Spiced Banana/Pecan Buckwheat Bread

     We needed something to nosh on while our family gathered to help Grandpa sort through a lifetime of belongings as he prepares for his move to his new apartment.  So I made this quick bread, and now I'm posting the recipe at my sister-in-law's request.
     Like the previous recipe I posted, this one comes from Daniel Leader's Bread Alone.  He gives credit to Carol Guthrie, who helped him develop this and several other quick bread recipes in the book.
     I altered the recipe to my own taste for even wholer, more natural ingredients.  I substituted some of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour and half of the white sugar with sucanat, which is real, unbleached sugar that adds both color and a subtle molasses flavor to the finished loaf.  For a slight tang, I used buttermilk in place of plain milk.  And I couldn't resist spicing it up with generous amounts of cinnamon and ginger.
     This bread tastes like a homey cake and needs no embellishment.  My husband, however,  likes it with cream cheese.

4 1/2 oz. King Arthur White Whole-Wheat Flour
8 oz. Hudson Cream All-Purpose Flour
5 oz. Hodgson Mill Whole-Grain Stone-Ground Buckwheat Flour
3 t. Baking powder
3/4 t. Baking soda
1 t. Redmond Sea Salt
2 t. Ground cinnamon
2 t. Ground ginger
3/4 C. Unsalted butter
3/4 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Sucanat
3 Large eggs
3/4 C. Buttermilk
2 C. Mashed, very ripe bananas
6 oz.  Toasted pecans

     Preheat oven to 350 F.  Generously grease and flour a bread pan.  (Leader calls for a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan, but my batter overflowed this size pan, so I would recommend using a slightly larger pan.)
     Toast the pecans for a few minutes in the preheated oven.  
     Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda,  salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl.
     Using a hand or a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugars in another large bowl.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after adding each egg.  Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, one third of each at a time.
     Fold in the bananas and toasted pecans.
     Pour batter in the greased and floured pan.  Leader suggests a 60 minute baking time, but my bread took 85 minutes to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.  Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
     Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap.  The loaf is even better if allowed to age a day before slicing.
    
 

My Own Personal Chef

I just want you to see what my gorgeous rye chef looks like after hanging out in my kitchen for a full day of work.

Tonight's Delight: Sourdough Rye with Roasted Sunflower Seeds, Pepitas, and Millet

 

     

     The whole-grain fans in my family will be enjoying this bread for dinner tonight.  Baguettes are proofing in the couche for those who like it whiter.  

     This bread begins with a sourdough rye starter, which I make with my two-year-old rye chef using Daniel Leader's formula in Bread Alone:  Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands.   

    
     Here are the ingredients:

18 oz. Rye Sourdough Starter
2 C. Whole Milk
1/2 C. 2% Milk
1/2 C. Water
1 lb. 7 oz.  King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
12 oz. Hodgson Mill Stone-Ground Whole Wheat Flour
1 T. Redmond Sea Salt
1/2 C. Unsulphured Molasses
1 C. Roasted Sunflower Seeds
1 C. Roasted Pepitas
1 C. Millet

     Roasted seeds and millet give this bread a delightful crunch.  I love eating it just plain.  It is also delicious toasted with a bit of salted butter or a smear of cream cheese.

Better Late Than Never

     Yes, this book was published in 2000.  And, yes, it is now 2010.  But, this book just landed on my doorstep today.
     I'd been borrowing Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking Across America from the Wichita Public Library periodically over the past ten years.  After making yet another trip to the downtown branch of the library to borrow the book, I decided it was time to buy my own copy, only to discover, sadly, that this book is now out of print.  So, my search began.  I was thrilled to finally locate a used copy online.  So thrilled, in fact, that I won't even complain that the book, which the bookseller had promised to be in "very good" condition, arrived as well-worn as the book I'd been constantly retrieving from the public library. 
     There are many things about this lovely book that have kept me coming back for more. 
     It started out like many love affairs do--with the purely visual.  This is a large-format book with lots of color plates of some of the most gorgeous breads I've ever seen, such as Judy Unruh's Wedding Zwieback, Craig Ponsford's Ciabatta, and Dutch Regale's Almond Stollen.  Then there's the close-up of wheat kernels on a mill stone mid-grind, showing off their gritty textures.  And a sweet two-page spread of doughs blanketed in fine, linen couches that makes me just want to lie down and nap alongside them.
     Another reason I feel such a strong connection to Artisan Baking Across America is that this is the book that first made me aware of The Bread Bakers Guild of America (of which I am now a member) and the simple fact that great breads can be made at home.  The book is full of recipes for breads from professional artisan bakeries all around the country.  Semolina Filone.  Walnut Levain.  Fennel Taralli.  Pane coi Santi.  Even the names of these breads are beautiful. 
     But it's the case studies of small artisan bakeries that enthrall me now:  Pearl Bakery in Portland, Oregon.  Kossar's Bialystoker Kuchen in New York.  WheatField's in Lawrence, Kansas.  Small shops run by people who practice transforming flour, water, yeast, and salt into works of beauty and sustenance.
     And of extra-special interest to me today is the inspirational Della Fattoria, which started out as the backyard bakery of Kathleen Weber in Petaluma, California.  Like me, Kathleen, not only loves to bake bread, but must be an insomniac of sorts.  When she started her backyard bakery, she routinely arose at midnight to mix her doughs and get their fermentation underway, then went back to bed after a few hours labor.  The rest of the work was completed, with the help of husband and son, the next day.  Not a 9-5 job, but a ritual fulfilling twenty-four hours.
     I feel such a deep kinship with every one of the artisans Glezer has profiled that it makes me wonder if Bill Almond, who inscribed his name inside the cover, ever regrets parting with them and this fine book. 
      
       
   

A Perfect Marriage of Flour and Art

Okay.  So it's a commercial.  But if you love getting your hands into fresh flour, this may just bring tears to your eyes.  Enjoy!

Twisted

Today was ciabatta day.  The wet ciabatta dough can be hard to handle, but giving the loaves a few twists before placing them on the peel gives them some structure and a decidedly funky appearance.  The crackling crust has a very nice caramel flavor. 

Épi de Blé and Baguettes

I attended Ciril Hitz's lecture on Artisan Pastries and Breads at IBIE (International Baking Industry Expo) in Las Vegas last month and have been experimenting with his baguette recipe this week.  The épi on the left is a perfect pull-apart bread to share at the dinner table with a smear of brie.  I'm trying to work some whole wheat flour into this traditionally all-white-flour bread.

In Media Res

     I have been baking breads for several years now.  My focus has been sourdough breads, both wheat and rye, made with starters I cultivate from wild yeasts in my home kitchen.  Think Pumpernickel.  Danish Rye.  Vollkornbrot.  Dense and moist and filling.  Some are plain and simple.  Some are loaded with nuts, fruits, and spices.  My favorite is a Christmas bread that I fill with candied orange peel, cinnamon, ginger (and I mean lots of ginger--both ground and candied), and cardamom. 
     Now I am expanding my bread baking to include loaves made from preferments using commercial yeasts to make baguettes, ciabatta, bagels, and many other types of bread.
     Breads made with sourdough starters and preferments require several days to create, as the dough does a long, slow fermentation to develop complex flavors, textures, and aromas.
    Most of my breads are made from whole grains, some of which I grind myself using a Bosch grain mill.  The wheat berries I grind come from Norm Oeding, a grower in Kingman County, Kansas.  In addition to wheat and rye, I use oats, millet, barley, quinoa, teff, amaranth, and other grains, nuts, and fruits.