Saturday, January 26, 2013

Red Onion - Basil Bread

Hello, hello!  I'm determined not too get sidelined from blogging anymore!  Determined, determined, determined, determ--

Anyhow, that sickness that I was complaining about over Christmas turned out to be bacterial bronchitis, which landed me on my derriere for way too long.  Then when I thought I was finally done with that, I decided to smash my finger in the car door.  As we "speak" I am wearing a splint on my right index finger and have nerve damage and loss of feeling.  So, typing is terribly slow.  For those of you that pray, I would love prayer for feeling in my finger.  Aaaannnddd, G's and my birthdays also took place.  The first time I didn't post anything about them; that should tell you something.  I will be making the rounds to your blogs as well.  I'm looking forward to seeing all that you guys have been up to.

But, I'm back with a yummy recipe!  One of G's coworkers brought him some basil from her garden a while back, and I decided to make bread with it. I made four loaves and gave her one of the loaves as a thank you.  The technique for baking is based on my Basic White Bread recipe.  (Sheesh, maybe I should dictate to one of my girls.  Typing this is taking a long time.)  This bread turned out really yummy, and all of the Blessings loved it, even with the onions in it.  I could use much less salt here because of the wonderful flavors of the red onion and basil.  Please note that with the Basic White Bread, I used rapid rise yeast, but I'm using active dry here, so the mixing step will be different. 

Red Onion - Basil Bread

The herb mixture

The risen dough

The dough shaped for rolling to fit into its pan

Four loaves hot out of the oven!

Red Onion - Basil Bread

Ingredients:

Makes four loaves
Four large bowls
In each bowl you will eventually need:
5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 of the herb mix listed below
2 1/2 tsp, of active dry yeast or one packet prepared active dry yeast
4 Tbs. warm water
2 cups cold water

Herb mix:
1 small or medium red onion, minced
1/2 cup, packed, fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbs. salt

Extra flour for kneading 
Non-stick spray

Directions:

In a medium bowl, stir together the herb mix ingredients well.  In each of the large bowls, pour in the flour and one quarter of the herb mix.  Whisk together thoroughly.  Create a small well with the back of a spoon in the bottom of each bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast and warm water and pour in the center of the first bowl.  Repeat for each bowl.  Let sit for ten minutes, until the yeast starts to react and gets frothy.  Spoon a small amount of the bowl's flour into the yeast well and stir.  Add one cup of the cold water to the center and mix in more flour.  Add the last cup of water and stir all the ingredients together as best as you can.  It's okay if it's not perfect; you'll finish mixing them up when you knead.  Repeat for the other bowls.  On a floured surface, turn out your bread dough and knead for ten minutes, adding sprinkles of dough, if it gets too sticky.  Wash your bowl out, put the dough back in and cover with a damp dish towel.  Let set for its first rise for two hours.  Repeat with the others.  After two hours, spray four bread loaf pans with non-stick spray.  Punch the dough down in a few spots.  On a floured surface, turn out the dough again and flatten by hand to resemble a large rectangle.  Starting at a short end, roll up the dough until it meets the other end.  Fold the sides slightly under, so it can fit into the loaf pan.  Cover with the towel for another hour and a half for its second rise.  Repeat for the other loaves.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Remove the towels and sprinkle a dusting of flour down each loaf's center.  Take a sharp knife and slice each loaf down the center about an inch deep.  Bake for fifteen minutes. (Four loaves should fit comfortably in standard ovens.)   Turn the heat down to 400 and bake for another 25 minutes.   Remove each loaf from its pan and put them upside down, directly on the oven's grill.  Bake for another five minutes.  Cool on racks.  After fifteen or so minutes of resting, you can slice into the first one.  The others will freeze great:  just wrap them a couple of times in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil once they're completely cooled. These are very tasty and savory and are a nice twist on typical bread.  We either toasted the slices or used them to make savory sandwiches.   Feeds five hungry vegans with plenty to share!

19 comments:

  1. You've gone through a lot lately! I'm sorry to hear about your finger and being so sick. Bronchitis is just awful. Hopefully your finger heals fast. Ouch. :(

    Happy belated birthday to you and G! Were you able to enjoy the special days? I sure hope so!

    The bread sounds fantastic. It had to smell so terrific, too.

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  2. This bread looks so good. I need a slice with fresh butter.

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  3. Molly, I am definitely ready for all these "distractions" to be done and get on the path to wellness. Of course, we still enjoyed our birthdays and had great food. :-)

    WM, vegan butter, right? :-)

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  4. The bread sounds incredible! Love the shot of the spice mix. Onions and basil are so delicious, and fresh baked bread always is.
    Sorry to hear about all the health issues. I hope your fingers heals up, yowch. Still somehow you were able to mix up the bread...puts me to shame.

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  5. Oh my! These loaves look so delicious! The aroma must be so nice! I make my own bread most of the time, I will definitely try a basil one next time! And I must buy a loaf pan, i usually just make a big oval or round on a tray, but a loaf pan will get me nice slices! :)

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  6. Oh BM my heart and prayers go out to you for a full recovery. I must also say that this bread looks fabulous and I bet it was super delicioso. I did copy the recipe. Thanks sweety.

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  7. Can people with ten fingers make this bread?

    Maybe you need some 'warning!' 'hazard!' signs put up around your house. It is one disaster after another. Hope 2013 is danger free.

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  8. Those are some beautiful loaves! Sounds delicious.

    Glad to hear you're feeling better. I'll pray for your finger.

    Happy Belated Birthday, and Take care!

    PS: I'm trying to be determined to blog again too...

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  9. We love baking our own bread. We will try this :)

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  10. Am drooling over the bread. Wouldn't this bread be yummy with garden fresh tomatoes. Been thinking of making homemade bread again. Bought the yeast,now to do it.

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  11. Definitely trying this one!! I just sent it over to Evernote for a future bread making day. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. I love the idea of adding herbs etc to bread. And I've been baking bread!!! I'm so proud of myself. Thanks for your recipes.

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  13. Your house must have smelled amazing while the bread was baking. Glad to hear the first plague is resolved, but bummer about the finger. I hope it heals to 100% of its prior state. You need that finger!

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  14. those are some great looking loaves! :)

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  15. Oh, those are beautiful! I can almost smell them through the screen!

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  16. YUM !! Looks so gorgeous.
    So delighted to have found your blog and gorgeous recipes through the circle of moms top 25 vegetarina/vegan mommy bloggers, I voted for you too! - Fellow nominee Author Rebecca Mugridge
    PS Cant wait to try this recipe this weekend! XX

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  17. FF, thanks, I like that picture too. I confess I kneaded this bread and baked it before I hurt my finger. I have yet to knead bread since.

    Lovlie, yes, if you are a bread baker, I would definitely recommend you investing in a loaf pan.

    Millie, thanks for the kind words. I'm on the mend.

    SV, I'm beginning to think that I will not have a day free of injury or illness in 2013. :-(

    Rose, Thanks for your prayers. I want you to blog more too!

    Blackhuff, good! Let me know how you like it.

    Lynette, once you do it, you'll be so happy you did. And, of course, ripe, sliced tomatoes always taste the best on bread!

    Diane, great! Hope you like it. :-)

    Jenny, share, share, share! Love bread recipes.

    Andrea, don't I know it! I miss having the full yes and feeling in my finger. :-(

    Lisa, thank you! :-)

    Stephanie, we should invest in smell-screens.

    Rebecca, thank you for your kind words! :-)

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  18. Sending you some good vibes through the ether. Glad you're back blogging again, hopefully with ten fingesr at your service shortly!

    What did you put in your sarnies?

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  19. Joey, thank you! So far still just nine... What's a sarnie???

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