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Sunday, November 15, 2009

I made yeast bread...or Pumpkin Pie Brioche for HBin5!

I did it. I did it. I did it. Yay. Yo lo hice.... Seriously, I want to bust out in a Dora song!!! Remember scaredy cat me? You know, afraid of the big, bad yeasties? How long have I been telling you I'm just going to do it? Jump in. Make friends with BBY (big bad yeasty). I bit the bullet. Michelle of Big Black Dog has started a new group based on the new book by Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Francois called Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's called (fittingly) Healthy Bread in Five (or HBin5, as you'll see me refer to it from here on out). We're going to be...baking bread. Healthy bread. And I couldn't be more excited! Oh yes, I'll still visit my favorite bakeries to bask in that beautiful smell and tear into that warm bread....just not as often. Because I am conquering my fear. HBin5 officially starts at the beginning of 2010 to give people time to get through the craziness of the holidays and to purchase the book. But until then, we'll be baking a bonus recipe once a month! Never before published recipes from Zoe and Jeff...Novembers recipe being Pumpkin Pie Brioche. I can't give you the recipe because of copyright laws, but Michelle has permission to print it, so you can head over there to see it. But I'll show you how I accomplished step #1 in conquering my BBY fear...just doing it. A yeasted bread, baking in the oven is one of my most favorite scents in the whole wide world! And even though there is both pumpkin and spices in this bread...they are very understated. I smelled that heavenly scent after 10 minutes or so in the oven...and then tasted it in every bite. Goodbye BBY, hello homemade yeast bread!So, don't forget to follow that link for the recipe if you want to give it a try (you totally should). But I can't help but show you the process...you know me.... Those BBY were ready to taunt me, but I threw them in with the other ingredients without a second glance. I mixed the dry and added the wet. I put it in a container. And it rose! It really, really rose! Pretty, huh? I tore off a piece and I shaped it. And then I set it aside to rise again. And it rose! Again!! Woot, Woot! I prepped it for the oven and sat in a mix of anticipation and sensory ecstasy while it baked. And then the torture of letting it cool before cutting. But all worth it. All completely worth it. Beautiful plain.Beautiful toasted with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. Want to join us for next months Bread Braid (HBin5 round-up, basically)? Head on over to sign up now! Simply click on the badge.....
HBin5

Would you like to comment?

  1. Your bread rose beauifully too! Yeast is your friend! Great job and I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks.

    Make sure you link up so other members can see your breads.

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  2. Oh, that looks fantastic. I just love all your recipes and pics. I gave you a blog award, it's cheesy, but I really like your stuff! :)

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  3. oh wow great job i am proud of you girl

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  4. I love brioche! I want something pumpkin, something sweet...gotta get baking!

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  5. So glad that you joined the HBin5. I felt a little intimidated joining, but it seems easy enough for beginners. Now you'll have fresh bread for all your yummy homemade cheese :D Your loaf looks great and I love the cinnamon sugar topping. I put honey over mine and then did the rolls, but the cinnamon sugar was a great idea. So much fun to see how everyone adapted toppings and ideas to the bread.

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  6. really... you seem the type to be ankle deep in bread dough every other day... Gonna take a look at this group, I love fresh bread!

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  7. You did a fabulous job. I love brioche and this one sounds absolutely delicious! Does the book provide nutritional information?

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  8. Your bread is BEAUTIFUL!!! I enjoyed all the photos of the process too! I need to get going and bake some bread now! Roz

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  9. Beautiful! You did a great job one your pumpkin brioche. Can't wait to try it too.

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  10. I made pumpkin bread about a month ago, and looking at yours is making me want to make it again RIGHT NOW!

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  11. Beautiful. I love the smell of baking bread too. Is there anyone who doesn't love that smell?!!

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  12. Can you believe that we received their latest book at Foodbuzz. I was so excited. Now I just need to bake.

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  13. Wow, you make beautiful bread too!!!

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  14. Love it!!! I need to try making brioche one of these days. I used to eat it all the time many years ago. Just the buttery flavors taste so good. I'm really liking this pumpkin version. Maybe I'll make something like this for Thanksgiving rather than cornbread. Now I'm torn. hehe...

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  15. Have no fear - it turned out just perfect! And how yummy is that with the cinnamon and sugar on top!

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  16. Fresh bread is my ultimate favorite. When I was a kid I would go out to dinner and fill up on bread and never eat my meal. I believe this bread would be gone in a few hours sitting around my house :)

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  17. Just the name of the bread makes it sound super delicious!

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  18. It sounds even more delish with the cinnamon sugar!

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  19. I'm really going to have to buy this book after seeing this recipe pop up on so many blogs!

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  20. Heather, I didn't realize you were afraid of the yeasty beasties too!!! Congrats on the conquer!! Feels good, don't it? I think this calls for a toast....oh crap, my marg glass is empty. guess I'll just have to have some of that bread as "toast" with cinnamon and sugar. (then make another marg) hahahaha CHEERS!

    Oh ya...and how come I didn't know you were in HBin5 until now? LOL...blame it on dumb blonde or tipsy blonde? LMAO

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  21. with every post that i read, i want to join this club even more! this is just gorgeous, especially with the cinnamon sugar, great job!

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  22. This is the second post I've seen on this today. Both look amazing! I love the idea of having a master sponge and breaking off a bit when you want bread.

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  23. Great job! Your bread looks fabulous. The more you try and bake, the more confident you will feel.

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  24. This bread is beautiful! I love all the spices in pumpkin bread, this must be an even bigger step up!

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  25. YES YES YES, I knew you would conquer your fear of yeast!! Way to go.

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  26. Awesome! See? Nothing to be afraid of. Your bread turned out beautifully!

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  27. I agree with everyone, the bread does look beautiful! It belongs to the top 5 most beautiful bread in the world.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  28. WE DID IT. Step one in conquering your fear is to face it. And you didn't just face it. You crushed it. That bread looks amazing. Perfectly risen and perfectly eaten with cinnamon and sugar.

    I can't wait to embark on this adventure with you!

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  29. Welcome to the land of yeast. It's a wonderful place. Your bread looks great!

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  30. Your bread looks great! This should be the beginning of a nice relationship with yeast for you :)

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  31. I am working my way through all the blogs about HBin5. Your site is so cool! I can't wait to return and check out all you wonderful pictures and recipes.

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  32. Wow, excellent job! The pumpkin brioche looks incredible!

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  33. Didn't you just love this dough/bread. It looks perfect with that sugar cinnamon toast! Cant wait to see what the Dec. recipe is!

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  34. Toasted with cinnamon and sugar - now why didn't I think of that?!?! My picky son loves C&S toast, so I think I'll make him some when he comes home from school today!

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  35. *Happy Dance* You did it! Congratulations!

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  36. I like the pumpkin bread but the HBin5 sounds too much like a flu strain to me :) ;)

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  37. Chris, LOL. I completely agree with you!

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  38. It looks beautiful. I imagine it was wonderfully fragrant as it baked.

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  39. Looks great! Beginning of winter seems like a great time to make peace with yeast, too. Happy Baking!

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  40. Arlene...you know, I'm not sure. I don't have my copy yet! If you click on the books name it should take you to the authors website and perhaps you could find out there??? :)

    Judy...if there are, I just don't understand them.

    Val...jealous!

    Kenny... it's no wonder why I love hearing from you :D

    Dani...Cheers!

    Coyote...for sure!

    Judy...yes, I feel confident already :D

    Coleen & Frieda...you were both big inspirations to me in my bread making baby steps :)

    Joanne...YES! I can't wait either...it's gonna be fun, I can just tell ;)

    Megan...oh, me too!

    Chris & Gwen...LOL, yeah it does. Sheesh, now I'll think that everytime.

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  41. Congratulations! I know how you feel I was so scared of using yeast, but once I did, I realized it wasn't going to bite me. I love watching the process of the dough rising and then punching it down again. So cool. I love this recipe of yours for the Pumpkin Pie Brioche. Lovely..

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  42. Homemade bread is so much more satisfying than store bought, and this bread fills the requirement. Excellent loaf.

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  43. Nice goin' Girli...that looks great. I have trouble with yeast sometimes, you did a great job,

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  44. Holy moly this is gorgeous. great job! I want a slice with cinnamon sugar on it. mmmm!

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  45. You are awesome and the bread looks perfect. If only I could get my courage up to join you. ;-)

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  46. Applause! Applause! Very well done, Girli!!! I am sooooo proud and pleased for you!!!

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  47. OK, I am totally making this bread today. Yeast and I aren't the best of friends, but I will keep on trying! It looks like the perfect fall bread!! :-)

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  48. Oh my gosh Heather, I was so excited when I saw your post! I just got my own copy of HBin5 and was going to make my first batch tonight! I'm so joining this group!! Promise! love this!

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  49. Beautiful photos! I think I'm going to go pop a slice in the toaster right now. I'm really excited to see so many people joing the Bread Braid.

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  50. It was great to see so many pictures of the process. I'm still working on this bread myself and your post was very helpful. Thanks!

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  51. Your loaf turned out big and beautiful! What a great idea to make cinnamon sugar toast.

    ~Susan

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  52. Oh my, I can't believe how wonderful your bread looks, and it is your first yeast success story? I'm thrilled that you tried the pumpkin brioche and had such a joyful time of it!

    Thank you and I will look forward to seeing many more lovely loaves!

    Congrats! Zoë François

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  53. What a gorgeous loaf of bread! Really tempting!

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