Bread for Dhalie
Sometimes, life throws us a curve ball, when it affects one of our children, it is more of a foul ball. I know some of you know that we are a very large family and we stand by one another. This time it is my niece that is down with a crappy disease called Berger's disease, she is on a very precise diet for her kidneys to return to their full capacity, and it is not easy. For her or her family.
Yesterday, my niece Pearl came to see me, Pearl is Dhalie's best friend and cousin, she was rather upset and we chatted, in the end, she came to see me so we could make Dhalie a bread she could eat that was delicious but within her dietary restrictions. I loved the challenge, and I wanted to make it fun for Pearl, so I did some research after looking at the list of ingredients I could not use and came up with this recipe for a great loaf of bread. I found a standard egg bread recipe as eggs are good for her and adds protein to the bread, I used maple syrup in lieu of sugar and diminished the salt to as little as I could and used Fleur de Sel, not sure it made a real difference, but I am trying. I posted the recipe on my website because I know Dhalie loves making bread and she could now have her own recipe and make it with Pearl next time.
INGREDIENTS:
4 c. Flour
1 c. lukewarm water (110°F)
1 tbsp. yeast or one packet yeast
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
½ tsp. salt
3 eggs
INSTRUCTIONS:
Place 2 cups of flour in a mixing bowl with the yeast and salt.
In your measuring cup, add the honey or maple syrup and olive oil.
Add the eggs.
Pour into the flour mixture and beat for 3 minutes.
Add the last 2 cups of flour with a wooden spoon or dough hook on your stand mixer.
Knead for 4 minutes with the stand mixer or 8 minutes by hand.
Place into a greased bowl and let rise 45 minutes.
Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Punch down the dough and turn under to form a nice fitting form for the loaf pan, place into the loaf pan and let it rise till double, about another 45 minutes.
Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, you will know the bread is ready when you tap it and it sounds hollow.
In the meantime, we keep Dhali in our thoughts and prayers and if there is a time when food makes things better, this is one of those times. I love both these girls to the moon and back, they can attest to that.
Please love this recipe and enjoy it, it was truly fun making it with Pearl, and we thought calling it Dhali's bread worked well.
