Normandy Apple Bread
As I was looking through Jeffrey Hamelman's book Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes, I saw the recipe for Normandy Apple Bread. Having a couple of apples laying around the house, I thought I would give it a try. So, I started the levain build and then found my dehydrator so I could dehydrate the apples by morning. Took 2 apples for the amount required for one loaf.
Then this morning I went to the store to pick up some apple cider and then proceeded to mix my dough. I used my bread machine to mix the dough and incorporate the dried apple. It was almost weird to use instant yeast again. I have been so focused on slow rising sourdough that it seemed way too fast to bulk rise in an hour and final rise in an hour!
It's a nice tasting bread with a soft crust and crumb. It seemed a tad dry for a a 68% hydration bread. Maybe because the dried apples absorbed some of the liquid? I might try increasing the liquid a bit next time. Maybe I will also add a little cinnamon next time. That should work well with the apples.
Comments
re-hydrating all dried fruits and then squeezing out the liquid before it goes in the bread . The liquid becomes part of the dough liquid. Then you don't have to worry about the dried fruit sucking the dough dry. Dried apples that are re-hydrated aren't the same as fresh apples - much more flavorful. i think putting some cinnamon on the apples before they go in would be a nice touch too,
Your bread sure looks like a winner and with some SD ....it might be a bit better too:-) Well done and
Happy baking
Good idea. I think that would work great. I can tell from the texture of the apples in the bread that they definitely soaked up quite a bit of liquid.
I've been thinking, since the recipe does have sourdough in it, I might try doing it without the instant yeast. It would be interesting to see if that changes the texture.
It would sit very nicely with butter and cheese... Was thinking the same as dabrownman - why not soak your fruit in a sploosh of the cider for a little while and then use that liquid for the bread?
Actually, why not add some sharp cheese to the bread? We have a saying here in the UK that "an apple pie without some cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze" LOL... Apple pie with cheese is very nice, so why not apple and cheese bread? I just might try this...
Now that's an idea... cheese! I bet it would go together really well.
Now I need to go dehydrate some more apples!
Beautiful looking bake Kathy.
Happy Baking.
Ian
Thank you, Ian. I appreciate the encouragement!
What a good looking bread, love the way you score.
Regards,
Sandy
Thanks Sandy! I do try other scoring patterns, but I really like this one for some reason.
Looks great, KathyF. Happy baking. :-)
Thanks Colin! Baking is a happy occupation, isn't it? Such a joy when it turns out well and an enormous sense of satisfaction. Even the challenge of trouble shooting a recipe that is causing trouble can give one a feeling of accomplishment.