Bake up Herbal Breads for the Smell of Home

Susan Belsinger

Rustic Wheat Bread with Savory Herbs and Onions
Foccacia with Rosemary
Maple Scones with Lemon Verbena and Candied Ginger
Marion’s Steamed Bread
Skillet Corn Bread with Cheddar, Corn and Chiles
Homemade Biscuits with Chives and Parmesan

During the fall and winter months, we turn inward, seeking comfort and contentment in the warmth of our homes. We want heartier seasonal foods, and life revolves around the warmth of the kitchen. So turn on your ovens and treat your family to some good old-fashioned aromatherapy – the smell of fresh-baked bread. Capture the essence of savory and sweet herbs in your bread, fill the house with mouthwatering scents and savor the flavor of these easy-to-make breads. Even the staff of life can be enhanced with the flavor of culinary herbs.

Bread dough and batters are ideal for capturing the aroma and flavor of herbs. When herbs are combined with other ingredients and baked, the resulting breads are infused with herbal essence. Fresh herbs will provide the best aroma and taste – they have a bouquet that dried herbs tend to lose. However, dried herbs do work well in baked goods. It is good to reconstitute them a bit by adding them to the liquid in the recipe and letting them infuse while you are getting the rest of the ingredients ready. The recipes below call for fresh herbs; if you are substituting dried herbs, use about one-third to one-half of the amount called for. For example, if the recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil leaves, you would use 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried basil leaves, and crumble them into the liquid.

Yeast breads take a little more time to make, since they have to rise once or twice, but this easily can be done in between indoor or outdoor chores, fixing meals or during your daily routine. I often mix up a batch of dough at night and let it rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator. Then, the next day, I remove it from the fridge, punch it down, let it rise again as it comes to room temperature and it’s ready to bake. Most of the quick breads can bake while lunch or dinner is being prepared. Scones and biscuits are so quick and easy to make, my girls or I often will whip up a batch for breakfast or if friends drop by for tea.

Think about using your favorite herbs the next time you make biscuits or muffins or get ready to use your bread machine. The combinations and variations are infinite, and using herbs to flavor your breads, whether they are leavened with yeast, sourdough, baking powder or baking soda, will be a never-ending taste experience.

Rustic Wheat Bread
with Savory Herbs and Onions

Makes 2 loaves

This bread is fashioned after Tuscan bread that I learned to make when I lived in Italy. The addition of herbs and onions makes it a savory loaf. The bread dough can be allowed to rise once and be punched down; then the herbs can be kneaded in and the dough shaped into a loaf, allowed to rise again and then baked. For a variation in flavor and texture, you can replace 1 cup of the whole-wheat flour with 1 cup of rye flour. If you have time, let the dough rise and be punched down twice before kneading in the herbs, this seems to make the loaves a bit bigger and yeastier. Either way, it is delectable. The second loaf can be frozen once it has cooled completely.

1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons yeast
1 tablespoon honey
4 cups unbleached flour
4 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water, divided
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup unbleached flour for kneading
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
2 generous tablespoons fresh minced sage
2 generous tablespoons fresh minced rosemary
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup cornmeal, for sprinkling on baking sheet
and tops of loaves

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup lukewarm water, yeast and honey. Let mixture stand until yeast becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.

In large bowl, combine unbleached flour, whole-wheat flour and salt; make a well in center of flour. Add yeast mixture to well and stir just to combine a little of the flour. Add half the water and start to blend in some flour with a wooden spoon. Add oil and rest of the water and continue mixing. Once most of the flour is mixed in and it becomes hard to stir, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.

Gather dough together and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour if sticky, as needed. The dough should be a bit heavy. Place kneaded dough in large, lightly oiled bowl to rise, covered with damp towel. If you are letting the dough rise overnight, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Check to see if it needs punching down. If it has doubled in bulk, punch it down with your fist, give it a few kneads, turn it over, and either cover it to rise again, or prepare to shape loaves.

Heat oven to 400°F when ready to shape loaves. Combine herbs and chopped onion together. Divide dough in half and knead each portion, one at a time, gently flattening dough. Spread one-quarter herb mixture on flattened dough and fold it in half to cover and knead. Flatten dough again and spread another quarter herb mixture on dough, fold over and knead. Continue kneading and working herbs and onions into dough, gathering any pieces that fall out. Once dough is homogenous, shape it into a loaf. Repeat process with remaining dough and herb mixture.

Lightly sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal. Place loaves, not touching, on sheet and sprinkle tops with cornmeal. With sharp knife, make two or three diagonal slashes, about 1/2 inch deep, across tops of loaves. Place towel over loaves and allow them to rise in warm place until almost doubled in bulk.

Bake in hot oven for about 45 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Remove to baking rack to cool.

Foccacia with Rosemary

Makes one 10- by 15-inch foccacia

I first ate foccacia al ramerino when I was a student living in Perugia. We’d stop on our way to Italian class and get a piece of this fragrant foccacia, which was cut into 6-inch squares, and have it for breakfast, licking the olive oil from our fingers as we walked to the Universita. This recipe is an adaptation of that wonderful, savory bread.

The best homemade foccacia is cooked at a high heat on a baking stone, or on tiles. The oven needs to be set a little lower when the foccacia is baked on a metal pan. Because foccacia is generally too big to be handled with a pizza peel, I bake mine on a dark metal baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal so that the dough doesn’t stick.

Dough:
This recipe yields enough dough for one thick foccacia; I often double it and keep one in the fridge to bake a day or two later, or freeze the dough to thaw before using at a later date.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
11/2 cups warm water, 100 to 105°F, divided
31/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour, or use all white flour
if desired
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh minced rosemary

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water and let proof for about 10 minutes.

Mix flours and make a well in them. When yeast has proofed (yeast begins to foam), pour it into well with about half remaining water. Gradually stir water and yeast into well. Add olive oil, salt and rest of water and stir to blend. Turn dough out onto pastry marble or board dusted with flour. Gather dough and knead it, adding flour if necessary. Sprinkle chopped rosemary over dough, fold dough over, and knead rosemary into dough. Dough should be soft and lively after 7 or 8 minutes.

Let dough double in bulk in lightly oiled bowl. It is ideal to do this first rise in the refrigerator overnight, but it is not necessary. Punch dough down and pat it into rough rectangle with your hands. Let rest, covered with towel, on lightly floured surface for 20 minutes, or until dough is at room temperature if it has been refrigerated.

Stretch dough gently with your hands on a baking pan sprinkled lightly with cornmeal. Let dough rise in warm place, covered, for about 15 minutes, before topping or filling and baking.

Heat oven to 450°F, with a baking stone, if you have one, on bottom rack.

Once foccacia dough has risen on baking sheet, take your fingers, spreading them wide, and gently press down on dough to make indentations all over top of foccacia.

Topping:
2 cloves garlic, minced
About 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 generous tablespoon fresh minced rosemary
1 medium onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
Coarse sea salt
About 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, optional

Place garlic in shallow dish and add about 3 tablespoons olive oil. Brush dough with olive oil and garlic, letting some collect in depressions. Sprinkle rosemary over dough, and spread onion over top of foccacia.

Place baking sheet directly on baking stone or on middle rack of oven. Bake for about 25 minutes. When foccacia is done, it will be golden brown on edges and crisp on outside. Remove from oven and brush with remaining olive oil, especially on outer edges. Sprinkle generously with salt. Garnish with olives, if desired. Cut and serve warm.

Maple Scones
with Lemon Verbena and Candied Ginger

Makes about 1 dozen scones

You can use any lemon herb that you like in these scones; orange mint also is delicious. Of course, using fresh herbs will give you the most wonderful bouquet in addition to flavor. However, you may use dried herbs if need be – reduce the amount of dried herbs to about 2 tablespoons, stir into the milk and let stand for about 10 to 15 minutes. The scones can be prepared with all unbleached flour, which will make them a bit lighter; the whole-wheat flour makes them a bit more toothsome.

2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
About 4 tablespoons freshly chopped lemon verbena

Heat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, combine flours, salt and baking powder and blend thoroughly. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in candied ginger.

Stir together milk, 1/4 cup syrup and lemon verbena. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir to form soft dough.

Turn dough onto floured pastry marble or board; knead gently with a few turns, until it just comes together. Roll dough out into a circular shape, about 3/4-inch thick. Brush top of dough with remaining maple syrup. Cut dough into 8 or 12 wedges with sharp knife or pizza cutter and place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake scones for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to baking rack to cool slightly before serving. The scones are best served warm and right after baking. If you want to prepare them in advance, cool them completely and store them in an airtight container. Wrap them in foil and gently reheat at 325° for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Marion’s Steamed Bread

Makes one Bundt-sized cake

Marion Spear is a woman I met while giving a presentation in the Arkansas Ozarks. We became great friends, and I admire her for her down-home cooking. She cooks year-round on an old-fashioned wood stove, and she often makes bread by steaming it in a big pan on top. This is an age-old way of cooking bread without an oven, and Marion has perfected the process and come up with many variations over the years. Once the bread is a few days old, it works well for toast. Marion also will slice and dry the bread in a warm oven, then crumble it and eat it with milk, like cereal. Traditionally, this bread often was baked in cans, but a ring mold works well.

The basic recipe is below. You can add other chopped nuts like walnuts or almonds. Often raisins are added, but if you prefer, try dried cherries or other dried finely chopped fruits such as dates, prunes, apples, pears or apricots. When using dried fruits, dust lightly with flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom. Experiment with different herbs; this version uses thyme, but lemon thyme, cinnamon basil and marjoram all work very well. To make a savory loaf, try sage with onions. To clabber the milk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to it and stir.

1 cup unbleached flour or 1/2 cup unbleached flour with 1/2 cup bran
1 cup rye flour
1 cup cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sorghum molasses
About 2 cups clabbered milk
1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup currants dusted with flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Bring water to boil and pour into pan or kettle large enough to hold ring mold or coffee cans. Use enough water to fill pan halfway. Oil inside of ring mold or coffee cans.

In bowl, combine flours, cornmeal, baking soda and salt, and stir. In another bowl, combine molasses and clabbered milk and stir to combine. Pour liquid ingredients into dry, along with thyme, and blend together. Stir in currants and nuts just to mix them in. Pour batter into oiled pan.

Place pan into larger pan or kettle with boiling water. Add enough water to come halfway up sides of ring mold or cans. Place plate or flat pan over top of ring mold or cover top of cans with foil. Put lid on pan or kettle and bring to slow boil. Steam bread for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It’s done when it’s springy to the touch and no longer sticky. Remove bread from hot water and cool for about 10 minutes. Carefully turn hot bread out of ring mold or cans and place on rack to cool. Slice and serve warm, plain or with butter or cream cheese. The bread should keep for about a week, and it also freezes very well.

Skillet Corn Bread
with Cheddar, Corn and Chiles

Serves 8

This savory corn bread is rich and cake-like and full of flavor. Taste your sage to see how strong it is; if you use a strong-flavored one like Berggarten, use only about 3 tablespoons. Oregano and marjoram are also very tasty used in place of the sage. This is a great accompaniment to baked beans and coleslaw.

1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup cornmeal, preferably stone ground
1/4cup whole-wheat flour
2 1/2teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup whole or 2 percent milk
3 extra-large eggs
1/4cup cold-pressed vegetable or corn oil
2 tablespoons honey or sorghum
4 tablespoons finely shredded fresh sage or 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbled dried sage
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2cup finely sliced green onions or chopped onion
2 or 3 serrano or jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced fine
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 375°F. Rub 10-inch iron skillet with oil.

In large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, salt and chili powder; blend well.

In another bowl, combine milk, eggs, oil and honey, and whisk for 1 minute. Stir sage, garlic, onions, chiles and corn into liquid ingredients.

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients along with cheese and stir until just mixed. Pour batter into oiled skillet and place in preheated oven. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let corn bread cool in skillet for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Homemade Biscuits
with Chives and Parmesan

Makes about 1 dozen biscuits cut with a 2 1/2-inch cutter

Buttery-rich and full of sprightly garlic flavor, these biscuits don’t need any extra butter. Serve them just as they are with soups and stews, and for a nice sweet-savory twist, with preserves and/or thin slices of cheese at breakfast or brunch. At our house, we like to split them and spoon on a pile of soft-scrambled eggs. This recipe is adapted from The Onion Book by Carolyn Dille and Susan Belsinger (now out of print). You can substitute 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour in place of the same amount of unbleached flour for a heartier biscuit.

2 cups unbleached flour
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
Generous 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup nonfat or 11/2 percent buttermilk, or 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice added
Generous 1/2 cup snipped chives

Heat oven to 400°F.

In large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cayenne, paprika and Parmesan and blend thoroughly. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

In small bowl, combine buttermilk with chives. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir to form soft dough.

Turn dough onto floured pastry marble or board, knead gently until it just comes together, and roll out to not quite 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough into 21/2-inch rounds and place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake biscuits for 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove to baking rack to cool slightly before serving. The biscuits are best served warm and right after baking. If you want to prepare them in advance, cool them completely and store them in an airtight container. Wrap them in foil and gently reheat at 325° for 10 to 15 minutes. /G