Welcome to the best part of my life. I will share here my passion for family, food and feeding them, it is truly feeding a crowd!
Enjoy!
All in Bread Making
On lazy days when I decide to make burgers and already have the meat, or don’t feel going out to get the bread I make this recipe and it makes everyone happy!
You could omit the fresh herbs, or use dried, if you use dried herbs, use 1/3 of the measures given below for fresh. You could also add one teaspoon dried pepper flakes, yum.
A few weeks ago, for pasta night, Felicity offered to bring the bread, I was happy she was and when she told me it was potato bread, I was curious, having heard about it and knowing it was not a traditional leavened bread.
Sooooo, here was the bread in front of me, I loved the shape and color right away, I touched it and wow, the bread had a bark to it, a lovely hard crunchy exterior. All things were looking good for this potato bread.
There is something to say about a bread that not only has a great mouthfeel and taste to it, but has an extra kick to it in the sense of flavours from added ingredients.
I used to make this bread mostly for picnics as it's a great standalone bread you can eat without butter. What is an even better way of eating it is with that lovely mixture of a premium olive oil and balsamic vinegar, for my personal choice, I would do a premium olive oil and flakes of “fleur de sel” or good sea salt.
It is a dark bread, heavy and very tasty, the dark molasses adds a caramel taste to it, the oats the perfect texture, by using spelt flour, I add a kick of nutritional value to it and a double whammy of flavor as spelt flour does have great flavor to it.
Bread making is so wonderful, it makes the house smell wonderful, it makes everyone smiles, it fills our bellies with deliciousness and makes memories.
I am so happy I have mostly mastered the art of bread making, but I at times fail, due to being in a hurry, to pushing boundaries or messing with the science of cooking with yeast, a live product that does need attention and care for it to work.
I do love making bread, with the years, I have become adept at it, though it didn’t take years to become good at it. The most important part is the temperature of your liquids when added to your yeast, too cold and the yeast will not bloom, too warm and you will cook it, I rarely use a thermometer myself, but suggest using one at first, the temperature you want is around 110° to 115° F. That to me is just warm on my wrist or finger, the same temperature I use for a babies’ bath or bottle. It’s silly but it works for me!
Herb Bread, bread is the essence of life and always has been, whole grain, ancient grain, gluten free or chock full of gluten, sour bread, potato bread, quick breads, starter breads and the wondrous French bread, all are fun to make and even more fun to eat! Here is a bread I make using my fresh herbs or dried, both work equally, take my word for it.