Tales from the Bread Machine: Hearty Flaxseed

Matthew turned out this loaf last night between two pleasurable tasks. First, this Christmas yielded a new Nintendo DS cartridge called "Personal Trainer: Cooking." It guides you through a large number of recipes from a dozen cuisines. Last night, he made blueberry / cranberry / raisin coulis, which the program classified as a German dessert. (Sunny thinks of it more as a topping.) We then re-watched the documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," a highly recommended and wide-ranging examination of the social impact of performance-enhancing drugs. Totally worth the two hours of your time.

Anyway, this bread resembles a flaxseed loaf we did in the past, but allows for raisins as a mid-point addition. (Bread machines with "fruit & nut" cycle allow you to mix in more stuff just before baking.) I kept waiting for it to beep and alert me to the "add stuff now" moment. Turns out you put the fruit in a side compartment and it does the work automatically. Oh well, next time.

We used the FRUIT & NUT setting with MEDIUM crust.

Look: Bubbly top that looks a little underdone, but inside definitely baked
Cut: Crispy crust, dense interior
Taste: Not as flavorful as expected, probably from lack of raisins (the recipe says to adds cinnamon when you leave out fruit, which we did accidentally)

Tales from the Bread Machine: Corn Bread

Hillbilly Housewife Corn Bread! Who on earth could be more credible for corn bread excellence?

This recipe closely followed the Challah as we prepared for Thanksgiving. The kitchen felt hot and in full swing, as we also turned out mesquite chicken, shepherd's pie, three dozen fig cookies, cranberry relish, apple compote, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potato pie, baked spiced pears, and apple & cherry jelly. Some of it went into our own bellies, but the cookies went out to a larger audience at a friend's dinner.

This loaf used the recipe as written and turned out fairly firm. Pan-made corn bread often fluffs up or feels spongy, but this came out much denser. On the up side, that makes it suitable for sandwiches or other weight-bearing tasks.

We used the bread machine's WHITE flour and MEDIUM crust cooking settings this time. Honoring a personal tradition, I ate one heel of the bread right out of the oven (NOM NOM NOM). The crust crunched more than expected, which calls for a LIGHT exterior next time around.

Look: Nice corn-color top with slight dark edges from the medium crust setting

Cut: Dense, no problems with a bread knife

Taste: Wholesome, not too buttery. Better with butter than fruit jelly.

Tales from the Bread Machine: Challah (Egg Bread)

A friend-of-a-friend moved recently and we ended up with a free bread machine. (They never used it, it looks better on our wall anyway, etc.) This machine included a couple of recipe books, about twenty different breads total. The machine's capabilities go beyond bread, a surprise to me. Its other settings include jams and jellies, cake, and pizza dough, a pretty good profile of modern carb cravings.

I understand that some people really like their roombas. We're not going to make a little hutch for our bread machine anytime soon, but the whole process goes quite smoothly and produces some nice loaves.

Thanksgiving comes TOMORROW (zounds!) and our plans include seeing three different groups of friends. Giving some bread to each of them would be an appropriate gift, so the work started early today with this Challah recipe. It takes but a few minutes to pile the ingredients into the pan (always in the proper order!) and get the process underway. The 1.5lb ball of dough's kneading away as I type.

We learned a few things about baking with our machine over the last two months. First, bread quality follows the water balance closely. Too much means a soggy interior, an under-baked result, and trouble with slicing. Too little means a stiff and crumbly exterior. The difference between those two seems very small, perhaps a tablespoon or so on either side. It's possible to correct (somewhat) by checking the dough a few times during kneading and sprinkling more water, a very small amount at a time. It would really help for recipes to describe things look at different stages in the process. A few do, but most let you learn what small touches to make on your own.

OK, the bread's done now and smells excellent. (Never ignore the nostril impact of baking in your kitchen!) Today's loaf settings were WHITE flour and MEDIUM crust. The recipe called for two eggs; we used one real and one "fake" (non-fat). Everything else went in as listed. To the ratings!

Look: Nice even color, no burned areas
Cut: Crust crunchy but yields easily to bread knife
Taste: Eggs! I'd like a little more depth to the flavor. Add an extra tsp of honey next time?