This recipe is based on one in the November issue of Bon Appetit. I liked the way that the bread held up to the other ingredients, and how the flavors melded together. Now, flavors…..first bite is sweet apple and raisins…chewy, tangy sourdough…then the complexity of the fresh sage and sausage..and finally the smoky heat of the chipotle.  I think that this is good enough to be a casserole dish all by itself.

It isn’t at all difficult to make, and only takes an about 45 minutes in the oven. And the aroma? Amazing.

Sausage, Apple, and Raising Stuffing

• 1 1/2 lb loaf of artisan sourdough, cubed
• 1 lb sage flavored breakfast sausage (bulk)
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2  tbs chopped chipotle in adobo
• 4 tbs butter, divided use
• 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups golden raisins or dried cranberries or a mix of the two
• 2 tbs chopped fresh sage
• 2  cups organic chicken broth
• 1/2 cup Calvados or apple cider
• 2 eggs

1. Spread bread cubes in a flat pan and toast at 350F for 12-15 minutes
2. Spoon bread into a large bowl
3. Saute sausage until done, remove from pan and stir into bread cubes
4. Add onion and celery to drippings in pan and saute until tender…stir into bread cubes
5. Melt 2 tbs butter in the same pan and add the apples and saute until tender.
6. Add apples and raisins to bowl with bread.
7. Melt the remaining butter in the pan and add sage. Stir for 30 seconds and then pour over bread.
8. Stir to mix evenly.
9. Whisk eggs and chicken broth and pour over bread.
10. Toss to blend evenly.
11. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
12. Spoon into a greased casserole dish.
13. Bake uncovered at 350F for 45 minutes to an hour.
14. Let stand 10 minutes

Makes 16 servings

Post from: Baking Delights

These rolls are an OLD recipe. They are the lightest, most tender dinner rolls you ever put in your mouth, and you know I wouldn’t lie. These are somewhat sweet and very buttery. The flavor is incredible but it is the lightness that will have you addicted.

If you have never worked with yeast dough before this is a sticky dough. Resist the urge to add more flour because the more flour you add the heavier they will be. When you knead the dough it will feel almost like soft sugar cookie dough. Just loosely form balls and put them in silicone muffin cups or greased muffin tins. Serve hot with plenty of butter.

These are also pretty quick. In a warm kitchen the first rise is about an hour, the second about 20 minutes and baking time is about 20 minutes.

Maybe we should call these no excuses rolls?

I have started specifying organic white flour in my recipes and I will tell you why. It is what I use, yes, but also? I recently tried regular white flour and the results were not as good. There is a difference.

Light Dinner Rolls

• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110F)
• 4 to 5 cups organic white flour

1. Scald milk (yes you have to do this! )
2. Add butter and sugar to hot milk and let cool to 110F
3. Add the yeast to the warm water.  Stir until dissolved
4. Add 2 cups of flour to the milk mixture and beat on low speed of a mixer for  one minute
5. Beat in eggs and add yeast
6. Stir in enough flour to make a sticky dough that leaves the sides of the bowl
7. Turn out on to a lightly floured counter and knead about five minutes
8. Place in a buttered bowl, butter the top, and cover with a tea towel.  Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour
9. Punch down and shape into balls
10. Place balls in oiled muffin tins and let rise 20- 30 minutes, or until double
11. Bake at 375F for 12 minutes, or until light golden brown

Makes 24

image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and decided to buy this book that I had been hearing so much about, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

As busy as I have been I had been reduced to buying (gasp) store bread a couple of times a week and …ewww. I hate that.  I hate giving the family stuff that I know there is no nutrition to, but you have to fill them up somehow, right?

I thought that the idea of making ANY kind of bread in five minutes a day was amazing and worth a try…

I got the book and skimmed through it.  I hardly ever actually read cookbooks, usually I just look at the ingredients and get started.

Well this book sat around for a month because I am just that overwhelmed.

I decided to try the basic bread first.  The instructions warn about compressing the flour and I will give a warning to the warning…I use a canister that holds 50lbs of flour, o.k.? The scoop and scrape method allowed the flour to be too compressed the first time.   I noticed that the dough seemed quite thick and almost dry.   This is how that loaf came out:

It was good flavor-wise but as you can see it was really too dense.  So, yesterday I spooned the flour into the measuring cup lightly, and then scraped the top level.  I added a touch extra water for good measure.  The dough looked like this:

It was a much wetter, looser dough.  I left it at room temperature for the two hours and then refrigerated it over night.  This morning I shaped it into a round as directed.  I don’t have a peel or a baking stone (I KNOW…I KNOW)  so I just made it on a perforated pizza pan.  I was concerned that the dough seemed to want to spread a bit more than I wanted it to but left it to rise for 40 minutes.

I put water in a pan on the bottom rack of the oven as directed but also tossed 2 cups of warm water on the oven floor when I put the bread in.

This is how it looked when it came out.

I had forgotten to slash the top so it sort of exploded in the oven, but looked good.  I let it cool a bit before cutting to see if it had the lovely texture I was looking for…

And here….take a closer look:

I will definitely be making this daily.

The flavor is slightly sour, with a nice chewy texture and crisp crust.  The book has numerous variations including pumpernickel and brioche.  I keep the dough in a large covered stockpot in the fridge.  The books suggests not washing the dough container very often because the dough that sticks to the sides will sour and give a nice sourdough flavor.

Should you get this book?

Uh…YEAH!  Five minutes.  Anyone can do that.  The batch recipe makes 3 one lb loaves but there is no reason you could not make more and bake it fresh every night while you are fixing supper.  In fact if you had another container for the brioche dough you could make it fresh for breakfast every morning as well.  I am putting the book in the Baking Delights Store…it is the link in the sidebar that says “Baking Supplies You Just Gotta Have.”  If you are going to buy this book, and it really is awesome, you can just click on the link to go to the page on amazon.  Then I get a little money to be able to afford to buy MORE cool books.

Image (top) : Amazon

Images (bread): Marye Audet (c)2009

Post from: Baking Delights

My week has gotten away from me.  Personally, I would like to go back to start over again, starting with about 5 a.m. Monday morning.

Why?

Because that was the time I was at Panera Bread in Cedar Hill, Texas gnoshing on all sorts of amazing food, slurping coffee in my brand new coffee cup and chatting with Jason Russel (Gen, Mgr.), Stan Sears (comedian Bakery Training Specialist), and Krista Moberg (Marketing).  And I had a blast.

These people LOVE their jobs, and to me that says a lot about Panera.

Now, the deal was that I was going up there to live blog yesterday morning but we had ice and everything was shut down.  This is Texas, land of ice-o-phobia.  A half inch of snow will close schools.  To be honest, though, this was not a half inch of snow, it was pure ice and I wan’t driving 20 miles in it. Nope.

So I missed out on that but have plans to reschedule, I will let you know.  I do have several coffee cups and coupons to give away.

Anyway.  I had planned on doing a sort of photo-diary of Monday morning.  There was a lot about Panera that I didn’t know even though I had been there alot.

I did review their coffees on Kettle and Cup.

First of all, I am a bread freak.  I will admit to the occasional foray into high protien dieting to lose a few pounds quickly but good bread is the holy grail to me.  I have been baking bread since 1974 when I taught myself how to do it.  There are few types I haven’t tried (yet) and, while I am not the master at it that many people are, I know a bit about it.  I loved the soup and sandwiches at Panera but it never occured to me to go there to buy bread when I did not have time to bake it…DUH.

Stan has about ten years on me in the bread baking department.  Not only was he friendly and funny but he shared his knowledge easily and naturally.  I did not know that the reason that bread is scored is because back in the day of community ovens it helped the various bakers know whose bread was whose.  How cool is that?

Stan talked as he deftly made various cuts in the numerous styles of breads that he was getting ready for the ovens.  A cinnamon and raisin loaf was topped with cinnamon and sugar mixed with sugar crystals.  The crystals add a nice crunch to the topping, and they looked alot like turbinado sugar.  I asked him about the cinnamon that they used and he said he thought it was Ceylon Cinnamon.

Marye: So how does someone become a baker for Panera? Do they need culinary school?

Stan: No, we train our bakers.  They train for 5 weeks.  The fifth week they have to go through an entire baking without help.  They have to get a certain amount of points to become a baker.  And then, every month they are evaluated.  They have to keep their points up.

Marye: How does the baking work?

Stan: The bakers come in at 11:00 p.m. or so.  They bake until 6:00 a.m.  The dough is made locally in Grand Prairie (that is for us, each bakery has a nearby place where the dough is actually mixed.) and then transported to the individual stores every morning.  The dough proofs for the day and then is baked fresh that night.  Nothing is frozen.

Marye: And then, at the end of the day, what happens to the left over bread?

Stan: Panera donates nearly everything, I would say that 95% or more of the unsold bread and other items goes to the various food banks and local food pantries.

Cherry Danish

That theme seems to run through Panera’s mission.  Jason Russell, the general manager, said basically the same thing, and added: Panera believes in giving back to the community.  Really giving back not just taking.  We get involved in fund raising events and donate to other things as well.  If someone has a charitable event going on they just need to come and talk to me.  We will see what we can do to be involved.

At that point the three of them began to relate various stories of Panera’s involvement in community.

Individual sized Pineapple Bundt Cake

Individual sized Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake

Then Jason began to bring out plates of food. Oh. My. Gosh.

Pecan Braid

First it was the pecan braid.  An individual pastry of laminated dough, filled with a ground pecan and cinnamon filling, buttery light, and topped with a donut like glaze and half a pecan.

I took one bite and I don’t know what kind of look I got on my face (ecstasy perhaps?) but Stan grinned and said, “we use plugra in that.”

Uh ..yeah.

Before I had that finished another plate appeared in front of me.  This time it was a Ciabatta Breakfast sandwich with applewood smoked bacon, free range eggs, and aged Vermont white cheddar.

“All natural” I was told by someone…had I not been in a dreamy state of Nirvana at that moment I could probably tell you who.  Alas, I can’t.  The ciabatta was fresh and chewy, with perfect grill marks.  The bacon was crisp and cooked and the cheese was salty cheddar perfection.  I allowed myself two bites and then the next plate appeared.  I could certainly get used to that!

Cheddar and Jalapeno Bagel

Artichoke Spinach Souffle in Croissant

Stan looked at the plate. “That is our new cheddar and jalapeno bagel.  ”

Krista: Aren’t we introducing a new breakfast sandwich or something on that?

Jason:Yep.  Next month, I think.

Their conversation sort of buzzed because I was tasting the bagel.  Chewy.  Perfect texture.  Spicy but not hot and ….

Stan: They have salsa swirled though them.  We steam the bagels.  We don;t have the room to boil them but steaming does the same thing.  They are never frozen.

I have been to New York.  I have lived on the Northeast coast.  This was a bagel.  The right size, not too big, not too tiny.

The next plate held an artichoke and spinach souffle in a croissant crust. Rich, creamy, warm perfection.  Stan told me that the day bakers make these every 1 1/2 hours so that they will be fresh.  The croissant was the perfect light crust to the souffle.  It was brilliant.

I ended with a cup of organic yogurt and pecan granola with strawberries. That was incredible.  I had a couple of bites and brought the rest home to the youngest three, Sean, Nick, and of course, Chef Kyrie.  They licked the plates.

A baguette, loaf of raisin bread, and other items came home with me.  My kids thought that Christmas had come again.

Panera Bread Bakery and Cafes have free wifi.  Their coffee is better than..you know whose.  And the food served is fresh, really fresh.  If you have read Kettle and Cup much you know that I have been less than enthusiastic about Starbucks pastries.

All of their items are all natural.  They use organic when feasible.  For example, I did some checking on the coffee roaster they use.  VERY ethical.  The coffee beans are not certified organic but only because there is a non-certified organic fertilizer used as well as a fungicide.  The coffee is fair trade and ethically grown.

Kudos to Panera.  I was impressed.  I will definitely be blogging from there when I need a break from my kitchen…and I will be buying bread from there when I am pushed for time.  I loved it.

Dallas area readers, I will let you know when I am going to be live blogging over there, so we can set up the giveaway.  If you could, just leave a comment and let me know that someone from this area reads?

Many thanks to Stan, Jason, Krista, and the rest of the Panera crew.  I had a blast. 

Images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I am loving the after Christmas clearances at the grocery stores.  I don’t know how it is where you are but apparently people around here did not bake, cook, or buy as much as usual because there are a ton of things clearanced.

I scored fresh cranberries for 50 cents a bag at the store the other day.  Cranberries are quite the popular item here so I bought enough to make cranberry whatever at least a couple of times a month from now until November.  Cranberries freeze really well, if you didn’t know that.  Just toss the bags in the freezer.

Anyway, I normally make cranberry bread during the holiday season, but I also had a mushy banana so I made cranberry banana bread.  I liked it a lot because the mellow sweetness of the banana tempers the sharp tartness of the cranberries.  Nice.

Look, if you are going to the trouble to make cranberry bread don;t be cheap with the cranberries or nuts if you add them).  Add enough to make it look like there are more than three in the recipe!  I have seen cranberry bread that looks like it is literally “cranBERRY” bread…I always want to suggest that the person try using more than one finely chopped berry the next time.

The best way to chop the cranberries for cranberry bread is by hand.  The food processor grinds them too much in my opinion.  Cranberries are best when they are chopped in fourths or eights. More or less I mean, I don’t take hours with it.

Cranberry Banana Bread

• 1/4 c unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup cranberries coarsely chopped
• 1 cup pecans chopped, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Grease and flour a loaf pan
3. Cream butter and sugar
4. Beat in egg
5. Combine dry ingredients
6. Sprinkle about two tablespoons of the dry ingredients over the cranberries and toss
7. Combine orange rind, banana, and milk
8. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture
9. Fold in cranberries and pecans
10. Bake for about one to one and a fourth hours
11. Cool

Image:Marye Audet (c)2009, all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

Jonika asked me the other day about the process of soaking grains before making bread. I don’t know how many of you are aware that I am a big freak when it comes to organics, whole grains and nutrition… even though you might not think so here.  We spent several years as wholefoods vegans and then vegetarians before choosing to return to a omnivorius diet.

Anyway, exactly what is grain soaking and why in the world would you do it?

Grains contain a substance called phytic acid.  This is found in the outer portion of the bran part of the grain.  For various reasons many people have trouble digesting it and do not get the nutrition from the whole grains that they should and experience digestive upsets and allergy type problems as well.  Phytic acid is also found in soy, and I have a hate relationship with soy  for many reasons.  ANYWAY.

Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting the grains before baking will often take care of the issue.

Soaked grains are generally soaked for less than 12 hours, fermented for 12-24 hours, and sprouted are allowed to sprout.  Each has a different quality and taste.  For our purposes today we are talking grains soaked for less than 12 hours.

The recipe that I use can be found at The Urban Homemaker.  The flour itself is soaked for 12 hours before making bread and this two step process gives excellent results.

Most of the other recipes that you will find on the Internet will be for sprouted bread (Ezekiel bread) and such, but this is plain, good whole wheat bread with the phytic acids removed.

This method can be used for pancakes, cookies, muffins, and everything else that you might want to make.  Especially i fyou are having allergy problems give this method a try.

If you have any questions leave a comment and I will try my best to answer them.

image: (c) marye audet 2008 all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

Last week I went to a friends house to be her assistant bread chef.  She has amazing recipes but they are all in German so she translates and I do what she says.

She is also one of the most inspiring people I know.  She has MS and has lost the ability to do much of what she likes;hiking, knitting, painting, baking…yet she is always cheerful and fun to be around.

We worked well together, me doing the mixing and initial kneading..and she, throwing the ball of dough against the table to finish the kneading process!

We created this Emmental bread together.  The only problem we had was that she translated the word for caraway seed as cumin seed..

Uh…you might want to go with the caraway.

The aroma in the kitchen as this is baking is intoxicating.  Would be a great accompaniment to a hearty soup and salad meal , with an apple tart for dessert.

• a 1/4-ounce package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons gluten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cup  emmental cheese, on a 1/4 inch dice
• 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon (optional)
• 1/3 cup thick greek yogurt, quark, or plain yogurt, warmed
• 1 1/4 cup warm water

In a large bowl proof the yeast in 1 1/4 cup warm water for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. Stir in the yogurt,  2 cups of the flour, and the remaining ingredients.  Stir the mixture until it is combined well. Knead the dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of the remaining  flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking.  Knead for about ten minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.  Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat it with the oil, and let it rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is double in bulk.

Punch down the dough, halve it, and shape each piece into a round loaf. Transfer the loaves to a lightly oiled baking sheet and let them rise, covered with a kitchen towel, for 45 minutes, or until they are almost double in bulk. Bake the loaves in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are golden, transfer them to a rack, and let them cool.

Image:MaryeAudet

Post from: Baking Delights

O.k..so..yeah.

It’s just bread with cranberries and walnuts. But, I love naming things so humor me.  I do not go as far as one of my favorite characters, Anne Shirley,naming trees and woods but I like to give my recipes cool names.  Especially for bake sales.

One of the things that I found out when I had the tearoom was that the more exotic the name the better the item sold…Unless we had a lot of good old boys come in (and yeah, that did happen…what they thought they were going ot get in a tearoom I don’t know) European sounding things worked well.

So..we were having a bake sale at church for the JBQ, one of the kids programs.  My best friend runs it (an does a great job, the kids love her) and so I wanted to do something that would be a little different.  A little autumn, a little exotic…

This bread is great. The secret is to have a really flavorful maple syrup and to toast the walnuts to bring out the flavors there.  Give it a good, long rising time for the ingredients to blend and you will end up with a delicious breakfast bread or ..if you are especially daring, it makes an excellent bread for smoked turkey sandwiches.

The crust is crisp with that artisian chewiness.  Slightly sweet, but not overly so, with the occasional tang from the cranberry.

Shape the loaves into a freeform oval, and then make slashes as if you were adding veins to a leaf that you had sketched.  Rub the top with flour so it has a good layer.  It gives a nice presentation to the bread.

The sides on this are soft because I made 4 or 5 loaves and then baked them in a row on the baking sheet.  It was a time issue.

Pain d’Automne de Provence

or

Artisian Cranberry Bread with Toasted Walnuts

Step One

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons yeast

2 tablespoons maple syrup

allow to stand until foamy.

Step 2

Stir in:

3 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 cups organic white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour (fresh ground if possible)

1/2 cup maple syrup

Mix well and allow to sponge for 30 minutes.  Stir down.

Step 3

Add:

1/2 cup melted butter

1 1/2 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted in the oven or microwave until golden

3 cups whole wheat flour

Enough organic white flour to make the dough leave the sides of the bowl, and ” feel right”.

Knead for 15 to 20 minutes by hand, or about 5 minutes in a Bosch.  If you knead in the mixer then knead it for a few minutes by hand just to make sure it feels right.  It needs to be a good stiff, elastic dough without being dry.

Form into a ball and oil.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Step 4

Punch down.  Form into ovals and slash tops.  Rub flour into the tops.  Cover and let rise about 45 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.  Pour one cup of water on the oven floor when you put the bread in and close the door quickly.

After 15 minutes pour another cup of water on the oven floor.

4 loaves.  (these freeze well)

Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

I have been making bread for so many years that it is natural to me to substitute ingredients and flours  without much thought.  I know what certain things will add as far as texture and flavor and it is a comfortable relationship I have with bread…no suprises anymore..just old friends that know what to expect from eachother.

With Marc being sick I am trying to get as much nutrition in him as possible so I have been making flour mixtures when I make bread… Freshly ground whole wheat berries, oat groats,  brown rice, lentils, sun flower seeds, flax….and the list goes on.  The magic that happens when the yeast starts reacting with the honey or sugar is amazing, miraculous, but always predictable.

These rolls are perfect for autumn’s chilly weather.  They go with soups and stews and made into a loaf  the dough makes a great sandwich.  Because of the combination the bread is high in B vitamins, fiber, protien and omega-3s…best of all, it is filling and it tastes really good.

This may rise a little slower than you are used to.  Give it plenty of time because the flavor develops as it rises.  Feel free to experiment with ingredients…pumpkin seeds have plenty of zinc, add walnuts, dried fruit… grind up brown rice, lentils, or whatever in your blender..Just make sure that you have a ratio of about 2:1 wheat flour to other ingredients for best texture.

Rustic Whole Grain Rolls

•  4 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup melted butter, or light organic oil
• 1/2 cup honey, brown sugar, or sugar…or a combination
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 5 or more cups whole wheat  flour, preferably Montana white freshly ground
• 2 cups organic white flour
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice, ground in the blender
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel, optional
• Dried fruit as desired up to 1 cup

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sweetener in 1/2 cup warm water. In a large bowl, mix remaining 3 1/2 cups warm water, sweetener, and butter or oil . Mix well. Add yeast mixture and stir.
2. Gradually add 5 cups whole wheat flour beating well after each addition. Add the flax, orange peel, dried fruit,  and sunflower seeds, stir well.
3. Let stand for 30 minutes, until mixture is very light. Stir in salt and the rest of the flours until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Knead 10 to 15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Put into a greased bowl and cover, let rise in the oven with light on until doubled, about 1 hour or more.
5. Punch down and shape into 18 round balls. Brush the tops with melted butter.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
6. . Bake at 400 degrees F  25-35 minutes.When you put the rolls in the preheated oven throw a cup of water on the oven floor and shut the door quickly.  This creates steam that gives the crust a nice, old world texture.  After the first 15 minutes toss in another cup of water.

Images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Someone brought over an entire box of tomatoes yesterday. I mean a bog produce box worth.  It seems the store was going to throw them away.  I will not get into a rant about the amount of food wasted hourly in the United States by grocery stores..at least not today.  Feel free to continue reading.

They were ripe and I skinned about half of them before I went to bed.  I think I am going to make stewed tomatoes this weekend.  That way I can have sauce or scalloped tomatoes when I want.  Anyway, I got tired and left the rest for later.

When I got up this morning the first thought in my head after my usual pre-getting up prayer moment was “Hey! Tomato sandwiches would be awesome for dinner.  My next thought was, “Hey tomato sandwiches on Rosemary bread would be even MORE awesome!  Yep, the sign of a true foodie, right? Flavors dance in your head.

So, while I was making breakfast I had the boys go out and cut some rosemary.  I chopped it and added it to warm, organic olive oil. I let that sit while I finished breakfast.

Are ya feelin’ it yet?

Cracked black pepper was an inspired thought.  I added that to the oil.

Once  I had the sponge going the whole house was starting to smell of rosemary and yeast.  That is no easy feat considering the size  of the house.  Erin, my daughter, came in and said, “That smells incredible.”  It did.

We made tomato and red onion sandwiches with it. I dont’ know what to say. Incredible seems so bland.  I guess I will just say try it for yourself.  The longer you leave the sponge to rise the more flavorful the bread will be.  Don’t hurry this one.  Next time I am going to start it with a poolish and see how that comes out.

Feel free to vary the amounts of rosemary and pepper to your personal taste.

Rosemary Cracked Black Pepper Bread 

2 tablespoons dry yeast, or two packages

1 teaspoon of sugar

1/3 cup warm water

1/4 cup warm, flavorful olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon cracked black pepper

3 1/2 cup  flour

2  tsp  salt

1 1/4 cups warm water

Warm the oil and add the pepper and rosemary.  Set aside for about thirty minutes.

Proof the yeast in the water with the sugar.

Add the rest of the water, one cup of flour and the oil and rosemary mixture.  Allow to rise for as much as 8 hours.  Stir down and add the salt and the remaining flour. You may need more or less you just want a dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and very elastic, probably ten minutes.  You may need to add more flour. Rub with olive oil and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled.  Don’t deflate the dough too much but shape your bread in a baguette, a round or any other desired shape.  Rub with olive oil.

Allow to rise until double, about one hour.  Brush with egg yolk wash if desired.

Put into a 375 oven and toss a half cup of water on the oven floor. Shut the door quickly.

Fifteen minutes later toss another half cup of water on the oven floor.

Bake fifteen to twenty more minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Rub the warm bread crust with olive oil.

Allow to cool before slicing.

One loaf.

Images:Marye Audet 

Post from: Baking Delights