September 30, 2004

New Zealand fig-and-almond bread

At some point, I knew I was going to have to try to make this bread. It's easily the prettiest bread pictured in the Bread Bible, encrusted with almonds and with a fig plopped into the center, which, when cut, looks not unlike a heart.

The bread required several risings, but it wasn't all that difficult. And certainly, it looked pretty stunning when it was done -- although it did turn out smaller than I thought it would be (it's about 6 inches across, maybe 3 inches high). And, having cut it open -- well, sure, it tastes great; how couldn't it, with almonds and figs through-out it? But I'll admit I'm a little disappointed in how dense the bread is. It had been a surprisingly dry dough to work with, and I probably should have added some more water early on. I'm not sure what happened there.

I don't expect I'll be making this again until there's some special party or whatnot where I need a nice-looking dish to bring. It is awfully pretty, even this first attempt.

Pictures hopefully to come!

Posted by chris at September 30, 2004 12:28 AM