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The kitchen got a little festive after the bread came out of the oven; my husband cut some holly from the tree in our backyard. (Just a note: while the little red berries are really pretty, DON'T plant a female holly tree unless you're ready to sweep up bushels of them when they start to fall. And the prickly leaves are really nasty - the tree sheds 1/3 of its leaves every year!)

Zelten di Natale, or just Zelten; a popular fruit bread in South Tyrol, an alpine region in northern Italy. 

That's not surface topping, the loaves are loaded with fruit and spices fore and aft, and top to bottom. Yes, there's a little bit of rye dough too.

I'm saving these to serve at our annual holiday dinner, but I've nibbled a little. These are definitely not the dreaded annual Fruit Cake from aunt Jane!

David G

Cari Amici,

volevo condividere con voi la gioia provata nel divulgare a degli straordinari bambini, ciò in cui credo fermamente: "alimentarsi in modo semplice e sano rispettando le vecchie tradizioni".

Perchè soltanto con la condivisione delle proprie passioni, della propria conoscenza ed il rispetto delle nostre tradizioni gastronomiche, potremo sperare che anche i nostri figli un giorno, ne facciano buon uso.

My father and I went to the local Chinatown here last month. There he allowed me to buy anything I want as he knows most of my favorite treats are there. It feels like we’re in an old Chinese movie as we walked along the narrow alleys witnessing exotic items being sold. There were sea cucumbers, fresh mushrooms, fresh cherries, kumquats, and HUGE strawberries; very expensive and not usually found in everyday markets. I wanted to take pictures but my hands are just busy shoveling food into my mouth.

With the excitement and highlighting of Ancient Grains and Sprouted Grains in the bread world that we may be paying too much attention to, other really cool and interesting developments in the world can sometimes take a back seat and go nearly unnoticed.  One of those ‘other’ things came to light this past week when Lucy found out that one thing that has baffled cosmologists and physicists for decades was finally answered..... and it involved her.

A few new loaves have come to fruition.  First is the play on Baguette de Tradition.  Adding cocoa, brown sugar, and chocolate to make a nice Thanksgiving holiday bread.  So good while the crust is crunchy with just some butter or better yet nutella.  Others claim its pairing to goat cheese as a treat as well.  Use semi sweet to keep it kid friendly or go bittersweet for a more adult version.   

It's been fun to keep at a single loaf for an extended period. I've been making Chad's basic loaf nearly every week for over a year, experimenting with different fermentation temperatures so that I can bend the formula to fit my always changing farming schedule. Here's what I got from delayed fermentations both at the first stage (stretched it from the recommended four hours to eight), and at the final stage (fermentation overnight in my root cellar, 45 degrees). 

For the last four years my wife and I have joined neighbors for Thanksgiving. Everybody makes something. Each year I make this large Challe. Probably why I keep getting invited back.

Some advice please.  I want to bake a bread that is 60% rye and 40% bread flour.  In order to achieve a good lift and open crumb, I propose to add a binder of the type used in gluten free baking.  I am thinking,  Psyllium at about 30% of the rate I would use in a gluten free bread ie for  450 grans total flour- 10 grams of psyllium husk.  Thoughts, comments, advice?

Thanks, RB

Going on year nine of making bread. 2000 grams a week, roughly. One batch. Each time during the week I bake from the batch it has a new flavor.