Bake up Winter Warmth with Homemade Herbal Breads

Image Gallery Susan Belsinger

“There is no smell in the world of food to equal the perfume of baking bread and few greater pleasures in eating than sitting down with a slice of freshly baked bread, good butter, and a cup of tea or coffee.”
— James Beard, Beard on Bread

During the fall and winter months, we turn inward, seeking comfort and contentment in the warmth of our homes. We want heartier seasonal foods, and life revolves around the warmth of the kitchen. So turn on your ovens and treat your family to some good old-fashioned aromatherapy — the smell of fresh-baked bread. Capture the essence of savory and sweet herbs in your bread, fill the house with mouthwatering scents and savor the flavor of these easy-to-make breads. Even the staff of life can be enhanced with the flavor of culinary herbs.

Bread doughs and batters are ideal for capturing the aroma and flavor of herbs. When herbs are combined with the other ingredients and baked, the resulting breads are infused with herbal essence. Fresh herbs will provide the best aroma and taste — they have a bouquet that dried herbs tend to lose. However, dried herbs do work well in baked goods. It is good to reconstitute them a bit  by adding them to the liquid in the recipe and letting them infuse while you are getting the rest of the ingredients ready. The recipes below call for fresh herbs; if you are substituting dried herbs, use about one-third to one-half of the amount called for. For example, if the recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil leaves, you would use about 1 to 11⁄2 tablespoons of dried basil leaves, and crumble them into the liquid.

Yeast breads take a little more time to make, since they have to rise once or twice, but this easily can be done in between indoor or outdoor chores, fixing meals — somewhere during your daily routine. I often mix up a batch of dough the night before and let it rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator. Then, the next day, I remove it from the fridge, punch it down, let it rise again as it comes to room temperature and it’s ready to bake. Most of the quick breads can bake while lunch or dinner is being prepared. Scones and biscuits are so quick and easy to make, my girls or I often will whip up a batch for breakfast, or if friends drop by for tea.