Artisan Bread

Today, I have something a little different I'll be talking about. Since I am the possessor of a HUGE sweet tooth, everything I bake is always very sweet. But there's something I've always wanted to try, and that is baking bread.

This is very much out of my comfort zone, so I wasn't expecting spectacular results. I decided to go for simple white bread, figuring once I had the technique down, I could experiment with different flavors (two varieties on my agenda:  cheddar and cinnamon swirl!).

I used a no-knead recipe from The Italian Dish. The recipe is only slightly labor-intensive (I hesitate to say even that) and very easy to follow. I halved the recipe since this is my first time attempting bread and if it turned out disastrous, I didn't want as much carnage lying around to depress me.

My dough before letting it rise, covered.

 

My dough after letting it rise, uncovered - shortly before going into the oven.

My dough rose two hours in a bowl covered with plastic wrap before being placed in the fridge for two more hours. It rose for forty minutes uncovered while the pans preheated in the oven. Finally, I slashed it across the top and put it in the oven, fingers crossed.

That's what it looked like going into the oven. Nice, right? I was tempted to feel impressed with myself, but then I remembered how pretty my cherry danishes were before going into the oven, and I was humbled. I sat waiting anxiously as my bread baked, hoping it wouldn't be a catastrophe.

It baked for only twenty-five minutes. The color looked right ("a dark golden brown") and I didn't want to burn it.

It turned out GORGEOUS!

And not only that, but it tasted awesome. Especially with a thin layer of butter spread over its surface. Mmmm.

My family loved it and we almost ate the entire thing, since everyone had seconds and most of us went back for thirds, too. I know, we're indulgent. But it's that good. And such an easy recipe!

It's dense bread, not light fluffy sandwich bread - though I suspect a sandwich on it would be delicious. It's thick, chewy, and the flavor is phenomenal.

I can't wait to try this recipe again, but this time, with new flavors. I'm getting excited thinking about all the different things I can do with this new skill! Definitely give this one a try, if you can. You won't be disappointed!

Pumpkin Bread

After making my cheesecakes for the fall festival (see my last post), I was left with half a can of pumpkin puree. What to do with half a can of pumpkin? So last night I Googled "recipes using half can of pumpkin puree". I found lots of suggestions to mix it with mashed potatoes and things like that, but that didn't sound appealing. Finally I found something up my alley - Pumpkin Bread.

I hadn't planned on doing anything immediately but after reading the recipe I had to make it. Since it was on a whim I found myself lacking a few things, but I made some substitutions and alterations.

First, I used salted butter instead of unsalted.

I used a 1/2  teaspoon of allspice instead of 1/4 teaspoon of allspice, to make up for the 1/4 teaspoon of cloves that I lacked.

I panicked slightly when I saw that I had no baking soda, but I read somewhere that for every teaspoon of baking soda you need, use two teaspoons of baking powder. So since the recipe calls for one teaspoon of soda, I added two teaspoons of powder to the 1/2 teaspoon already called for in the recipe.

The last substitution I made was olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

I baked my bread for an hour, then added four or five minutes, and the toothpick finally came out clean.

The best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted!

It turned out BEAUTIFULLY. Originally, I was going to make icing to drizzle overtop (using the same icing recipe I used on my pastries), but the bread was sweet enough on its own with a bit of confectioner's sugar. It was moist without being squishy or dense, the outside was sweet and slightly crunchy - I just can't say enough good things about this recipe. Even after all the changes I made, it still turned out amazing. I think I'll just make it the same way next time!