Guest post: Elena's Bread With Stuff

My friend Elena got a bread maker from her Dad for Xmas and the following is her recounting of the second loaf of bread that she's made with it.

The first one was just one of the packet mix from the supermarket, and while it was OK, I thought that next time it was absolutely necessary to put "stuff" with it. That next time has now arrived.

I used some random wholemeal prepackaged bread mix from the supermarket.

To this I added:

Fennel

I was wary of adding this at all because I ate one of the seed and it was like "BOOM! flavor essplodey bang!!". I put in a miniscule amount but should have put less. Honestly, even if you like the aniseedy flavour of fennel go lightly. I put about .. maybe 30 seeds, but seriously about 5 or 6 of those tiny seeds will add plenty of taste

Cumin

It's hard to lose here, depending on whether you like that Indian-curry flavour of the Cumin. I put in maybe 2 teaspoons. This was a good amount and the bread was nicely but not overly flavoured. I could have gone harder, but the flavour was still full.

Mustard Seeds

Some. About 1 teaspoon Can't remember having heard of them being in bread before. Couldn't discern them in baked bread at all. This is not over between me and mustard seeds.

Thyme

Some. About 1 teaspoon of dried Thyme. The aroma, but no the flavour of the thyme came through as it was baking and when it came out, but during the eating the thyme is barely perceptible, and insofar as it is perceptible it adds a lovely soft perfumey flavor.

Rolled Oats

Generous Handful. About half of a cup. Should have gone harder! I like oats but can not discern them in the finished bread at all!

LSA Mix

Some. About 3 generous tablespoons This stands for "Linseed, Sunflower, Almond" meal/mix. This may not be easy to come by (but is more and more so these days), but is basically hippy/old-people wholegrain additive. One time I gained a taste for it on porridge, as well as just liking it in theory, so have a packet of it around for this purpose that I have very little chance of getting through in a timely manner.

Extra water

The bread recipe suggests 450mL, I added about another splash 30-40mL when I dumped all the other stuff in. The sum total of water would have been less than half litre. It seemed wetter than it should be, but I stood by my decision.

I set it to the "wholemeal" setting (#5) on the bread machine and waited 3-odd hours.

The Results

The results were great!! Better than I expected.

The unexpected result was that the bread was springy. My first loaf was nice and bready and normal but definitely firm.

This loaf is distinctly more elastic.

Summary

Too Strong:

• Fennel

Just Right:

• Cumin
• Extra water

Could have been Bit More:

• Thyme (I'd have put Rosemary in if I'd had some!)

Couldn't even tell it was there:

• Oats
• LSA Mix
• Mustard Seed

I made up mezzo platters with hommus, guacamole, tepanade, avocado, some leftover curry, pepperoni and a dash of balsamic and it (OMGZ!1) totally hit the warm Sunday arvo snack/deliciousness spot.

While not usually a big consumer of bread but seeing as yesterday I ran 10k and kited for an hour and a half (and will probably kite some more today!) I treated myself to a couple of hefty slices :)

The review from the peanut gallery was it was still quite "plain" and normal. I take this as a challenge and there will nearly certainly be adventurousness in the future. I am digging the spice and seed thing though have ambitious ideas regarding cheeses, vegetables and pickled foods, as my breadmaking confidence increases. I have bought a giant bag of flour in anticipation.

Thanks, Elena. I can't wait to see what other creations you devise!