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.