I want to post more recipes, which means I ought to keep better records of what I am baking. This turned out rather light, slice-able, and has nice tartness from the strawberries.
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Strawberries & Cream Bread
Starter
1 cup cream
1 cup warm water
1 & 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast
1 cup white flour
1 tsp honey (optional)
Blend together and allow to rest at least one hour. This ought to be very lively and I suggest making it in a medium mixing bowl.
Dough
2 Tbsp butter
1 generous cup strawberries
1 & 1/2 cup white flour
2 & 1/2 cup wheat flour, scant
(Note: I used fresh hard red wheat flour, which may have slightly different properties than store bought wheat flour.)
1/2 Tbsp salt
Add to the starter--the salt ought to be last--and mix together. Even if the tough is somewhat tough, the strawberries will release quite a bit of water. Knead briefly to incorporate all the flour and spread out strawberries. Let it rest for at least one hour, but two for a yeastier flavor.
(Note: I took my time making this bread, allowing it to develop a yeastier flavor. I gave it about two hours between each step, except for proofing, which happened in about 30 minutes.)
After resting, dust counter with white or wheat or a blended flour mixture and turn out. Knead until moderately smooth and divide dough appropriately--I made four small loaves, but two or three would work fine--and knead smaller pieces further before shaping into boules or loaves. Allow to proof on a greased baking sheet or loaf pan--to avoid sticking, you may want to roll the shaped dough on flour before setting it on the sheet. Proof for 30 minutes or so, then bake at 400 F for about 30-40 minutes; you may wish to turn the baking sheet or pan to bake more evenly. The top will become firm and hollow sounding when done. Strawberries will make the hot bread somewhat softer then the rest of the bread.
Enjoy!
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Post-Script: A friend commented, "Where's the cream?" when I handed her a piece of bread. I might make a strawberries and cream quick bread soon-ish with whipped cream on the side. Who knows. There are abundant strawberries around these days, so it is likely.
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Your above recipe sounds absolutely delicious! But, what is red wheat flour?
ReplyDeleteI grind my own flour and use hard red winter wheat, which is available at Open Harvest and I think some Hy-Vee stores. You can use regular whole wheat flour, but it will have slightly different properties (moisture, granule size, gluten, etc). Some stores will sell "red wheat flour" in with the other flours.
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