There's Nothing Like Fresh Homemade Bread...

Whoa! It's been a loooong time since I posted anything. Time to get back on track... My family loves homemade breads, and especially "symphony of crackle"--aka French bread (credits to the Disney movie Ratatouille). I regularly make it to serve with pasta dishes or soups; it goes together quickly and compliments most meals. Sometimes, though, I like to make bread with lots of flavor. While I'm savoring the whole grain goodness and thinking how nutritious it is (and what a great mom I am to feed this to my family), my kids are telling me that while it's really yummy, they like the basic French bread the most.

I recently came across this tantalizing recipe and decided to try it out. Amazing! So much flavor and texture! This is a perfect bread to serve with a light salad on one of these hot summer days.

I used the recipe found here http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/granary-style-loaf-recipe with some minor alterations. First, I added about two tablespoons of honey, I used malt powder, rather than extract, and I added about 1/2 cup of Harvest Grains Blend. Just before the loaves were ready to place in the oven, I brushed the tops with a cornstarch wash, cut a cross hatch pattern on the surfaces, and sprinkled a few pinches of malted wheat flakes over the tops.Also, I shaped the loaves into rounds and placed them on parchment lined cookie pans, rather than using loaf pans.  Mmmm. The fragrance as the bread baked was wonderful; as soon as the loaves cooled we sliced one up and spread it with maple butter and horked it down. I often make maple butter instead of honey butter. I just whip the butter with pure maple syrup instead of honey. It won't incorporate as much maple syrup as it would honey, as the syrup is a little thinner. It's a really nice flavor and for those with small children, safer than raw honey.

Have a wonderful day!