Bread of the weekend a waste

I've been considering making a traditional Christmas bread for the holidays. I've several recipes for Christmas breads from other countries. The main ingredient in most of them is candied fruit like that in a fruit cake; so I bought some Fruit cake fruit mix. The tub is so big I thought I should use some of it in another recipe instead of wasting it. I made a Irish bread called Yeast Barm Brack on Saturday. I'd have to say that the bread itself was del0icious, but when I bit into a piece of the fruit (lemon peel) it became very unappetizing. I decided to trash it and chalk it up to an experiment and a wasted one to boot. I’d have to say if I do attempt to make it again. I will only use candied cherries and raisins.

You can find the recipe here:
http://www.irish.spike-jamie.com/bread2.html

Here’s a few pics:

Here's the fruit draining off the strong tea I soaked it in.

After the second rise; ready for the oven.

Not a very big rise of course with out a picture with the recipe this may be just right.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. I feel as though a explaination is in order as to Why I put this together. You see I live alone and I LOVE to cook and bake. Every weekend I cook something new; something I've never made before. I love to try new dishes and bread recipes. I am a recipe hound. Anyway, I make these dishes and sometimes they look terrific and there is no one around to see them. So I've decided after visiting several other blogs and seeing how they are done to make my own to share with my friends and anyone else interested enough to visit. THANKS for stopping by!

Sunday Bread Baking

Today I made two breads, Buttermilk Cluster and Taos Pumpkin Bread.
The first baked was the Buttermilk Cluster. I found the recipe for this on The Fresh Loaf and you can find it there too.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/buttermilkcluster

Not difficult to make though time consuming as all bread is.

Here’s the dough after the first rise.

Strange how this gooey looking thing becomes this….

Isn’t it pretty?

  

The crumb, for those who care.

     The bread is delicious and the smell is heavenly. I made two changes in the recipe one was to use All-Purpose flour instead of Bread or Unbleached flour and the other was to use sugar instead of honey. I sprinkled sesame seeds on top and they really gave the top a nice sesame flavor.
     The only problem is that I have to eat it all myself or give some of it away. The latter could be a problem in itself. *smile

Taos Pumpkin Bread

I found this recipe somewhere on the Net it is an adaptation of Beth Hensperger’s bread machine recipe.

3 c. flour
¼ c. cornmeal
1½ tsp. salt
¼ c. brown sugar – lightly packed
1 egg, beaten
¾ c. water
½ c. pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
1½ tsp. yeast

     Melt yeast in water. Mix together flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, egg, pumpkin puree, and yeast to flour mixture. Once combined place dough on floured surface and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Place in greased bowl and sit in warm place to rise for 30 mins. to 1 hour; till double in bulk.
     Turn on floured surface and gently deflate. Shape into and loaf and place in greased loaf pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
     Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle loaf with flour, slash several time with serrated knife and place in oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake 25 to 30 minutes.

Not slashing the bread before placing it in the oven was the only change I made in the recipe. The taste is slightly yeasty with a hint of sweetness. It is so nice to finally find a bread recipe for my frozen pumpkin that is not some rich oily sugary loaf.

This is what the inside looked like.