Bread Machine (121 page)

Authors: Beth Hensperger

Tags: #ebook

2 teaspoons salt

2
¹/
₄teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
³/
₄teaspoons bread machine yeast

Place all the ingredients in the bread pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.)

When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

PAXIMADIA
Makes 10 pieces paximadia

F
ood writer Lynn Alley has a love affair with Greek cooking. One day she was invited to visit her friend Aimilia Manassakis, who is a native of Crete and now runs the Greek Village Restaurant in Carlsbad, California, to watch her bake homemade
paximadia
.
Paximadia
is a crunchy twice-baked bread rusk, affectionately known as Greek toast, created in Greek villages by rebaking bread in the residual dying heat of wood-fired ovens. While most Americans have never heard of
paximadia,
it is still the bread of choice throughout modern Greece, at home for breakfast or in restaurants. It is served with strong coffee and soft cheese and honey. The rusks are also crumbled into salads, served with olives and feta cheese for lunch, or drizzled with olive oil to eat as an appetizer with wine. This is Lynn’s bread machine adaptation of Aimilia’s wonderful recipe. Lynn makes it with freshly milled whole wheat flour from her GrainMaster Whisper Mill. Since it contains no butter or eggs, it is suitable for serving during Lent.

1
¹/
₂-OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES

1
¹/
₄cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

2
¹/
₂cups whole wheat flour

1 cup bread flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend, or
¹/
₂teaspoon each ground cinnamon and cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons SAF yeast or

2
¹/
₂teaspoons bread machine yeast

Place all the ingredients in the bread pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. The dough ball will be firm, yet springy and moist.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Knead to form a freefrom oblong oval loaf 11 by 4 inches. Place, seam side down, on the baking sheet. Using a serrated knife, carefully cut the loaf all the way through with a gentle back and forth sawing motion, into 1-to 1
¹/
₄-inch slices to make 10 slices. After cutting all the pieces, place one hand on each end of the loaf and gently press together to make a whole loaf with separations that you can see clearly. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until deep brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped with your finger. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer the loaf to a rack to cool. Leave the parchment on the baking sheet; you will use it again.

When the loaf is completely cooled, at least 2 hours, separate the slices by tearing them apart with your hands, the way it is done in Greece. Set the oven at its lowest setting, about 200°F. Place the slices on their flat sides on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in the oven and let the toasts dry out slowly, about 5 hours. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight tin.

ZUNI INDIAN BREAD

N
ative Americans do not call themselves such; they call themselves The People. They have a long history of baking nourishing and thoughtful breads, often with minimal ingredients. This is a recipe similar to ones made by the Pueblos, baked in an outdoor adobe beehive oven called a
horno.
The recipe given here is a perfect example of traditional bread ingredients being blended with modern ways—it is made from start to finish in the bread machine. Use any fine or medium stone-ground yellow, blue, white, or red cornmeal, all used for baking in the pueblo villages of the American Southwest. It is important that this bread cool completely before you slice it.