Thyme and Thyme Again? BDD #16 Bread With Cheese

Parsnip & Parmesan Bread

(adapted from Delia Smith's recipe in HTC book 1 & her Vegetarian Collection)

for Bread Baking Day#16

(check out:

hoghigh.blogspot.com/)

I made this for our Burns supper (see last 2 posts), to go with the leek and potato soup, which was seasoned with rosemary and thyme.

Delia's recipe is with sage, a taste I'm not that keen on, so I used thyme (again) and parsley, and I also added garlic. The latter two mainly because I wanted them to feature in the look of the bread. I saw this on someone's blog and I thought it looked terrific.

Ingredients:
175g parsnips (peeled weight)
50g Parmesan (5 mm cubes)
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp parsley
1 clove of garlic
225g self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp milk

topping:
parmesan shavings
1 clove of garlic
parsley
oil,
flour

You need: a small solid baking sheet
Pre-heat the oven to Gas mark 5, 375°F/190°C

Sift the flour, add the salt. Grate the parsnips coarsely, add to the flour together with the parmesan, thyme, parsley and finely cut garlic. Mix, then add the eggs and the milk. The dough should be rough, loose, sticky. Pat it on to the baking sheet into a 15 cm round, make a cross, scatter the Parmesan, sprinkle with some flour. Dip the parsley first into olive oil then into flour, arrange on top. Stick the whole garlic clove in the middle. Bake on a high shelf for 40 - 45 minutes.

Verdict: All in all, a success. It looked great and went reasonably well with the soup - a touch too sweet maybe. As I never tasted the original, I don’t know whether the sage tones the sweetness of the parsnips down, or whether thyme and garlic add even more. I would definitely bake it again, maybe to go with a more peppery, tomato based soup. The parmesan shavings on the outside were delicious.