Corn Porn

Another day, another loaf. This time, I tried a recipe from my new cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Great reading, btw, Peter Reinhart really tries to teach you the theory and the science behind successful bread making, rather than just give you recipes. For a tinker-er like me, it's good to understand the underlying principles so you can substitute and fiddle with abandon.

I tried his only non-yeast recipe because I figured if he only included one, it had to be good. I mean how can you resist this description, "the use of honey, buttermilk, lots of corn kernels, and polenta-grind cornmeal (rather than the usual finely ground cornmeal) gives this bread moisture, texture and sweet yet tart flavor bursts." I mean, c'mon. Break out the polenta.

It might be a bit heavy for Thanksgiving, imho, and next time, I think I'll skip the bacon altogether (I just used a small amount to see what he was so enthralled with). I served it with chili, but I think if you throw together a green salad and serve a piece of this bread, you've got a meal.