. Not having any pesto in the freezer, I went looking for a small jar at the grocery store. The bread was not as green as I imagined it would be, and I did not taste a difference in using the spelt flour (from King Arthur's catalog). I did not use the pine nuts in the recipe, because I didn't think they would go over well with the eaters in the house (myself included).

I mixed the half recipe up on Saturday, and baked the loaves on Monday. I am finding that I really like the tang and flavor that I get with a somewhat rested dough compared to a fresh batch. I served the bread with homemade spaghetti sauce Tuesday, and with local butter it was a definite hit! This will definitely be a keeper recipe, especially in the summer with fresh basil!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Apple Strudel, Hamburger Buns, and More!


The Healthy Bread in Five Group's next task was to make the 100% Whole Wheat Loaf and some variations. This was the very first recipe I made from the book when I got it in November, so I wanted to focus on the variations for this round. Knowing that my Pain de Mie pan uses 3/4 of a batch of dough, I planned on making the full recipe, but would make more hamburger buns to keep on hand in the freezer. I love "Everything Bagel" topping on hamburger buns to accompany a nice bowl of Black Bean Chili!
I was really impressed with the Apple Strudel Bread - knowing how hearty this loaf is, I didn't expect it to be like an Apple Strudel pastry. I used gala apples, raisins, and crystallized ginger chips. I would have liked to use nuts, but I was taking it into work and there are some serious nut allergies at my school. Even without the nuts, this was a great loaf! I loved the crunch of the demerara sugar on top. While I was chopping the apples, I only used two apples for the loaf, as it seemed like a lot of fruit to fill a pan. I loved the rise of the bread and didn't have any "wet spots" to contend with. No picture of the beautiful inside of this loaf - it was devoured at work!


Since I had also made the Hamburger Buns before, I wanted to try some new toppings. I used the "Everything Bagel" topping from King Arthur to great success.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

HBinFive - Master Recipe


Over the holidays I tried to be ahead of the game - after all, the recipe isn't due until the 15th of January! However, between visits and holiday get togethers, I didn't get all three recipes completed - I only got the baguette and epi finished. I definitely will be trying the crackers at a later date, but time slipped away and it just never got done for this post! I enjoyed making the baguette, and enjoyed it with my lunch for a few days. My epi looked more like a bear claw, not so much a stalk of wheat, but it tasted great nonetheless! Instead of using white whole wheat, I used King Arthur Whole Wheat, and we enjoyed the taste - it wasn't too overpowering!