Thursday, July 17, 2008

Buttermilk Honey Bread


buttermilk bread, originally uploaded by mysterybridgers.

My second attempt at bread baking didn't quite turn out as well as my first. This recipe comes from another Sort Floor Books find, The Bread Bible. It is a great book that contains just about every kind of bread recipe that you can imagine. I wanted to start with something simple that could be used for sandwiches or toast with jam, etc and buttermilk honey bread contained minimal ingredients and seemed pretty simple.

The recipe is just fine and what this bread lacks in quality is all due to my limited bread making abilities. It was a little cold in the apartment the day I made this so it took a really long time to rise. I also think that I over-kneaded which led to the bread being a little chewier than I would have liked. The recipe makes two loaves of bread, but we only have one loaf pan, so I made the other loaf as a round.

The bread turned out okay, but there is much room for improvement. We made some pretty good French toast and pesto garlic bread out of it, but some of it did end up uneaten.

Next time I make bread, I will make the following changes: use the stand mixer (part of the reason that I needed to knead so much is that I was not strong enough to mix in all of the flour with a spoon), maybe half a bread recipe so there is not so much bread to eat, make larger slashes in the top of the bread so that it doesn't crack, pick a bread with some added whole grains or whole wheat flour so the bread isn't so "white bread," and perhaps pick a more rustic Italian style bread that is not so dense.

No comments: