Green Bread (Spinach Bread)

I made this bread because I wanted green colored bread. The spinach adds little to it other than color. You do get a very subtle spinach flavor, though. To make it I simply added pureed spinach to a basic Italian bread recipe substituting some of the water in the recipe with the puree. I was very pleased with the outcome.

I began with a pot of boiling water. In it I blanched one bunch of spinach for a couple of minutes and then I shocked it in an ice water bath. I did this to preserve the color. When the spinach was cooled I put it in a good blender with 1/2 cup of water and pureed it until it was smooth. By blender did a great job. If yours is weaker you may have to strain the puree to get out the larger pieces of spinach.

In a mixing bowl I mixed 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp yeast. to this I added about 1 cup of the spinach puree, 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tbsp. of olive oil. I mixed this well and then began adding bread flower. Enough to form a soft dough. About 2.5 cups. The dough had a beautiful bright green color.

 If you are a reader of my blog you know I don't knead my Italian bread. I like the long rise and fold method. I covered the dough and let it rise for 2.5 hours. I then folded it over itself to redistribute the yeast, gluten, and air. Then every hour I folded it over itself. I did this 3 times. After the final fold I let the dough rise again until doubled in size. I then turned it out onto a lightly floured counter, divided it in half and formed two long loafs.

I placed the loafs on a lightly greased baking sheet and let them rise until the were double in size. I baked then in a 425°F oven (with a pan of hot water placed at the bottom) and baked them for about 25 minutes.

The loafs tasted good and I think I'll make green garlic bread with them the next time my family does Italian for dinner.

Italian Easter Egg Bread

This is a traditional sweet bread found around Easter time. It is a very decorative bread that can be the center of the table with some greenery, chicks, and maybe a chocolate bunny added for effect.

1 cup warm milk
1 package yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup melted butter
3-3 1/2 cups flour
Colored eggs (raw, the eggs cook in the oven)
Sprinkles and powdered sugar icing (optional)

Mix the first 7 ingredients. Add the flour and knead to form a soft dough that is not sticky. Form dough into a ball and allow to double in bulk (about 1 1/2 hrs). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two pieces. Roll each piece into a snake and wrap them around each other. Form this into a ring. Nestle the colored eggs into the dough and allow the dough to rise another hour. Brush the dough with egg wash (for a shiny deep brown) or just melted butter. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. The finished bread may be decorated with icing and sprinkles if you like.

Rosemary Ciabatta Recipe

Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs. It adds a great taste to breads like this rosemary ciabatta.

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (more if you like)
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup dough starter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup water

Mix these ingredients together and add 2 1/2 cups of bread flour. It will be a wet dough. Mix just to combine. Allow this to rise covered for 3 hours. Then stir it/fold it over itself. Let rise 1 1/2 hours. Fold it over itself again and let it rise 1 more hour. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured work surface. Being gentle fold it over itself and then slightly flatten it out. Cut the dough into squares as bit or as little as you like (don't try to make them perfect squares). Place them on a greased baking sheet and let them rise 2 hours. Bake in a steamy oven on 500 degrees for 20 min (450 if your oven burns easily). The result will be crispy, chewy, light ciabatta with a hint of rosemary.

Homemade Focaccia Recipe

For me one of the best breads to make sandwiches out of is a nice, light, tender, flat piece of focaccia. Focaccia is extremely easy to make. Here is my recipe.

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
herb butter for brushing over the top(I use Italian seasoning mixed with melted butter and olive oil)

Mix all of the ingredients minus the flour until well combined. Add the flour and mix just until it forms a dough with no dry places. Allow the dough to rise for 4 hrs in a warm place. Punch it down and turn it out onto a greased sheet pan. With you finger tips flatten it out to about an inch thick. Allow it to rise 1 hr. With your finger tips make dimples in the surface of the dough. Brush it generously with herb butter, and bake at 375 until golden brown and delicious (about a 1/2 hr).

Panettone Recipe: French Toast

Panettone is an Italian sweet bread from Milan. It is a staple at Christmas. While good by itself, it makes phenomenal French toast. I had the pleasure of eating some panettone French toast this morning with panettone I made myself. Here's how.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1 package yeast
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup candied citron
1 tbsp orange or lemon zest

Mix water, yeast, salt, sugar, eggs, and oil. Add flour and other ingredients to form a wet sticky dough. In a stand mixer mix the dough for 5 minutes. Let dough rise in a greased bowl for 3 hrs. If you want a tall panettone you will need a special tall pan or clean coffee can lined with parchment. If not use a regular loaf pan or deep round casserole pan well greased and lined with parchment. After dough has risen transfer it to the pans filling them no more than half way. Let the dough rise however long it takes for it to reach the top of the pan. Bake at 375 until well browned about 30-40 min depending on the size of your pan.

After the panettone was cooled I cut it into 1/2 in slices and proceeded to make the French toast. I use a ratio of approximately 1 egg to 1/4 cup milk to 1 1/2 tbsp sugar for my French toast custard as well as some cinnamon and vanilla for flavoring.  

Experimental Loaf 1: Garlic Herb Bread with Lemon

Recently I have been experimenting with putting different flavors in bread. One such experiment is the pretty little loaf you see above. It contains chopped fresh herbs (thyme and rosemary), lemon zest, and crushed garlic. The base was my italian bread recipe. Here is a link to that recipe- Italian Bread . It was pretty tasty, though I would have loved more garlic. Also next time I'll remove the lemon and use that for a citrus flavored bread instead (the orange cranberry bread at Wegmans is great). Some more experimental loaves are on the way.

How to Make Simple Bruschetta

Over the past few weeks I've found myself baking a lot of Italian bread, both long and round loaves. First I made some for the family, then I made some for a bake sale (they are not just for sweet stuff), and then I made some for a friend to take to a family reunion. With all this bread being made it's no wonder I had plenty of left overs (despite how good it is). But that doesn't bother me. One of my favorite things to do with leftover Italian bread is make bruschetta.

To make it I take the bread and slice it into 1/2 in thick slices. I then place them on a baking sheet and drizzle them with plain olive oil or garlic infused oil. Bake them at 400 degrees until toasted. I let the toast cool and then top them with a mixture of chopped roma tomatoes, basil, and finely minced garlic. I season the mixture with salt, pepper, and olive oil. This is a cool, refreshing summer snack or hors d'oeuvre, and a tasty use for stale Italian or French bread.