Breaking Bread

Your last post about the pleasures of making bread? No arguments here. There is something so rewarding about the patience it takes waiting for it to proof and rise, the restraint it takes to not overknead it, and the smell of baking bread wafting through the house. The first time I made bread, I made attempted rolls for Thanksgiving. Related: if you're ever going to make something for the first time ever, Thanksgiving, and especially Thanksgiving when you're the host is *not* the time to do it. They were AWFUL. I had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, that was 12 years ago, and I've improved since then. And, perhaps equally important, I know my limits. I still won't attempt Julia Child's croissants.

One of the places I get bread-baking inspiration is The Fresh Loaf. Now you would think that since I have very little time for baking these days, I might be baking lots of bread, especially since doing nothing at all can make the best bread. But you would be wrong. The thing is my best shot at a window for bread making is first thing in the morning before Millie gets up, and at that hour, I find myself stumbling blindly into the kitchen for coffee rather than reaching for the stand mixer.

I did make prepare a bread recently, inspired by Food52's Grilled Bread with Thyme Pesto, to go with some pasta. (Because we needed a giant side of carbs to go with our main dish carbs. But, boy, was it yummy.) So here's my adapted recipe:

1 loaf crusty bread
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T melted butter
2 T roasted red peppers, chopped (we get whole roasted red peppers at Trader Joe's in a jar, but you could easily roast your own peppers, then chop)
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t oregano
1 T basil (I should point out that if I had had fresh basil, I would've used about 1/4 c of that instead)
parsley

Heat oven to 400. Mix together the oil, butter, roasted red peppers, vinegar, salt, oregano, and basil together.

Heat thick-cut slices of bread (toast to your desired level). Immediately upon removing from the oven, spread with the red pepper garlic mixture. Garnish with parsley. Voila!