Question Marks

Question marks fill my life right now. How can I make this bread more moist? What do I need to do to make this bread rise? Where can I buy these ingredients? What needs to change to make this the best granola ever? How am I going to arrange my baking and selling this summer to make it manageable? How can inventory become less of a hassle?

Needless to say, all these question marks drive me a little batty at times. Often times when one question mark gets answered, a new challenge and question mark appears. Yet, they slowly do get answered and there is a feeling of satisfaction and success.

Take Black Pepper Seed Bread for example. The question marks with this bread were how to make a more appealing loaf both in size and flavor. Even though I loved it as it was, I knew it could use some improvements. Thus began the process of baking, tasting, taking notes, hearing my family's opinion, etc. Once I had gone through the process, it was time to start all over again, this time making a slight adjustment to the recipe. This merry-go-round process continued until I settled on all the right adjustments - adding half a pound of dough to each loaf, shaping it as a sandwich loaf rather than free-form round, adding a bit of honey and extra virgin olive oil for flavor and moisture, and cutting the amount of black pepper. Result - a loaf with complex, subtle flavors (until you get an extra large piece of black pepper), beautiful size and shape, and lovely moisture. Success!

Though this process gets long and tedious, the end result is one that brings great joy and triumph. A loaf that has had much sweat and frustration over it yet is enjoyed when eaten is much more satisfying than one that has been thrown together and sits around getting stale. Come to think of it, this holds true throughout all of life - parenting, relationships, ministry, work, home-making... What question marks and challenges face you right now? Don't give up. Work until you get the wonderful end results, even if it isn't until heaven.

Bacon, Eggs, and... Black Pepper Seed Bread?

Do you have favorite bread and spread/filling duos? I have a few -- Whole Wheat French Boule with peanut butter and jam, Dill-Onion Bread and fresh tomato, Cran-Orange Whole Wheat Bread and chicken salad, and Black Pepper Seed Bread and cheese. Lately my goal has been to broaden my sandwich horizons. Black Pepper Seed Bread (still my favorite flavored bread) should have more matches than cheese, I'm determined. What could they be?

Unfortunately I have only had one loaf of this bread in the freezer and 6 hungry adults to feed, so experimenting has been rather limited. Where to start? How about that recipe I saw in the latest Country Home magazine? I've always loved BLT's, and fried egg sandwiches are a good and easy comfort food, so why not. Here's what I (with plenty of help from the family) did.

Mix together:
2 T. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. capers, drained
Fry:
4 slices bacon
4 eggs (Fry after the bacon in a little of the drippings.)
Toast:
4 slices Black Pepper Seed Bread
Slice:
Tomato (we used Romas - not so sloppy wet)
Snip:
Fresh basil, optional

Spread some mayonnaise mixture on the toasted bread. Pile with egg, tomato, and bacon in whatever order you wish and sprinkle with basil if desired.

This is what it looked like.
Now of course with 6 hearty, country eaters we made more than this, but these are the proportions in the recipe.

This is what I learned from fixing this sandwich:
-Don't try out a new food when you are over-tired and stressed. Nothing tastes good then.
-Basil grown at home from the same packet but on different years (thus different growing conditions) isn't necessarily going to taste the same. I'm curious to know what the conditions were this year that made it stronger.
-Capers aren't my favorite flavoring.
-Eggs, bacon, and tomato mask the wonderful, peppery flavor of the bread.

This sounds pretty negative, but not all the ratings were as critical as mine. I may just have to try it again sometime, with a few alterations of course. Meanwhile the mother-of-all recipe hunt continues. If I don't succeed there is always cheese! Who coined the phrase, "Variety is the spice of life," anyway?

PS - Mom's current spread of choice on Black Pepper Seed Bread is home-made apple butter. Sound strange? Try it, and you may just be surprised.

Hamlet in the Kitchen II

A chosen jury consisting of Mom, Hannah (a sister), and Elsa met at the kitchen counter this noon. After careful consideration they deemed the sesame seeds as unnecessary to the benefit of Black Pepper Seed Bread and banned them from the recipe.

So, what's in Black Pepper Seed Bread? Made with a mix of unbleached and whole wheat flours, it is flavored with course ground black pepper, pumpkin seeds, and raw sunflower seeds. If you asked me which of my savory breads is my #1 favorite (at the present, anyway), I'd have to say this bread. I love the aromatic flavor of pepper mixed with the crunch of seeds. Mom's comment is that it makes delicious sandwiches. Grilled cheese sandwiches made with Black Pepper Seed Bread! Mmmm...

Hamlet in the Kitchen I

To use sesame seeds, or not to use sesame seeds. That is the question.

Black Pepper Seed Bread has nearly passed the rigorous testing stage before being put on my sales list. Today I made two batches - one with sesame seeds and one without. The questions these loaves will answer are: Do sesame seeds make a difference in the bread? Are these seeds even noticeable? Be watching for the consensus and pictures!

Something new I learned: Sesame seeds come in two colors - white and brown. White sesame seeds have their hull removed while the brown ones are unhulled. I opted for the brown ones when trying them in Black Pepper Seed Bread, mainly because of price. I wonder, do the brown ones have more fiber?