Salted Honey and Lavender Sourdough
This one was inspired by WoodenSpoon @ thefreshloaf in this post . I had a bit of fresh lavender growing and the rains of early summer made me do this one. Some information was missing from the original post and various people have followed up with their own bakes but as far as I could see nobody had actually posted a full recipe / calculation for the bread so....
FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE
I also had to try this in a new oven. My existing one died with an error code and would no longer use the oven function. The cost to fix it was a bit too high and the time too long for my taste so I also get to present my new combo steam oven microwave!
I was a bit worried because as with any time you bake in a new oven you have no clue how it will perform. Thankfully this one is a champ.
Very pleased with the bake on this one overall....but what about the rest?
Tasting Notes: I'm puzzled honestly. The lavender scent is pleasant and the flavor is there in the background as a light floral. If you have ever had a Lavender Macaron (the french kind not the coconut kind)....that's the flavor...but less strong and without the sweetness. I enjoyed the first slice with butter but stood at the counter perplexed. I'm not upset about this bread. I don't hate it. In honesty I'm still trying to figure out what it's use case for. It's such a unique flavor that I'm sure in the right application it would shine and be amazing...I just haven't figured out what that is yet. My spouse tried it with some honey and an extra little sprinkle of salt and it was good but they are in the same kind of puzzlement. After some discussion we think that it might be best on a fancy picnic in the countryside with a soft white cheese, honey, maybe fig jam. Tomorrow I'll have to try it with a bit of cream cheese and jam or honey.
Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process.
Would I make it again: Honestly, I don't know. I would need a very specific use for this to do it again and I haven't found that yet. I'm glad I tried it, and I will continue to try it with different toppings...maybe some candied lemon peal...forever perplexed on this one.
Comments
More than I do in yeasted or sourdough breads. Combined with lemon, it’s a delightful flavor. The sweetness of the muffin batter tends to bring out the lavender flavor, I think.
Your bread looks very good.
Paul
Muffins sound like a really good idea....I could see it working well in a poundcake as well.
It looks and sounds like a lovely breakfast or tea bread and the accompaniments you suggested sound perfect. It's a nice bake. Enjoy it! 🙂
–AG
I like lavender in a herbes de Provenance, it comes across more herbaceous in that blend rather than floral. Your baking looks great Steven.
Benny
You are right Benny. I tried it with some cream cheese and black current jam today and it was for sure more on the herbaceous side of things than the floral I'm still a bit perplexed but in the best of ways. Novel flavors are something that take a bit of time to wrap your head around....kind of like that miso and shiso sourdough you inspired me to make!
I'd like to hear about the oven. It looks amazing.
It is a combination oven, broiler/grill, and microwave that will go up to 300c. Even more importantly, it is just large enough for me to put a 24cm LeCreuset dutch oven inside. While I will never be making full size french baguettes, with an interior that is H30cm x W41cm x D29cm it is enough to do pretty much everything else. The ability to have 2 baking sheets in at the same time is also quite nice for things like bagels. The new oven is slightly bigger...I think it's 32 cm high which lets me put the LeCreuset on a baking tray instead of a makeshift rack on the deck of the oven. But other than that it's basically the same. The new one also does Super Heated Steam which I haven't experimented with much but will try at some point in the future I'm sure.
Because I live in Japan the kitchen environment is much different and requires sometimes novel solutions to do things that are commonplace in the West. You can see what I mean if you look at one of my early posts. EQUIPMENT IN A SMALL KITCHEN.
Thanks for asking and good luck with your bakes.