Lavender-thyme bread
Bread
I developed this recipe at the request of my friend, Pam, who is working towards opening a new and most welcome restaurant here. She had in mind some sort of lavender-flavored bread to feature as her house bread. <br /> <br />I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed such a fragrant bread experience. But it had its moments. The initial batch using strictly lavender blossoms was like- I can't mince words here - chewing on soap. I wondered what I'd gotten into. The second batch, in which I ground the lavender blossoms with the sugar, was as if - no mincing - I'd used lavender shampoo instead of water. Houston, we had a problem. I thought about it that night, literally with fingertips pressed to temples, eyes closed. It took an effort to erase the soap and shampoo memories from my palate, but when I did, I realized that we needed another note, an herbal one, to balance the floral notes of lavender. Friends and students tease me with the fact that if I make something, of course it has thyme in it. Yes! My friend thyme was just the thing. Armed with fresh sprigs harvested from the backyard, I strode back into the fray the next morning. <br /> <br />The first new version didn't have enough thyme in it. Or enough, hold onto your hats, lavender. The second with more of each was, eh, so-so. It wasn't until I spent another evening with the temples-fingertips-eyes closed thing that I happened upon lemon. The olive oil alone wasn't enough to transport the flavors. The next day, Houston, we achieved liftoff. <br /> <br />Now, you'll never say, man, can she lemon-zest a bread or what! In fact, you may not notice the lemon flavor as such at all. But the flavor and scent combinations are *bright*. They are unique. And that is what I was aiming for. <br /> <br />Pam, have fun!
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