Another slight speed bump is that I woke up with an unbelievable urge to bake bread. No idea where it came from, but I needed to bake. Knowing that I have no yeast, I had to search for what I could make, and stumbled upon this recipe. I LOVE Mother Earth Living! I had all of the ingredients, except for chives, so I harvested some of my herbs (yup, they are still alive!) and made a lovely whole wheat quick bread. Studded with crisp nuggets of thick cut applewood smoked bacon, little pockets of a great local chevre, and minced rosemary, thyme and marjoram, this is a pretty amazing loaf of wonderfulness. The Man is on wedge two, along with a cup of chicken broth that is cooking on the stove, and is already looking better. I guess old fashioned remedies do work - good food and love.
• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or flaky or coarse sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) crumbled fresh chevre (soft goat cheese)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (pretty much anything will work here - I used a mix of marjoram, thyme and rosemary. Sage and parsley would be great, too.)
1. Heat a large skillet over medium low heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until crisp. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and stir well to mix.
4. Mix the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add one of the eggs and beat until fully incorporated, then beat in the second egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the dry ingredients with the mixer at low speed, alternating with the milk. Take the bowl from the stand and stir in the bacon, 1 1/4 cup chevre and herbs by hand, just until incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chevre over the top.
5. Bake until the top is lightly browned and the bread pulls away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan, then turn the bread out onto the rack to cool, inverting the bread so that the chevre topping is upright.