Recipe Review Fennel Seed & Leek Bread Quick Fix in the TMX page 40

[judydawn]

Apart from using a fraction less fennel seeds and forgetting to spray the loaf with water before putting it in the oven ( I did do it within a minute or so though), I followed this recipe to a T but still it didn't end up looking like Alyce's picture
Mine was a very moist dough which spread rather than rise so it was difficult to get it from the second rise onto the preheated oven tray. It ended up flipping over itself to make an elongated loaf rather than a cobb loaf.  I cooked it 5 minutes longer too.
It turned out quite OK though - I have only tested the end piece with butter on it.

[achookwoman]

Judy, could be to do with the very hot weather you are having. Should taste OK.

[judydawn]

Yes it tastes lovely Chookie and it doesn't bother me what shape my bread is.  For tea we just had some camembert cheese & beetroot dip with crackers and a few slices of this bread.

[JulieO]

It still looks good Judy, I like the shape actually. 

[trudy]

Judy, I think the loaf looks great. 

[judydawn]

Thanks girls, I felt OK about it in the end but was disappointed that it didn't look like Alyce's.  Afterall, if you follow a recipe I always expect it to look pretty well the same as the original 

[achookwoman]

Judy,  don't kid yourself.  I always wish my bread looked like Dan Lepard's or Yoke's.

[judydawn]

I don't set my standards that high Chookie 

[VieveMS]

I made the Fennel Seed and Leek Bread yesterday.  As Judy said, the dough was very moist so I ended up adding a bit more flour and even then the dough was sticky and a little hard to work with (I am a very novice baker).  Although I'd originally intended to mould it into a free-form cobb loaf, because of the consistency of the dough I decided to pop it into a loaf tin instead.  The end result was pretty good (sorry, no photo) and tasty.  Despite extending the cooking time by about 10 minutes I think the bread was still a tad underdone in the centre.  Next time I'd cook it for a bit longer. 

Had a couple of slices with pumpkin soup for lunch today - really nice flavours and surprisingly filling!

[Katya]

I made this bread today as I'm having a visitor for lunch tomorrow and thought I'd serve it with tomato and red pepper soup.

I read JD's and VieveMS's reviews and, as a result, decided to leave the MC off when I was cooking the leeks and onions so that some moisture would evaporate.  I added a little bit more flour to the mix but not a lot.   The dough was quite moist but it stuck together well.

I cooked it for 30 minutes but probably at a higher temperature than 200 because I was using the Aga.  I've only eaten the crust but it seems to be cooked ok and it tastes wonderful.   It is quite a strong taste so I think you need to serve it with strong flavours else what you served  it with could get drowned by the bread.   Definitely 5/5 from me

[Cornish Cream]

Beautiful loaf Katya

[Katya]

Thanks CC.  My friend never made it to lunch but OH is working from home so we had the soup and bread ourselves.   He really liked the bread.   I loved the taste but found it a little bit too sweet so will probably cut back on the sugar next time.   

It turned out to have a great texture and I'll certainly cook it again.

[JulieO]

Gorgeous looking loaf Katya.  Was it as crusty as it looks?  I must try this to serve with soup I think. 

[Halex]

Yes anazing looking

[Katya]

Sorry, I've only just noticed your question JulieO.  Yes, it is very crusty - more crusty than I seem to be able to manage on my sour dough loaf.

We had it again for lunch today and it was a bit dry so I think it may keep less well than standard bread.   OH had it with cheese for lunch yesterday (I was out lunching with a friend) and he said it went really well with cheese.