Parmesan Herb Bread

What do you do when you have rosemary in your fridge that has to be used? You bake parmesan herb bread, of course!

Several months ago, my boyfriend found a recipe online for Rustic Garlic Parmesan Herb Bread by Stay at Home Chef. We made it to accompany a meal and really enjoyed it. It was relatively quick to prepare and the flavour and texture were perfection. The best part of the recipe, though, was that it suggested you form the dough into two small boules instead of one larger loaf. So, after consuming one with our supper, we tucked the other away in the freezer to enjoy the following week. Built in portion control! (And let's be honest, when it comes to freshly baked bread, we all struggle with that.)

While I'm a big believer in making a recipe as written the first time (unless there is an obvious error), I'm also one to tinker with recipes, make substitutions, and make them my own. So this time I cut the garlic, swapped in fresh rosemary instead of a selection of dried herbs, and added a little extra parmesan (because, like chocolate, you measure cheese with your heart). In less than 5 minutes, I had a smooth dough ready to begin its first rise.

As I reflect on just how easy this recipe seems to come together, I realize that the method is just as important as the ratio of ingredients. If you put the liquid in the bowl first, it's much easier to incorporate the dry ingredients than if you do the reverse. I learned this years ago when I did Bake for the Cure. One of the chefs led participants in making focaccia and that was his advice for making bread in a stand mixer. Very smart. 

After shaping two boules, leaving them to rise again for another 20 minutes or so, and scoring the tops, I popped them in the oven for 20 minutes. And voila! Delicious homemade parmesan rosemary bread. 

As much as I want to tear into one of these right now, they are both destined for the freezer to be enjoyed another day. They'll be perfect with soup or curry -- and I'm certain my future self with thank me for this partial meal prep.

Until then, do you have a favourite bread recipe? 

Old Fashioned Porridge Bread

While I was thumbing through my Cream of the West Cook Book a few weeks ago, I identified a few recipes that I wanted to try (and noted a few that I would never dare to make). I wrote a list of promising-sounding ones on a post-it note and stuck it to the cover of the book thinking I'd eventually make them all. One recipe, however, stood out -- old fashioned porridge bread. I decided I would make that the following weekend. I had everything I needed except for molasses, so I added that to my grocery list on my BlackBerry and picked it up with the groceries on Saturday morning.

My interest in the porridge bread was sparked by a trip to The Dancing Goat earlier this year. Two of my friends and I had decided that an adventure was necessary -- I think it might have been over the Easter long weekend -- so we hopped in the car and drove to The Dancing Goat for lunch. I had one of the most delicious sandwiches ever and it was on porridge bread.

The recipe in Cream of the West is slightly more involved than a traditional bread recipe. It's unusual in that you first make porridge as the base for the bread dough. If you've looked at the ingredients, you are probably wondering whether I followed it and used the shortening (since in an earlier post, I substituted butter). In this case, I stuck with the shortening -- not because I thought a substitution wouldn't work, but because I had shortening left over from a cake decorating class and wanted to use it up. I did think that there was too much salt in the recipe, so I cut that back by 1 teaspoon. Finally, I adjusted the process so that the salt was mixed with flour (and wouldn't kill the yeast when added). I admit that I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for much of the mixing and kneading (and was very thankful for it, given how heavy the dough actually is).

I do think that there is something "off" in this recipe. I didn't come close to adding as much flour as indicated. I actually can't imagine how one would be able to (and I do recognize that it partially depends on humidity and other factors). Nevertheless, I did end up with a very delicious tasting bread.

Admittedly, it didn't rise as much as I'd hoped. That could be a result of old yeast (mine hadn't expired, but it was close to the date) or not enough yeast given how heavy the mixture is. But without a doubt, this is a truly delicious bread. I plan to try it again very soon with fresher yeast and have no doubt that it will produce the ideal loaf. I'm thinking, however, that next time I may try cutting the recipe in half.

I'll keep you posted!

Rating for taste: 10/10

Rating for recipe: 6/10