This almond bread was one I had never made before, out of a book that I recently purchased called "100 Great Breads" by Paul Hollywood. The recipes in it sound really good and the pictures are beautiful, however, so far the ones that I have tried all have something a little questionable about them, such as a lot of salt. This recipe has a lot of salt and next time I make it I will use less because I thought it was too salty. I'm posting this recipe with my changes because I also used a little less flour. I used my bread maker on the dough setting instead of his instructions, so this is how I made it.
Almond Bread
adapted from "100 Great Breads" by Paul Hollywood
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
scant 1/4 cup butter
generous 1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup ground almonds
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups white bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 oz slivered almonds
Put all ingredients into the bread maker pan in the order listed, except for the slivered almonds. Let the bread maker run the "dough" cycle. Add enough flour to make a smooth dough, but not dry.
After the bread maker "dough" cycle finishes, (it basically mixes briefly, rests, kneads, and rises the dough) add half of the slivered almonds and knead them into the dough. Then cut the dough in half and shape into two loaves. Place on a buttered baking sheet and press the remaining slivered almonds into the tops of the loaves. Let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 and bake the bread for 20 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
I loved the almonds in this--they toasted up very nicely. However, they didn't stay on the top of the loaves very well, even though I tried to press them in very firmly. I wonder if they would stay on better with an egg wash, or something.
The spread pictured below is a banana coconut cream spread. I got the recipe from my old American Harvest bread maker recipe book that came with the first bread maker I ever owned (it is now obsolete). This recipe book has some of the most awesome recipes. I am going to post the recipes from this book with slight changes to comply with copyright laws, but I'm pretty sure this book isn't printed anymore, so it would be hard to find. If you ever find one, though, I recommend getting it.
Banana Coconut Cream Spread
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons mashed banana
2 Tablespoons unsweetened, toasted coconut flakes
1 Tablespoon orange juice concentrate
Beat the above ingredients until light and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate.
The bread pictured below is called Lemon and Orange Bread from "100 Great Breads". This bread also called for a lot of salt which I decreased, and it called for a little rye flour which I didn't have so I subbed whole wheat flour. This recipe also called for a ton of zest. I thought it was too much, but if anyone who tried this bread and reads this blog wants to let me know what you thought, I would love to know. I will post the full amount of zest in the recipe below. Again, I used my bread maker and am posting the instructions for that.
Lemon and Orange Bread
adapted from "100 Great Breads" by Paul Hollywood
1 1/4 cup water
generous 1/4 cup sugar
generous 1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons salt
2 2/3+ cups white bread flour
scant 1/3 cup whole wheat or rye flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
zest of 5 lemons
zest of 6 oranges
Put all ingredients into the bread maker pan except the zest. Begin the "dough" cycle and while the machine does the initial mix, zest the lemons and oranges and then add to the pan. At this point, add a little more flour if the dough gets too sticky.
After the "dough" cycle is complete, divide the dough in half, equally. Butter a baking sheet or two small bread pans. Shape dough into loaves and put in pans. Let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
The spread pictured with this bread is cranberry orange spread. It is also from the American Harvest bread maker recipe book. In fact, the rest of the recipes I will post here are from that book.
Cranberry Orange Spread
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1 teaspoon orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon fresh grated orange peel
2 Tablespoons honey
Combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate.
Savory Garlic Herb Bread
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
1 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups white bread flour
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Put all ingredients into the bread maker pan and run the "dough" cycle. When cycle is finished, remove dough from pan and divide into two equal halves. Shape into loaves and place in two small, greased bread pans. Allow to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Dilled Mustard Butter
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-3 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
Beat together until light and fluffy. Is best for spreading at room temperature, but if you need to store it for a while, then cover and refrigerate.
Rosemary Cheese Spread
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons finely chopped green onion
Cream the cream cheese and butter together. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until well mixed. Is best for spreading at room temperature, but if you need to store it for a while, then cover and refrigerate.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
1 1/4 cups water
2 Tablespoons powdered milk
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups white bread flour
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup raisins
Put all ingredients into the bread maker pan except the raisins. Run the "dough" cycle. When complete, add the raisins and knead into the dough. Divide the dough into two equal halves. Shape into loaves and place into two small, greased bread pans. Allow to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Cinnamon Honey Butter
adapted from American Harvest bread maker recipe book
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Beat all ingredients together until fluffy. Is best for spreading at room temperature, but if you need to store it for a while, then cover and refrigerate.
I also made French bread which is not pictured, but I have already posted a recipe here.
I made all of the loaves small so that they would be an ideal portion size for party trays and I think I could have even gone smaller. It was fun to try different combinations of the breads and spreads. In spite of concerns I had with some of the breads, they were all moist, chewy, and delicious.
Yum! What a great idea for party food. I can't wait to try some of these out!
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