I've had my eye on this recipe for a while and a tub of ricotta in the fridge really needed to be used up, so I finally got round to making it.
Since I followed the recipe as written, I'm not going to reproduce it here, but will suggest instead that if you're interested in bread you should really buy The Handmade Loaf - there are some fantastic looking loaves in there, and almost everything is bookmarked to make at some stage, hopefully soon... I should point out that I'm not on commission here!!!
The only change I made was to pinch off a portion of the dough (probably about 1/6) and knead a few dried cranberries that I had left in the bottom of a packet into it to make a tiny loaf for a couple of breakfasts. This worked well, and I do enjoy having a fruity loaf for my breakfast! I baked this tiny loaf in my tiny loaf tin!!!
However, whilst searching the internet to see if the recipe was already out there, I saw that fellow 'Dan fan' Celia, at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial (fab, inspiring blog, check it out!) has made the loaf already, in a slightly adapted form, here. Celia, your loaf looks fab, and I wish I had fresh ricotta to use up, but here I can only get it from the supermarket.
The crumb of the loaf is fine and close and the loaf is nice and moist. I think it would make good toast, but haven't tried that yet. I know it makes good sandwiches though - there is enough substance to the bread to prevent it falling apart under the weight of fillings. I can't say I particularly noticed the ricotta flavour, but then ricotta is mild at best and mine was supermarket ricotta, not fresh.
Thanks Dan, for another great loaf. I'll remember this one next time I have ricotta left over.
11 comments:
Sounds great. I love the little jewels of fruit in the loaf.
Nothing beats home-made bread! I can only imagine how delish this ricotta loaf must taste ;o)
Maria
x
What beautiful looking loaves and I love that you made a diddy one with cranberries. Inspired!
Este pan es maravilloso, me encanta. saludos
It looks wonderful. Soft middle and crisp crust just how I like it. The mini cranberry loaf is so cute! Mummy and baby bread :)
That bread looks perfect! Lovely crumb, and the way the slashes on top have opened out is brilliant!
Yay - I have that book on my Chrissy wish list. Fingers crossed Santa is a good boy this year ;0)
What a gorgeous loaf of bread. I can imagine the crackle the crust makes when it is bitten into. You did a fabulous job with this. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary
C, you are so nice, thank you for the kind comments! Isn't it a versatile recipe - I love your mini cranberry version! I've found the plain loaf makes a reasonable brioche substitute, and we use it for everything from French toast to bread and butter pudding.
PS. "Dan's fans" indeed, maybe we should get badges printed up. :D
Brittany, Maria, Jacqueline, Katie - thanks!
Foodycat - I was pleased with the slashes too.
Chele - I hope Santa brings the book for you too - it's fab!
Mary - thanks!
Celia - we should definitely have a little 'Dan fan' badge ;-) I can understand you using it as a brioche substitute, when I've defrosted it recently it has a definite slightly sweet smell to it!
What a fabulous looking loaf and I like the use of ricotta. I can only imagine what it is like though and I'm not doing a very good job. One of these days, I'm going to have to get a bit more adventurous with my bread making.
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