Maple Syrup-Graham Bread

This bread comes from Bernard Clayton. I so love maple syrup bread so when I saw this I had to try it. I was a little surprised it was a quick bread, but that's okay! I did halve the original recipe. I find that two loaves of quick bread is often a little too much to have in the house if it's just the two of us. 

 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 egg, room temperature

¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

¼ cup sour cream, room temperature

½ cup + 2½ tbsp maple syrup

1 loaf pan, greased, lined with greased wax paper

1. Preheat the oven to 325°.
2. In a large mixing bowl blend together the white flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir in the whole-wheat flour.
4. In a small bowl beat the eggs and blend in the buttermilk, sour cream, and maple syrup.
5. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir well.
6. Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
7. Place the pans in the oven and bake until the loaves test (and look) done, about 1 hour. A metal skewer or cake testing pin inserted in the center of a loaf will come out dry if the loaf is done.
8. Remove the bread from the oven. Turn the pans on their sides and gently tug on the paper to pull the loaves out. Allow the loaves to cool before slicing.
9. There is a pleasant sweetness about this bread, especially when simply sliced and spread with sweet butter. Good, too, served with fruit.

Pain Noir

This bread comes to be from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. I love chocolate bread so I had to try this one! It has a really good taste especially paired with a cheese. I've tried both cheddar and Camembert and found them both delicious. However, it didn't rise much at all. I'm not sure if that's normal or not.

¼ cup cornmeal

½ cup boiling water

⅓ cup cold water

1 package dry yeast

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

½ tablespoon butter

½ cup molasses

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

⅓ cup instant potatoes flakes

⅔ cup whole-wheat flour

½ cup rye flour

½ cup all-purpose flour (sort of)

1 egg, beaten, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

coarse salt (optional)

1. Stir the cornmeal into a pan containing the boiling water. 
2. Stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth. 
3. Add the cold water gradually, stirring constantly. 
4. When the mixture has cooled somewhat (110°), stir in the yeast.
5.  In a small saucepan over very low heat melt together the chocolate and butter., allowing it to cool to lukewarm.
6. In a large mixing bowl combine the cornmeal and chocolate mixtures and add the molasses, salt, caraway, and mashed potatoes. 
7. Beat together with a heavy spoon or in an electric mixer for 2 or 3 minutes, until smooth.
8.  Add the whole-wheat flour and stir or beat for 2 minutes. 
9. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside to rest for 1 hour while the dough ferments. 
10. Add the rye flour. Stir to form a shaggy ball of dough that can be lifted to the work surface. 
11. Use a dough blade to turn, fold, and knead the dough, because it is very sticky to work, for 8 minutes.
12. Add liberal sprinkles of white flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface and your hands. It will gradually become elastic even though sticky. 
13. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat the ball, cover with a towel, and put aside in a warm place to double in volume, about 75 minutes. 
14. Turn back the towel, punch down the dough, re-cover, and let it rest for 15 minutes. 
15. Turn the dough onto the work surface and shape into a round loaf. 
16. Place the loaf on a baking sheet prepared with cornmeal. 
17. Cover and let rise until almost double in volume, about 45 minutes. 
18. Preheat the oven to 375° 20 minutes before baking. 
19. Brush the loaf with the egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse salt. 
20. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350° and bake for 35 minutes more, or until the loaf tests done. It will sound hollow when the bottom crust is tapped with a forefinger.   
21. Place the loaf on a metal rack to cool before slicing. 
22. Excellent served with cheeses.

War Bread

This bread comes from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. According to Clayton this bread had been "a farmhouse loaf in New England kitchens for more than 150 years." This makes me think it was a bread from before the Civil War. At any rate I quite like it!! I like the hit of cornmeal in the bread. I'm actually thinking I'll try it again in the future but with less white flour.
 

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tablespoon butter

⅓ cup molasses

1 tablespoon salt

3 cups boiling water

1 package dry yeast

5 to 6 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approximately

1. In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, cornmeal, whole wheat, shortening, molasses, and salt.
2. Pour in the boiling water, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to 120°-130°.
3. Sprinkle the yeast on the batter, and blend.
4. Stir in the white flour, ½ cup at a time, first with the spoon and then by hand. The dough will be somewhat heavy and dense and will not have the elasticity of white dough. Nevertheless, the dough will form a shaggy mass that cleans the sides of the bowl.
5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with the rhythmic motion of push-turn-fold until the dough has become smooth. Sprinkle on more flour if the dough continues to stick to the work surface or your fingertips.
6. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a towel.
7. Put in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
8. Punch down the dough and knead for 30 seconds to press out the bubbles.
9. Divide the dough into 3 pieces.
10. Shape into balls, and let them rest on the work surface for 3 to 4 minutes.
11. Form each loaf by pressing a piece of dough into a flat oval, roughly the length of the baking pan.
12. Fold each oval in half, pinch the seam tightly to seal, tuck under the ends, and place in the pan, seam down.
13. Cover the loaves with a towel and leave until the center of the dough has risen to an inch above the edge of the pan, 50 minutes.
14. Preheat the oven to 350° 20 minutes before baking.
15. Bake the loaves in the oven until they are nicely browned and test done, about 1 hour.
16. Remove the bread from the oven and turn from the pans. Place on a metal rack to cool.

Cardamom Bread

I was really hoping this would be an exciting bread. It sounded interesting a looked amazing when it came out of the oven, but honestly- I found it bland.

1 tbsp water

½ cup milk

2 tbsp butter (room temperature)

1 egg (room temperature)

2¼ cup bread flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp ground cardamom

1½ tsp yeast

1. Combine the yeast, 1 cup flour, salt, sugar, and cardamom.
2. Combine water and milk and heat to 120º to 130º F.
3. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, combine dry mixture, liquid ingredients, and butter in mixing bowl for 4 minutes on medium speed.
4. Add egg and beat for 1 minute.
5. Gradually add remaining flour and knead with dough hook until smooth and elastic (about 5-7 minutes).
6. Place the dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top.
7. Cover; let rise for an hour.
8. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; punch down to remove air bubbles.
9. Divide dough into 3 parts.
10. Roll each piece into a 16-inch rope; line up ropes one inch apart on a greased cookie sheet.
11.  Braid loosely; pinch ends together and tuck under.
12. Cover; let rise until indentation remains when touched.
13. Brush with milk and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
14. Bake in preheated 375º F oven 20 to 25 minutes.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Bread

In my quest for another amazing bread, I tried this one. I must confess the original was a wreath bread, and I converted it to a loaf bread. But I kept the braid! I love braided loaf bread!!And this one is well on its way to becoming one of my favorite breads!!

2¼ tsp yeast

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup butter

¼ cup sugar

½ tbsp salt

2½-3½ cups flour

Topping:

¼ cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1. On your stove top add buttermilk, sugar, salt and butter together. Heat until the butter has melted. Set aside until it cools to below 110 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, proof your yeast by mixing the yeast and ½ tsp of sugar in ¼ cup of water. It is “proofed” when it starts to get foamy and bubbles.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer mix yeast mixture, butter mixture, and 2 cups of flour with your dough hook on medium. Slowly add more flour as needed and scrape down the sides.
4. Once the dough has come together, turn you mixer up to high and allow it to “knead” the dough for 5 minutes. When the dough is smooth and elastic, remove it from the mixer.
5. Place dough in a greased bowl covered with a dishtowel and allow to rise until doubled in size about 1 hour.
6. Once the bread has doubled, remove from bowl, and punch the dough down.
7. Cut into three equal portions and roll each into a long snake.
8. Braid the 3 pieces and place in a greased loaf pan (or form a wreath if desired and placed on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet) and allow to rise again until doubled, about 1 hour.
9. Twenty minutes before, preheat oven to 350.
10. In a small bowl mix sugar and cinnamon together.
11. Sprinkle over the top of your bread just before putting it in the oven.
12. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when you flick the top.