How does artisan baked bread differ from commercial baked bread? That was the question in the winter newsletter from New York Small Scale Food Processors Association. “The difference is in the process and attention to detail rather than in the scale of the operation. Quality ingredients is the first step to creating artisanal bread. Long slow mixing, folding the bread for strength, long slow fermentation and hand shaping are the signature processes.
The crumb is open, silky, with a crisp crust and slashes on top that indicated good oven spring. Commercial bread has a dense, cake like crumb (are you thinking “Wonder bread”????) and dull crust which is evidenced little oven spring. “
My bread today uses Brown Rice Flour. I used Agave Nectar as my sweetener coupled with savory ingredients such as fresh Rosemary and dried Sage. Artisanal? No. It flopped.
So what do you do with a loaf that you made that simply crumbles when sliced? You make delicious Rice Flour croutons! You crumble the bread, put into the oven at 350 F for 20 minutes or until crisp! Save the day!
For my recipe of artisan raisin bread, see this link. It’s a favorite in this house.
Spiced Apple Cider Cookies – could we call these little treats “Gourmet Wassail Cookies”?
Maybe. I’ve included ingredients such as cinnamon, clove, lemon peel, orange peel, and nutmeg.
I had a box of this drink mix left from a gift basket and thought, “Great ingredients for a spicy cookie!”
- 1 stick unsalted butter – softened
- 1 box Wassail Drink Mix: 3/4 cup total (sugar cinnamon, clove, lemon peel, orange peel, and nutmeg
- 2 TBS Apple Cider
- 2 Eggs
- 2 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.
Beat the butter and the drink mix (sugar & spices) until grainy creamed.
Add the cider and mix.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Mix flour with salt and baking soda and add to the butter mixture. Mix well.
Drop by 1 TBS onto prepared sheets.
Taking some spare flour, dip your fingers in it then flatten the cookie to about 1/2”.
Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.
*You will notice I have rings on. You should never prepare food when wearing rings if you expect your hands/jewelry might come in contact with the food. Even though we wash our hands before preparing any recipe, jewelry isn’t sanitized by our soaps. It is best to remove rings that might come in contact with food. You may be resistant to any bacteria sources, but other people may not.
Last opportunity for the Giveaway. Click here: CLEAN FOOD. There is a comment from the book’s author, Terry Walters. Make sure to check it out!
| Dear Joanne and all!Thank you all for so many great comments and for your interest in CLEAN FOOD. As I can’t answer all of your questions here, please feel free to join the CLEAN FOOD conversation either on Facebook or at http://www.eatclean.info.In the meantime, a few questions that jumped out were about kombu – a sea vegetable that helps add minerals to your grains, legumes, sauces, soups… and some of the other less known ingredients in my book. All of the ingredients used can be found at most health food stores and certainly at a Whole Foods if you have one nearby. I’ve also included an index of terms (“What’s That” section) in the book so you can learn about the different foods, their health benefits and how to substitute appropriately – for instance, white cooking wine instead of mirin, or cornstarch instead of arrowroot.
All that said, my intention for CLEAN FOOD was to provide inspiration, information and the tools necessary for readers to nourish themselves, their families, their communities and their environment. I hope you find that within the pages of CLEAN FOOD. I look forward to connecting with you in the future and to sharing the journey to eat clean and live well. All my best, Terry |
Now we’re off to party with our friends. All the news and fun tomorrow. 🙂
Joanne
Good point on the rings. Many people do not realize this. Also, these cookies look great! I can almost taste them from this side of the screen.
What a great use of your box of drink mix! Sorry the bread didn’t work out but the cookies sure made up for it! I never thought to remove my rings so thanks for pointing that out.
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I’m really sorry but brown rice has no gluten whatsoever, which is essential for crumb formation in bread. It’s no surprise it crumbled to pieces when you cut it as there was no gluten structure whatsoever.