What a DeLIGHTful day we had yesterday. Wendy and I went over to my Mom's place to bake bread. Mom and I used to do this regularly years ago but haven't done it for oh such a long time. Wendy had never baked bread with us as a grownup. So off we went. Mom already had her bread mixed and baked by the time we arrived so as we would all not to be too crowded in the kitchen and oven. She baked a basic white bread.
Wendy decided to mix up a Peasant Bread recipe
and shape it into "Boules". Just a fancy
bread term for round bread loaves.
And it is rising up so pretty!
And while those were rising, I mixed up a batch of what I call "Birdseed Bread". A mixture of whole grain Spelt and white flours with Sunflower, Sesame, Poppy, Flax and whatever other seeds I happen to have on hand. I formed mine into traditional loaves. And now we wait while it rises.
Meanwhile, Wendy's bread is baking up
most beautifully in the oven and comes out
round and golden and very tasty!!
Soon to be followed by my Birdseed Loaves.
Of course we sampled all and decided we liked the Peasant Bread the best. It's texture and flavor made it a definite recipe to keep. Mom's white bread was okay but not as good in taste and texture as the Peasant Bread. The Birdseed Bread was good and just needs a little tweaking. A little more honey, more spelt flour and less white flour, and dry roasted sunflower seeds as the ones that I used were probably done in oil and seemed to have a strong flavor and tasted a bit old.
We decided we would do this on a somewhat regular basis and try different recipes each time. Will let you know and pass on the good ones. So here goes:
A Peasant Bread
(makes 3 small or 2 medium boules or 1 loaf)
3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour
4 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 pkg. or 2 1/4 tsp. dry active yeast
2 Tbsp. soft butter
1 1/4 cup warm water
In a bowl mix together 1 cup of flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Blend in the soft butter until well mixed. Gradually stir in the water mixing well. Add another cup of flour and continue mixing well. Stir in the remainder of the flour to form a soft dough. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes. With floured hands punch down dough and shape into boules or loaves and put on a greased cookie sheet or into greased loaf pans. Cover, again, and let raise. You can make cuts in the tops with a sharp knife if desired. Bake at 375F for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the loaves or boules that you make. Turn out on to a rack and cool.
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