Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sourdough twist!

I woke up early again in a coughing fit (with this darn cold), made a cup of hot tea, took a steaming shower to help the breathing a little.....and then....I came out on the couch with Doozey and started reading a Sept. issue of Martha Stewarts magazine, Living. I almost quit turning pages at the end, but for some reason just turned those last 2-3 pages, and lo and behold, on the VERY LAST PAGE, was something that caught my eye!!!

A recipe and lovely picture of an Apple-Honey Challah bread! It looked so delicious, I knew I must get up and make it! I decided to twist it up a little by using a cup of my sourdough starter in it. I added the other ingredients, and then just added flour as I needed to get the perfect ball of dough. You add sliced apples into the dough for the second rise, and if I had been a little smarter at that time of day, I would have thought to add some cinnamon into the mixture!

The third rise was done after shaping it into a rope 2 ft. long, and then twirling it into a 9 inch baking pan. I was a little worried because the first two risings did not show much rising activity...but then the last one, and during cooking...it did real well!!! It looked very pretty when it came out of the oven. I was supposed to add more honey butter to the top when it came out, but I didn't because I used all my honey up! Oh well...it just didn't end up with that lovely sheen like a challah normally has.

Here it is:

Can you see all the chunks of apple popping out? Beautiful!!!
You can see the pic of Marthas loaf, and the recipe HERE, at her magazine. This bread was delicious...a big improvement over my first sourdough breads...I think it was the honey and the eggs additions that made it so good. I did add cinnamon sprinkled on top after buttering the slice, and it was heavenly right out of the oven all warm and yummy!

This was fun...but my bread baking days are over for now. I already feel myself getting a few pounds heavier!!! ;0

13 comments:

  1. lol, you remind me of the book, "Eat Cake". The bread looks fab! I confess that I am a breadaholic.

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  2. Julie, Hope you're feeling better! Love the bread...you're making me hungry! Drool...LOL!

    Just to let you know I've moved my blog:
    http://rosemariero.wordpress.com/
    You cannot access the old one now.

    I hope to be more diligent with entries in the future! :)

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  3. I am actually salavating reading this. My Jewish roots love it.
    I think years ago when I made bread I'd brush egg yolk on top to get that shine.

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  4. Julie, it looks fantastic - and must taste amazingly good with apples and cinnamon. Yummmmm...
    Hope you get well soon, Evelyn

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  5. You have stirred up my appetite, Julie...
    It does look very delicious.

    Have a great weekend.

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  6. I have always dreamt of making my own bread, and all these wonderful recipes increase my yearning so many more folds, but I guess patience required to make bread is a virtue woefully lacking in me. Well well, I am sure some day I'll tide over my laziness and will produce a loaf worth being displayed in a blog post. Till then I will soak my eyes with the lovely bread you have baked.

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  7. ps. Rosemarie's Aloe is pretty amazing - thanks for the link :)

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  8. Oh yum! This looks fabulous. I actually have some dough rising on my counter this very minute. And... I believe I have some apples as well. Guess what I'm making today! Thanks for the inspiration. Your loaf looks beautiful!

    Thank you also for your kind words about my chair refinishing project. I really appreciate it!

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  9. This looks yummy!
    Hope you get well soon Julie!
    Take care
    hugs >M<

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  10. Hi Julie
    I hope you are feeling better and not sick any longer! I am SO going to make that bread when I'm off this special diet I'm on and finished losing some weight that I can put on with that bread. I can tell we both LOVE our breads!
    What a special day you had with your grandson. Isn't it wonderful to have them close so you can do those kinds of fun things. I've never heard of anything like that..3D I'm sure my Madeline would love that too.

    Enjoy the nice cool weather. Ours is up to 59 now. How balmy it feels.

    Have a great day...enjoy another good one.
    Judi

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  11. Dear Julie,

    I love baking too but my oven had spoiled. Well, for the time being, I just enjoy your sharing on bread making. It's great to chew and eat and get serve with tea & coffee.....and some jams when it's still hot...He..He..

    Yum..yum...

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  12. Wow, that looks delicious. Your house must have smelled amazing afterwards.

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