Full transparency: not all of my cooking turns out as planned. Mostly it does, but here's a saga of the Pumpkin and Golden Raisin Bread that Didn't. Made pretty much the way I make banana bread, I've done this with sweet potato, apples,various other things, successfully. Turns out pumpkin, even drained well, is a different sort of hanimal.
So I noticed that the batter was a bit wet, but confidently thought it would firm up in baking, and now I think I'd have been better advised to add flour, though you don't usually make big changes in the middle of baking. Put it in the oven. Then noticed I'd omitted the melted butter, still sitting on the counter. Pulled the tin out of the oven, beat in the butter after the fact, but now find that's a bit late in the process.
So then I baked it for the usual time. Still totally uncooked. Baked for another 20 minutes. Now the tester, my little aluminum spud nail, came out clean. So I brought it out and cooled and tried it. Hm. More like pudding than bread.
Tried a slice. Not something you'd offer a person. So last night I put it back in a hot oven and baked it another 20 minutes. Now firmer, but a bit rubbery. Oh.
So this morning I toasted a slice, added cranberry jam, and called it Breakfast Bread. Or something. It's edible if you don't realize what it was aiming to be in the first place. I wonder how many recipes are born that way.
Maybe I'll invent the TwiceBaked (biscotti) Postponed Butter Pumpkin Golden Raisin Breakfast Bread Slices. I'll be famous. And good cooks will try it and think, gawd, I could do better than this. Yeah, so could I!
Things can only go uphill from here.
I forgot to put the butter in a chocolate custard I was making a few weeks ago and guess what? I doubt anyone could have told the difference. It was delicious without!
ReplyDeleteYou created a new recipe!
DeleteI once learned how much a dash of salt means to a dish.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between lightning and the lightning bug!
DeleteLol. I smiled all the way through this post. You brighten my day!
ReplyDeleteThis shows that good did come out of it!
DeleteYou're persistent! Gotta get marks for that!
ReplyDeleteUp to a point! But at least there was comic relief.
DeleteBreakfast bread sounds good!
ReplyDeleteI think the operative word is sounds..
ReplyDeleteI expected to find a few more confessions.
ReplyDeleteI recognize that tactic! I once worked in a commercial kitchen. When disaster happened, the head cook said "just rename it". It always worked. Onward and upward!
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
So I found a traditional solution!
DeleteI'm sitting here laughing to myself, but not over your breakfast bread. I was reminded, however, of the time Resident Chef was making muffins that had quite a bit of dried fruit in them. Upon attempting to remove same from oven the entire plan flipped upside down and disgorged all over the oven door. Undaunted RC scooped up the mess, added some more to it, and made a really great fruit loaf which ended up being served to company. The company was completely mystified when, upon asking for the recipe, we both fell about laughing.
ReplyDeleteWhat the guests don't know, their hearts won't grieve over, to mangle an old proverb! I hope he explained it was a secret family recipe.
Deletesounds like the first time I tried to make charlotte rouse. second time came out good but doubt I'll ever make it again. too much trouble.
ReplyDelete