This is my take on Bon Appétit's Thyme Gougères. I subbed chives for the thyme, and used finely milled hard white wheat for the flour. I also hedged my bets with 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. These are cheesily delicious, and are begging to be filled with something (duck liver patè maybe?)

I need new bread for toast. Horribly so.

When I was last here I had just had my second child. So...not much baking went on. He's over a year and a half old now, and I was getting sick of store bought bread. So...back to it. My kids are getting sick of it, too, though, and last night was the first time they touched bread in a long time: I made asiago cheese loaves and...er...they're almost gone now. Two more are in the dough stage as we speak.

So I need some kid-friendly ideas that I could experiment with for breakfast breads. I'd like something I can build on a basic slightly sweet, slightly enriched dough. The sweetening could vary with the type of fruit/seasonings that went in the bread. I was already thinking of doing a maple-oatmeal bread, sweetened solely with maple syrup. I had also tossed around the idea of a strawberry-banana bread (which would be very, very pink inside) and a pumpkin-oatmeal bread (with pie spices), and a blueberry-cream cheese spiral. I've also been tossing around the idea of doing a sweetened five spice bread, but that's a quick bread and not what we're talking about here.

So anyone have anything else I haven't thought of to throw out at me?

Hi,

I'm looking for a recipe for a savory Sweet Potato Bread Recipe that will have a firm crust, and not using cinnamon, nuts, etc.  I've looked all over the net but haven't found anything that I'm interested in. If anyone knows of such a recipe and could point me in that direction would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Has anybody seen a recipe for something like a savory onion spread? I while back somebody posted a very simple recipe in a local newspaper for savory onion something, I don't think it had any ingredients other than onions, and it slow cooked for a long time until they become a kind of jam or spread. This sounds like something I would love to try on my sourdough, but I can't find the article, and the reipes I find online have a long ingredient list, I just know this is not what I had read about.

Russ from RI

This is the first recipe I baked from my new copy of Dan Lepard's "The Handmade Loaf". The book is beautifully illustrated and has breads from all over Europe that are unique and well described. The official name of this bread doesn't do justice to the ingredients list. Lurking in the list are 100g of olives and olive oil that help make the dough smooth and delicious. I thought the final dough was a touch dry, so I added a couple Tablespoons additional water. In the end I might have added a little to much but it was quite a nice dough by the time I got to the stretch and fold part.  The method calls for final shaping on a baking sheet coated with oil. I used parchment with a small amount of oil rubbed in. Dan calls for semolina or corn meal to be sprinkled on the top. That gives the bread a nice texture on the surface.

I baked this at 420F for 30 minutes and then lowered the heat to 390F when I turned the loaf for color. It was browning nicely at that point. My finished bread is quite a bit darker than the one in the book and the profile isn't as flat as shown. I did dimple the top with my fingers just before loading but I was taking care not to deflate the dough. Still, you can see by the pre-bake image, it did spring nicely.

The flavor is delicious. I would say the predominate taste is from the olives but I can taste the Thyme in the background. The Thyme may improve with time if it lasts that long. This is a keeper and I know will be a hit with the family.

This is the second bread from Mr. Lepard I have baked that tastes unique and better than the ingredients would lead you to expect. I think I am going to enjoy exploring here.

Eric

I spent the day making a couple of sourdough focaccias and a miche that is similar to the Thom Leonard Country French recipe in Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer. The recipe for the focaccias follows.