Thursday, September 4, 2008

Harvest of Bread



I'm a sucker for catalogs that comes in the mail. The glossy photos in catalogs always make stuff, especially kitchen stuff, look so appealing. I have to throw them away as quickly as they come, or else I take them into the "library" to browse and next thing you know I've got a wish list a mile long. The exception to the quick toss rule being cool kitchen catalogs that also contain recipes. Obviously you can't just chuck a perfectly good recipe. You might want to make that someday!

One of the worst offenders in the put-a-recipe-in-and-they'll-end-up-ordering category is the King Arthur Flour catalog. Not only do they have cool gadgets, nifty pans, spiffy tools, and hard to find ingredients, they also feature at least 3 mouth-watering recipes in each catalog.

A recent catalog featured a beautiful loaf they called Harvest Bread. It had me drooling just looking at the pictures. All of the ingredients sounded fabulous. Plus it was almost no knead. Time saving bonus! How could I resist?



The bread was beautiful- a symphony of flavors with a rustic texture that made each bit a pleasure. My husband said it was addictive. One slice was filling, but he kept wanting to go get another because it was so good! I loved the fruit flavors playing off the crunch of the nuts. Spread with a good butter, we had it for dinner. Delicious.

Harvest Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour
(If you prefer ingredients listed by weight, those are available on the King Arthur website)


3 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 3/4 cups cool water
1-1/4 cup mixed, dried fruit (I used the Trader Joe's mix of golden raisins, blueberries, cherries, and cranberries)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts


1) Mix the flours, salt, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Stir, then use your hands to mix and form a sticky dough.

2) Work the dough just enough to incorporate all the flour, then add in the fruit and nuts.

3) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for at least 8 hours; it'll become bubbly and rise quite a bit, so use a large bowl.

4) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and form it into a log or round loaf to fit your 14" to 15" long lidded stoneware baker, or 9" to 10" round lidded baking dish. Any fruit that is on top of the dough will burn, so try to have it all incorporated in the dough.

5) Place the dough in the lightly greased pan, smooth side up.

6) Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, until a slight indentation remains when you poke it with a finger. Just before baking, slash the top several times to allow for expansion. Cover with the lid.

7) Place the pan in the cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 450°F.

8) Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until it's deep brown in color, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205°F. Remove the bread from the oven, turn out onto a rack, and cool before slicing.



20 comments:

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

So you're going to make me go to the web site for metric - tut-tut.
Yes, you told me this was good. Yes, I saw it on the web site and in the catalogue. Yes, I want to make it. Now I've GOT to bake it.
Gorgeous loaf Lynn!

Maria said...

I love dried fruit in my bread! This one looks like a winner!

Deborah said...

I've had to discontinue all of the product magazines that used to come to my house because they were always too tempting!! This bread does look delicious, though!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ooooh yes, I too need to dispose of those catalogs right away - otherwise I'd purchase every kitchen appliance that I saw, haha ;0) But hey, so fun that you found that Harvest Bread recipe - love the abundance of fruit & nuts!!

Anonymous said...

I am always tempted by the King Arthur goodies too. Fortunately, the
international postage keeps me from ordering much of anything.
This bread looks so good! I haven't made it yet but it looks like the type of bread that seduces me from my laziness and makes me want to bake!

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

That looks delicious! We are going to get some pretty bad storms here tomorrow (East Coast) from Hanna. A loaf of that bread and a cup of tea would really help me ride the storm out, lol.

Cakespy said...

Ooh this bread looks like a keeper. Especially since the air is starting to be a bit more crisp now...mmm....

Peabody said...

That catalog is evil, it's always gets me to buy something from it. Bad catalog, bad.

Nora B. said...

I'm with your husband, I can't go past a fruit bread such as this gorgeous one you baked. Slather it with a bit of butter....ah, I am in heaven!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Such a delicious looking loaf. Still a novice at bread making, but this seems doable.

We do not have King Arthur in Malaysia. What a shame, huh? I should be able to substitute with another brand, right?

Thanks for sharing!

Erica said...

Lynn- This bread looks fabulous! I think I want to try it with craisins! mmmm!

Mike of Mike's Table said...

This looks like a delicious loaf and seems like a healthy way to snack or start the day.

Helene said...

I have been catching up on your posts and I want both the fufge and the brownies...right now! Oh...and that bread! I could become addicted fast to such a beautiful loaf!

RecipeGirl said...

Ha! I too have been sucked into the recipes that they feature in their catalogue! I was just browsing their catalogue in bed last night and earmarked several things for my next order. The bread looks wonderful!

Elle said...

Hoo-ray for King Arthur! This bread looks delicious and worth making at least once, but probably lots of times over the fall and winter. Yum!

LyB said...

What could be better than a warm slice of bread for dinner? And bread baking weather is almost here! I can see myself making this bread in the very near future!

Heather said...

mmm this does look really tasty! and i am a sucker for glossy catalogues, too! everything looks like i must own it!

Anonymous said...

What a great bread for fall. King Arthur has me wrapped around their pinky.

Laura said...

I am a complete sucker for catalogs also--it is just terrible. The bread looks wonderful.

Jacque said...

lol, I have that catalog sitting on my desk right now as a matter of fact. I'd love to go on a shopping binge there(sponsored by someone else, of course).

Your bread looks fantastic! It looks perfect for autumn.