Saturday Bread

Since the middle of April I've been following three blogger/bakers who started an admirable project they call A Year in Bread.
But I haven't been baking any of my own! Finally, this morning I felt the need to knead.

Looking back at what they've been up to, I see they've been busy with pizza dough, no-knead bread variations and fluffy, white sandwich bread. All great recipes but not what I was craving this morning. The weather is unseasonably cold and I felt like something with more texture and flavor and bite.

So, back to one of my favorite's, adapted from this recipe.
We always have extra bits cheese lying around and this is a great way to use it up. Today the bread dough was infused with fresh thyme and the rest of the Tomme Noir de Pyrénées from last Tuesday.



Herb, Honey and Cheese Bread

• 3 cups/500 grams flour
• packet of yeast
  
• 1 cup/250 mls warm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• big pinch of sea salt
  
• 3 ounces/100g finely grated cheese
• 1 tablespoon flavorful honey
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite herb, chopped

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water
2. Mix the flour, yeast & water mixture, olive oil, sugar and sea salt together in a bowl until combined
3. Dump out onto a floured surface and knead about 10 minutes, sprinkling with flour as needed to make a nice, springy dough
   
4. Cover with a towel and put in a warm place and let rise for 1 hour. I usually leave the dough to rise on the board I've been kneading it on
   
5. Punch down and knead in the cheese, honey and chopped herbs
6. Shape dough into a loaf, slash the top several times with a knife, place dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and let rise again, covered, 30 minutes
7. Heat oven 400 degrees F/200 degrees C
8. Bake about 35 minutes

A few notes: Sometimes I drizzle olive oil over the dough just before it goes in the oven
Freshly ground black pepper is wonderful to add to the dough for a bit of a bite
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La Fête du Fromage - Chaumes, Tomme Noir des Pyrénées and Crottin de Chavignol

The cheeses chosen for this week's tasting were Chaumes, Tomme Noir des Pyrénées and Crottin de Chavignol.

Chaumes is made from pasteurized cow's milk, has an attractive, tangerine colored rind and a springy textured, ivory interior. It is a popular table cheese in France and is produced in the Dordogne region. The flavor is pleasantly nutty and soft, but the odor is quite pungent! Chaumes is a great cheese for grilling.

Tomme Noir des Pyrénées has been produced in the French Pyrénées mountains since the 12th Century. It wrapped in black wax (hence the "noir") and the interior is creamy white with little holes. It is made from unpasteurized cow's milk and offers mild buttery and slightly salty flavors. It is a friendly, easy to eat cheese, but not that interesting.

Named for goat or horse dung, yes dung, Crottin de Chavignol, was named such because its little, squat, drum shape resembled just that. And the name stuck. Bizarre, non ?
It has been produced since the 16th century in the tiny village of Chavignol in the Loire Valley. Crottin de Chavignol is made from goat's milk and was granted AOC status in 1976. It can be eaten young when the flavor is nutty and the texture soft, or aged when it shrinks in size, becomes stronger and the rind becomes moldy and brown colored. Now you understand where it gets it's name!
Delightful when paired with a glass of white Sancerre or fruity Beaujolais.

Bonne Fête du Fromage!


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