If it's fall, it's EGGNOG BREAD time
When eggnog shows up in the grocery dairy cooler, it's OFFICIALLY fall.
Here's a recap of eggnog bread, most of you have already seen it over and over again but someone asks me about it each year (usually because I'm cartwheeling with joy over the latest loaf) so I'm making a final-for-reference post:
This is basically a standard white bread recipe using eggnog in lieu of the liquid and some of the sugar, butter, and egg fats. It was a successful panic-experiment of mine back in the late 80's/early 90's and has since become a family tradition.
Here's the version for my bread machine, adjust ratios as needed for your machine or recipe size:
3cups regular bread flour (I use 1 pound of King Arthur white bread flour)
1.5 teaspoons yeast
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon wheat gluten (optional but recommended)
1.5 - 1 tablespoon sugar/honey/other light sweetener (I do not recommend molasses or other assertive sweeteners in this bread)
1.5 cups fresh eggnog
Throw into the bread machine on "Light crust" setting and let it go. That's it.
Variations:
1) A friend has reported this worked well with soymilk-eggnog.
2) Another friend cooking on a low-sodium diet has tried this with potassium chloride and been successful.
3) If you use the low/reduced-fat eggnog, you may want to add a teaspoon or two of butter/eggfats as you would use in a normal recipe.
4) If you go nuts adding nutmeg and cinnamon, you may need to add a bit more yeast.
Things I've discovered work best:
1) Use only fresh eggnog from the cooler. I've never had a good rise, or a decent flavor bread, when using boxed or canned eggnogs. I suspect - pure speculation, mind you - that they contain something that may be inhibiting the yeast.
2) Keep an eye on it during the first knead and be prepared to adjust the liquid/dry-flour ratios. I have found a great deal of variation in how much eggnog is needed, anywhere from 1.33-1.75 cups for the same 1 pound of flour.
3) The extra gluten is not necessary, but is really really useful for getting the texture right. Especially if you want a smooth, light bread.
Stale Leftovers:
... make AMAZING French Bread!
... make a pretty neat, very different bread pudding
... go well with some soups but can be a collision of conflicting "sweet" flavors
... make the weirdest salad croutons ever <- not recommended
Here's a recap of eggnog bread, most of you have already seen it over and over again but someone asks me about it each year (usually because I'm cartwheeling with joy over the latest loaf) so I'm making a final-for-reference post:
This is basically a standard white bread recipe using eggnog in lieu of the liquid and some of the sugar, butter, and egg fats. It was a successful panic-experiment of mine back in the late 80's/early 90's and has since become a family tradition.
Here's the version for my bread machine, adjust ratios as needed for your machine or recipe size:
3cups regular bread flour (I use 1 pound of King Arthur white bread flour)
1.5 teaspoons yeast
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon wheat gluten (optional but recommended)
1.5 - 1 tablespoon sugar/honey/other light sweetener (I do not recommend molasses or other assertive sweeteners in this bread)
1.5 cups fresh eggnog
Throw into the bread machine on "Light crust" setting and let it go. That's it.
Variations:
1) A friend has reported this worked well with soymilk-eggnog.
2) Another friend cooking on a low-sodium diet has tried this with potassium chloride and been successful.
3) If you use the low/reduced-fat eggnog, you may want to add a teaspoon or two of butter/eggfats as you would use in a normal recipe.
4) If you go nuts adding nutmeg and cinnamon, you may need to add a bit more yeast.
Things I've discovered work best:
1) Use only fresh eggnog from the cooler. I've never had a good rise, or a decent flavor bread, when using boxed or canned eggnogs. I suspect - pure speculation, mind you - that they contain something that may be inhibiting the yeast.
2) Keep an eye on it during the first knead and be prepared to adjust the liquid/dry-flour ratios. I have found a great deal of variation in how much eggnog is needed, anywhere from 1.33-1.75 cups for the same 1 pound of flour.
3) The extra gluten is not necessary, but is really really useful for getting the texture right. Especially if you want a smooth, light bread.
Stale Leftovers:
... make AMAZING French Bread!
... make a pretty neat, very different bread pudding
... go well with some soups but can be a collision of conflicting "sweet" flavors
... make the weirdest salad croutons ever <- not recommended