Spring Chive Blossom Bread

It is Spring in Minnesota and my chives are in full bloom. Time to make my annual  loaf or two of Chive Blossom Bread. I usually just use a simple French bread recipe but this time I am going to use Abel"s 90% Biga formula with a slight twist. Using a biga imparts such excellent fermentation flavor.

I used straight Gold Medal brand unbleached AP flour per husband's request instead of the stoneground flour.  I used a  1.5%  salt ratio. To make life with a biga simple, I put the biga ingredients in a Ziploc bag and squished the contents til mixed before letting it sit overnight. My biga was shaggy and looked very much like his original post HERE  . Ambient room temp was 67F. Smelled delightful when I opened it up 12 hours later. Using a K5 mixer, the biga and final dough mixed without difficulty. It makes it easier to snip the biga pieces (with a scissors or bench knife) into smaller pieces. Mixing by hand may take longer. It will take a vigorous frissage to prevent tiny dumplings of biga in the final dough.

This year I have an added bonus of garlic chives! I prepared the blossoms by washing in cold water and pulling the purple flower parts off the tough stem they are attached to. I was surprised at how strong the onion effect was. I didn't want to add tears to the dough but I was very teary-eyed! The garlic chives smelled delightful!

Can you see the little chive blossoms incorporated? The internal petals will stay lavender and the outer ones will brown. Very aromatic.

This is a rather wet and sticky dough. I'll post more pics later. I am posting "real time" as I make it.

You can incorporate chive blossoms into any bread dough. I just threw the prepared flowers and chopped leaves into the final few minutes of mixing, making sure they mixed evenly. Easy enough to do by hand, if you wish.

More later.