Creating a Drooling Zone
Savory Hot-Crumb
This bread has the best aroma I have ever smelled. I was afraid the fragrance of rosemary and garlic would wake the family last night while it was baking. Really heavenly!
Last week I discovered that the things I liked about Mark's Kalamata and Pepper Jack Cheese loaf was the herb infused oil and the hot spicy bite you get from the cheese. I decided to try just using the elements that stand out, skipping the cheese and olives all together. Oh, then I thought I would add some crushed fresh garlic.
So, this is a rustic basic white bread with 40 g of olive oil infused with 1-1/2 teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary, 1-1/2 teaspoons dry French Thyme (Penzies), 1 heaping teaspoon of crushed red pepper run through the spice grinder to make it fine, and 1 large clove of garlic, crushed. I warm the oil in a custard cup for 25-30 seconds in the Microwave and let it set for a while. The oil mixture was added to the water in the final dough. I did subtract the weight of the oil from the water amount. This amount was for a batch of 3.2 Lbs or 2- 1.5+Lb loaves.
If you look at the close up shot you can see the flecks of red pepper that didn't get pulverized in my spice mill. I had hoped that I had over done the pepper and it would be way to hot for normal pallet tastes. But once again the heat of the pepper was subdued by the heat of baking .
I think next time I will roast a head of garlic and smush that up instead of using a single raw clove. The combination of Thyme, Rosemary and Garlic is a natural in many foods. Baked into any bread you have a crowd pleaser!
Eric