The first thing I did was to check the rise times, bake times and temperatures of all the breads so I could minimize the time frame and keep everything moving. This worked out pretty well, and would only need a few tweaks as the evening went on.
I estimated that it would take me roughly 6 hours to make the four breads and the one pie, and I came in on time! If I did the challenge again next year, I would consider taking a half day and starting earlier in order to not be up till midnight, since I needed to get up by 5 am to start the turkey.
Challah
Unfortunately, I burnt the Challah:( It was the most time consuming of the breads, and the prettiest, but I should have checked it sooner, and the tops burnt. (My oven runs hot and I am constantly readjusting times and temperatures in order to get an even bake.) Luckily the inside was still good, so I hulled the loaves and broke them into little pieces which I set out with my Goat Cheese and Truffle Oil dip the next day. I'm happy it worked out taste-wise, but sad I wasn't able to display these lovely braided loaves.
Buttermilk Whole Wheat
Since this was my first wheat bread, I wasn't sure what the coloring should be like on top, so I thought at first that it was a bit over done. The taste is a bit dry on it's own, but it makes super yummy toast! It's also quite hearty- you don't need much.
Scottish Buttermilk
Looks like I forgot to take a picture of the Scottish Buttermilk, but it's a round loaf that is biscuit-like in texture and taste and it's technically a soda bread. It's very crackly on top and is wonderful with jam.
Rosemary Ale Bread
Rosemary Ale Bread is what I am dubbing my new creation, which I adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads*, a Half Price Books find that I am eternally grateful for. This was the tastiest of all.
The recipe that I ended up with is as follows:
3 cups self-rising flour or an equal amount of all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon baking powder and an additional 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 12-ounce bottle of ale (I used Blue Moon Mountain Abbey Ale)
1/4 cup Rosemary
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Pour in the ale and add the rosemary: mix until thoroughly blended. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, and poor the melted butter over the batter. Bake until golden, about 45-50 minutes. (For my oven, it only took about 35 minutes.) Remove the loaf once done and let sit for 15 minutes. Turn the bread out on a cooling rack and let sit another 15 minutes to allow the butter to drift back through the loaf. Enjoy!
*All recipes for the challenge came from this book, either in full or, in the case of the Rosemary Ale Bread, adapted.
And the pie!
Chocolate Buttermilk Pie
Oh man, this turned out really nicely. It's got a custard like texture and is very chocolaty and creamy. The recipe came from the Kitchen Scoop website.
Happy baking everyone!
