And it’s on to more baking! This week I decided to get creative and took a rustic French bread recipe, made a few additions and subtractions, infusing our apartment with cardamom in the process, and ended up with this lovely bread. Although in the beginning the dough seemed heavy and reluctant to rise, clinging to the metal sides of the mixing bowl like there was no tomorrow, it eventually rallied in the warming kitchen once the oven was pre-heated and resulted in two healthy sized loaves.

The secret to making this bread soft and not too crunchy, is to include three granny smith apples along with their juice. Remarkably, I didn’t taste much apple in the bread, so in the future I might even add more, or perhaps use organic apples (mine were from the local grocery store, and while edible, were a bit waxy. They can’t possibly hold as much flavor after being processed in the ‘gem tumblers’ at the greenhouses to make them shine. Yep, I’m using those ruddy, misshapen, yet tart, apples from the farmer’s market next time around). The fantastic thing about baking in multiples is that once out of the oven, one loaf of bread can be packed into the freezer for a rainy day, and the other can be made into superb toast.

Cardamom-Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
2/3 cup cold milk (2%, just not non-fat)
2 tablespoons dry yeast (3 active yeast packets)
3/4 cup sugar
3 granny smith apples, peeled, and coarsley grated
juice from the strained, grated granny smith apples
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
7 cups unbleached bread flour (and additional flour for kneading)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup sweet cream salted butter at room temperature

Prep time: 20 min.
Resting time: 1 hour
Rising time: 1 hour
Baking time: 30 minutes
makes 2 loaves

1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer with the dough hook attached, mix the eggs, milk, yeast, sugar, grated apples, apple juice, cinnamon, cardamom, and flour at low speed for 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the salt, switch to medium speed, and continue kneading for an additional 6 minutes. Switch to low speed and gradually add the butter, kneading until a uniform dough is formed. Remove dough from machine and shape into a ball on the counter with the reserved flour, until the dough is pliable but not too sticky.

2. Cover and let rest in a warm place for 1 hour.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and flatten it out, removing any air pockets. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, knead briefly, then form each into a neat round. let rest 5 minutes or so.

4. Roll the round into an oval shape about 10 inches long and 4 inches across, with a rounded top and slightly tapered ends.

5. Place the loaves onto a lightly greased baking sheet and let rise 1 hour.

6. Just before baking, use a sharp knife and make 2 or 3 diagonal slashes in the top.

7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown, checking occasionally for even browning.