Summer Thyme Bread Recipes

LEMON-THYME BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg. Combine buttermilk and sour cream. Combine the flour, thyme, lemon zest, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition., Transfer to a greased 8x4-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Cool completely; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

FRESH THYME BREAD WITH OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Combine very warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Stir with a fork until yeast dissolves. Let stand 3 minutes, then add the poolish, cool water, olive oil, and thyme. Combine with your fingers for about 2 minutes, breaking up sponge until yeast mixture looks milky and slightly foamy.
• Add flours and salt. Mix with your fingers to incorporate, scraping the bowl's sides and folding dough over itself until it gathers into a mass. When sticky strands of dough cling to your fingers, gather it into a ball and move it to a lightly floured surface. If dough is very firm, add 1 tablespoon water.
• Knead dough for about 5 minutes, until it becomes smoother and supple. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover it with oiled plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes to smooth out and develop elasticity.
• Return the dough to the lightly floured survace and knead for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth and stretchy. Do not knead extra flour into the dough. It should be soft and loose.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature (75 to 78°F) for 1 hour. After one hour, turn the dough while it is still in the mixing bowl. Gently deflate the dough in the middle of the bowl with your fingertips, then fold the left side over the middle, and the right side over the middle. Fold the dough in half, gently pat it down, and then turn it over so the seam is underneath. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or a large plastic bag, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove from refrigerator and let warm until it begins to rise again, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
• Cover a peel or the back of a sheet pan with parchment paper, then sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough, which may be quite sticky, on a well-floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Shape each into a boule, or round loaf. Flour the seam of each and place loaves, seam side down, on peel or pan, leaving 3 to 4 inches between them for rising and spreading. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 1 ¼ to 1 ¾ hours, or until loaves have doubled in bulk.
• Thirty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450°F. Fill a plastic spray bottle with water and place a small pan (such as a mini loaf pan) on the lowest possible rack of the electric oven. Also place a cast-iron pan (that you are willing to get rusty) next to the small pan (I just used another small pan), fill a teakettle with water to be boiled later, and have a metal 1-cup measure with a straight handle available near the kettle.
• Five to 10 minutes before the loaves are ready to bake, carefully place 2 or 3 ice cubes in the small pan in the bottom of the oven. This helps to create moisture in the oven prior to baking. If using a water pan, also turn the water on to boil.
• Mist the tops of the loaves with water, then using a razor blade, cut a shallow tick-tack-toe pattern on top of each loaf, being careful not to tear dough. Gently slide loaves from the parchment onto the baking stone (if you're baking with a stone simply slide the sheet pan onto the empty oven rack). Pour 1 cup of boiling water into the cast-iron pan and immediately shut oven door. After about 1 minute, quickly mist loaves with water 6 to 8 times, then shut the oven door.
• Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, until loaves are light golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Brush loaves with olive oil using a pastry brush. Cool on a rack.

GARLIC-THYME BREAD

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine yeast and water, and allow to stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until foamy.
• Stir in oil, salt, garlic, thyme, and whole wheat flour.
• Add white flour 1/4 cup at a time, as needed, until a stiff manageable dough is formed.
• Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
• Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled.
• (For even more garlicky flavour, after the dough has risen once, punch it down and place in refrigerator for 1 to 3 days. Let it come to room temperature, and then proceed with the following directions.) Preheat oven to 450° and dust a baking sheet with cornmeal.
• If desired, work a bit of parmesan-reggiano into the dough at this point with some olive oil for extra flavour.
• Form the dough into a round, place on prepared cooking sheet, cover with plastic, and let rise for 30 minutes.
• Brush lightly with cold water, bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue baking for 20-30 minutes, or until loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

LEMON-THYME TEA BREAD

Steps:

• In a microwave-safe bowl, combine milk and thyme. Microwave, uncovered, on high 1-2 minutes or until bubbly; cover and let stand until cooled to room temperature., Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with reserved milk mixture. Stir in lemon juice and zest. , Pour into a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. , In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth; drizzle over bread.