Bakers at heart: they've been in the family for generations - both my grandmothers were excellent bakers (I'll tell you all about it some other day). But did I have it in me?
Bread: there's something about homemade bread that speaks yards about hearth and home. And about wintertime. And Holidays!
Best way to find out if you're up to a challenge is actually going for it. And so I did. Considering it was my first bread, I can't say it was a bad experience. I loved the contrast between fresh grapes, nuts and soft crumbs. This bread doesn't keep well - should be eaten straight away, as the grapes add wetness to the bread. I've served it with soft, creamy Camembert and it was delicious!
Grape and Walnut Bread
Adapted from Blue Cooking, November 2007
Makes 1 large loaf
500 grs (3 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
170 ml (about 3/4 cup) warm water
2 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp salt, extra to sprinkle
100 grs (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, extra to drizzle
Filling
350 grs fresh black grapes
85 grs walnuts, chopped
60 grs caster sugar
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, caster sugar and salt. Slowly add warm water and olive oil, mixing with a fork and after using your hands. Knead well on a floured surface for 5-7 minutes. It will be very sticky. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, dry place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix grapes, caster sugar and chopped rosemary. When ready, punch down the dough and divide into 2 pieces. Butter 1 loaf pan. Place 1 piece and spread 1/2 the filling over the dough. Cover with the other half. Gently, press down to seal, brush with olive oil and spread remaining filling. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt. Cool on a wire rack.
This is my entry for BreadBakingDay #5, hosted this month by Chelsea at Rolling in Dough. Chelsea selected 'Filled Breads", which is a brilliant theme of infinite possibilities. Thanks for such an inspiration! And thanks to Zorra for starting BBD!
8 comments:
wow, that's pretty innovative:) bread, walnut and pomegranate! interesting flavors for a bread..nice work! I made mixed berries and white chocolate bread pudding yesterday, and I'm still relishing it:)
It looks beautiful, Suzana!
Wow, Suzana. I'm not much on baking, but the combination of grapes, rosemary and walnuts sounds positively delicious! Especially the rosemary--most often, it's paired with savory dishes, but it works very nicely with sweets too. I make a simple French dessert, rosemary apricots, that uses only apricots, rosemary, sugar and water, but it looks and tastes so elegant.
This looks yummy!
I like doing loaves... but not anything with yeast so far....this is the year for it!
Definitively, you have it in you too!
black grapes, what's the variety of them? are these the grapes that are normally used for wine? i always love grapes combined with cheese. my favourite cheese is blue or double brie. they are fantastic with grapes! and you mix them in loaves! how lovely.
Lovely recipe and lovey photos!! I'll try it soon
Regards
Marta
Hi everyone! Thanks for your nice words, it was great fun baking this bread and in the end I was happy with the outcome, as it was not only colorful but also tasty. And the Camembert added the right note.
Arfi, I used regular black grapes - I'm afraid I have no idea of what variety... But any seedless, fresh grape would do, I think. Blue cheese goes really well with fresh figs. I bake a tart with Roquefort, fresh figs and rocket that's really nice - summertime food!
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