Bread Machine Olive Oil Pine Nut Bread (Wine to Me)

If I had to post only about bread from my bread machine, I would. I am not shy about saying so either. I know dough aficionados may cringe, but it's true. No muss. No fuss. Add ingredients. Press "start"--let the bread baking begin. (And look at me, heading out the door to work in my garden--what's not to love?!) It's convenient, it's on top of my counter, it sits, it waits patiently. I love my Bread Man Bread Machine from Target. (And no, that was not a paid ad--I don't do ads).

Sunday night is always a bit of a pickle with regard to "dinner" plans--especially this time of year. I am usually running crazy in the garden trying to get this or that project finished while I have the heavy arm of Mr. Thyme around to maybe lift this or that for me (pretty please!). I also had to plant 40 gladiola bulbs in a bed I had prepped for just such flowers back in March and was late in getting my "glads" in the ground. There is always stuff to do in the garden. So, I settled on soup for dinner--the kind of soup that comes in a bag with pre-mixed beans and pre-pak of seasonings--but I always add more--carrots, onion, garlic, celery, etc. (I am too lazy to mix my own soup beans.) And the kind that cooks on top of the stove for three hours and makes your house smell heavenly--from the screen porch all the way down to the veggie patch!


I read an interview recently with Lidia Bastianich (Lidia's Italy) where she was asked what she likes to cook at home: soup. Soup--of all things in the world that woman could whip up, it was soup. I loved her for saying so. I have a deep affection for all things soup.

But then there is the question of bread. What bread to serve? Oh, there will be bread. No question. And it simply must be fresh--and have an alluring aroma as well. That's where the bread machine comes in. And one of many of my most cherished bread books: The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. I know her name has appeared in this blog many-a-time. And will again, I'm sure. I just flopped the book on the counter and flipped open to a page, turned a few and, viola: Olive Oil Pine Nut Bread. First of all--those five words should send any true foodie right into heaven. I knew instantly this was the bread. What Beth offers is not only the recipe--a brief history of said bread accompanies the loaf as well. In this case, two words about the bread won me over: Greens Restaurant. That Greens--in San Francisco. And beloved founding chef, Deborah Madison who, according to Beth, used to serve this bread as an appetizer with wine. The secret ingredient is the white wine used in the dough. I had never baked bread before with wine as part of the "liquid" portion. And, secondly, I don't drink, so there is no great selection from our "basement" we could turn to. I do, however, use cheap cooking wine--the stuff sold next to the vinegars at the grocery stores. (Please no emails about, "Well you could just buy the good stuff and have it around to cook with"--as one "ex" friend put it to me once. Uh, no I can't and let's leave it at that.) My cheap cooking wine worked beautifully! The combination of the pine nuts, the olive oil and white wine almost gave this bread a bit of a "sourdough" bite. Then you had your bread flour, rye flour and whole wheat flour working in balance to give an even greater taste journey. I just loved it! And BTW, that photo above was taken this afternoon--we had consumed half of the loaf last night. (It was only the 1.5 size, so don't go all nuts on me!) On day two, it sliced up beautifully and had amazing flavor. . . still!

I cannot post this recipe as I stuck to the script, but let me say that I highly recommend it for your next bread machine love-in! I know it will make another appearance on my table soon.