One thing my husband likes about summer is I have more time to cook. And yesterday I baked a loaf of herb bread and he was a happy camper. My dear hubby has a green thumb and he graciously grows herbs for me to use.
It’s actually a recipe I use from the bread machine recipe booklet, but since the bread machine was put to rest, I just mix the ingredients in my mixer, let it rise, and then put in a loaf pan, let it rise and then bake it. The thing I like is the fact I can change it around depending on the herbs I want to use. I also changed the recipe because I don’t use sugar like it says, I use honey. Yesterday I used chopped garlic, oregano and some dill in the recipe. You can use whatever herbs you wish, but here’s the recipe:
Herb Bread
1 ½ cups water
4 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp dried herb (or 2 tsp fresh herb)
2 teaspoons of bread machine fast rising yeast
Mix together and let it rest and rise for about 2 hours (I cover with a towel) until it doubles in size. Take out of bowl and form into a loaf and put in greased bread pan and let it rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degree oven 30-40 minutes or until top is brown and if you thump the top, the bread sounds hollow.
I use more herbs than it suggests since I usually add 2 or 3, but I think you can decide what you want. I have also changed things up on the flour – sometimes I use ¼ cup of whole wheat flour or ¼ cup of oatmeal to give it a different flavor and texture.
I feel baking this bread saves money because we normally have a bread of some sort at supper and if you price a loaf like this it can cost anywhere from $3-5 around here. It certainly didn't cost that much to bake. Plus, I can put in it what we have on hand!
Happy Baking!
Herb Bread
June 8th, 2010 at 03:27 pm
June 8th, 2010 at 06:47 pm 1276019266