Maple Syrup as a Bread Ingredient - Mixed Emotions
Today I used a new recipe. On one hand it was a failure, but on the other hand it had some redeeming qualities. There were three ingredients which I normally don't use in bread: egg, maple syrup and milk. The crust burned before the internal temperature of the bread reached 200°F.. I don't know which of the ingredients caused the crust to burn. The loaf itself reached an excellent height.
A closer look at the burnt crust follows:
The interior had a lovely, light, golden-brown color. The texture was excellent as was the structure, but then there was the crust...grrr...
I cut off a slice, cut off the crust, and toasted it. It toasts lovely (no photo - but can make one if you'd like to see), but then there's still that maple syrup flavor that I just can't get used to in bread. Dunno, it must be a psychological thing, but it's just not bread to me with that flavor. Perhaps I could use a cookie cutter, make a cookie from it, and then may be I'd love it...lol...
The very unfortunate thing about this whole experiment is that I used the first of my Wheat Montana's Prairie Gold grain/flour for this loaf. I should have stuck with my standard recipe.
If you have some thoughts as to why the crust burned on me as it did, please comment.
Cliff.