Almond Meyer Lemon Bread

1 2/3 c. flour
1 c. almond meal/flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 stick (8 tbs) butter (soft/room temp)
zest and juice from 2 meyer lemons
1/2 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the lemon zest and juice, and add one egg at a time - when I did this, the butter seemed to curdle a little (is that possible?), but it was no problem. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix, and add the milk and mix in as well. Transfer to buttered loaf pan, top with toasted almonds and bake at 350* for one hour or longer. Don't burn it, as I did mine, and you should have a sweet and tangy, crumbly delicious loaf!

Porridge Bread

I bought a Porridge Bread at a local natural foods market, and it was so good that my housemates gobbled it up before I'd had very much of it. In an act of rebellion, I found a recipe online and have attempted to re-create the tasty bread at a cheaper price and larger volume. The recipe I used advertised a yield of 6 loaves, but I only got 3. The recipe here is modified from the one google turned up (less oil, less sugar, more grains, whole wheat flour in addition to white flour).

2 tbs dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbs granulated sugar
2 cups porridge*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses**
1 tbs salt
3 cups all purpose white flour
4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil

*For the porridge, I used about 2/3 four-grain oat cereal (i.e. oatmeal) and 1/3 a mix of toasted buckwheat, red winter wheat berries and amaranth. I made a huge pot of it, used 2 cups for the bread, and served the rest up for the housemates with sugar and milk for a late-night oatmeal snack.

**My second time making this bread, I used honey instead of molasses. I think the full 1/2 cup of molasses is too much, but the honey has a really nice flavor which is more subtle. I haven't tried mixing the two, but that might be where the happy medium lies.

Mix the yeast with the sugar and warm water until it dissolves, then set aside until it gets foamy. Meanwhile, mix the porridge with the molasses, brown sugar, oil and salt, and add the yeast mixture when it's ready. Begin adding the flour one cup at a time, and finish by kneading the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes, or as long as it takes for it to feel good. The dough might stay a little tacky because of all the grains, which is fine.

I let it rise overnight in the refrigerator (you could let it rise at room temp until doubled in size), then punched down the dough and broke it into 3 parts. Let it rise in pans (or in the round, if you want a round loaf) for another 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size again. Bake at 375*F for 30-40 minutes. The color is a rich, warm brown, with a sweet wheaty flavor from the grains and molasses. This is one of my favorite kinds of bread, wholesome and comforting, satisfying both the health nut and sweet tooth in me (who are so rarely on the same team).

Persimmon Bread

This recipe is adapted from one that Google turned up. It had considerably less butter and sugar than some other recipes I found, and it could probably stand to have even less sugar in it ... or maybe use honey instead.

2c. unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1c. persimmon slices (two medium-small persimmons)
1c. sugar
1/2c. milk
2 eggs
1/4c. softened butter
1/2c. chopped toasted pecans
1/2c raisins (golden and thompson)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix together the dry ingredients, using what spices you like (the ones above are estimates of what I used) and sifting the baking soda/powder so it's not clumpy. A great trick for people who hate to sift: I use a small tea strainer, which is just the right size to sift a couple tsp of something quickly. Beat the eggs with the sugar and milk, and add the softened butter. Beat togther well, then mix into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the raisins and pecans and fold those in. Pour this into a buttered loaf pan and sprinkle a little extra sugar over it - it makes the top a little extra sweet and crunchy. The recipe I was working from called for 45 minutes in the oven, but my loaf took about 65 minutes total. The result was a little crunchy at the edges, but perfectly moist inside. If you were using a brownie pan instead of a loaf pan, 45 minutes might be just perfect.

A note about persimmons:
I'm really intrigued by persimmons. They are simultaneously beautiful, delicious, and quietly repellent all at once. I love the rich color, and the sweet apricoty taste when they are ripe, but I can't stand the stringent aftertaste of the acorn-shaped variety (Hachiya). These ones are great for baking, and also great for eating (when VERY soft) if you can stand the tannic aftertaste (I can't). I waited until I thought my persimmons were perhaps too ripe and even beginning to pucker, but they turned out to be just perfect. The non-astringent ones (Fuyu, or others) much less tannic and can be eaten sooner, but I've never baked with them. I'm not sure how a crisper, younger Fuyu persimmon would turn out in bread or pudding form - anyone else have experience with this?

Up next: Persimmon Jam!