Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread (in theory)

May’s bread is now one for the books; yet another candidate for the baking fail program, Nailed It.  (I hear this show is getting ready for its third season.)

The Kitchen of the Month was Karen’s Kitchen Stories.  Karen challenged us to make a starter and use it to make Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread.  

The other bakers’ breads were successful, so I have no idea what I did wrong.  I even made it twice!  The second time I watched it like a hawk, getting it into the oven at the perfect time, but it still ended up looking badly.  It tasted just fine, but won’t win any beauty prizes.  If I ever figure out the problem, I will cheer.

The starter, however, has been doing just fine, nice and bubbly and perfumed with alcohol.   I have used it to make other baked products, each one turning out as expected. 

Take a look at the beautiful breads that the other Babes made.  If you would like to participate as a Buddy, get the recipe from Karen’s blog, and share your results with her by May 29^th to be included in the roundup.

To see what the bread is supposed to look like, stop by the other Babe’s blogs.

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth 
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna  (Kitchen of the Month)
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle

Holiday breads: Ciambella Mandorlata

This month the Babes are baking a celebratory bread, thanks to Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen.  She chose Ciambella Mandorlata, a fragrant, braided wreath, served during holiday seasons.  I used a different source for my recipe.  Turns out it is included in Bread for All Seasons by Beth Hensperger (page 131), which I have in my cookbook library.  The bread itself has hints of lemon and almond flavors, while the topping is a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and almonds.  Just for fun, I used almond meal instead of large pieces of almond, and it worked out quite well.

First rise:  I think it doubled in size.

Second rise:  I had to remember how to braid!  Plus, the strands were 30 inches long, which created a challenge for where to roll out the dough and braid it, not to mention moving it to the baking sheet.  The center hole was certainly large enough, so I didn’t have to be concerned about keeping it open.

Topping:

Finished bread.  It turned out just fine.  The crumb was good, the taste was good.  

All in all, an easy bread to make with delicious results.

Visit the websites of the other Babes to see all the beautiful braided loaves.  Stop by Aparna's blog to get the recipe.  If you decide to bake one yourself, send the story and photos to Aparna by April 28^th to be included in the roundup.

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth 
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna  (Kitchen of the Month)
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Bake My Day - Karen
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle

 

5 Minute Ksra Bread for the Babes

March’s Kitchen of the Month is Kelly, of A Messy Kitchen.  For our challenge, she chose Ksra, a Moroccan flatbread, from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes.   I was very excited about this challenge for several reasons.  

First, I love the technique.  I don’t mind baking bread in the traditional way, but the 5-minute technique is one of my favorites.  

Second, I have this book on my computer as an electronic file.  The reason?  I’m the person who created the index in the back of the book.  That’s what I do for a living, and I’ve worked on all the Zoe’s and Jeff’s books except for their very first one.  I’m always excited when they are preparing for a new book, since I get an early peek at all the yummy recipes.

For the Ksra, I substituted rye flour for the barley flour, since that is what I had on hand.  I prepared half the recipe, which gave me two opportunities to bake.  Both times, the bread turned out fine.  It was easy to make and delicious as well.

 

I highly recommend any of the books in the series.  There is even one for gluten-free bread baking, if that is important to you.

Meanwhile, I hope you will bake along with us this month.  You can find the recipe on Kelly’s website.  Send your story and photos to Kelly by the 31^st  of March to be included in the roundup.

Be sure and visit the other Babe's website to read about their adventures with Ksra and 5-minute bread.

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth 
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly  (Kitchen of the Month)
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Bake My Day - Karen
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle