Thursday, June 17, 2010

BOTD: Peanut Butter Bread

The first time I made this bread, I tossed the peanut butter in on a whim. I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Since then, I've made this several more times, sometimes with variations. But this is the orgininal and most basic version. It has a nice peanut flavor, but it's not a sweet bread, unless your peanut butter of choice happens to be sweet.

You could add in all sorts of things: chopped nuts or dried fruit would be nice. Or you could add flavorings like vanilla or cinnamon.

It's a soft, fluffy bread that's fantastic when it's toasted. Or with a smear of jelly. Or, if you're being decadent, butter.


Peanut Butter Bread
1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 package) yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 1/4cups (11 1/4 oz.) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine water, yeast, sugar, and one cup of flour. Set aside for an hour until it's vigorously bubbly.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball and put it back into the mixer bowl. You can use a little oil in the bowl if you like, but it's got enough oil from the peanut butter to keep is from sticking too badly.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Sprinkle some cornmeal on the bottom of a loaf pan (or you can make a free-form loaf, if that's what you prefer). Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

When the dough has doubled, take it out of the bowl and shape it into your preferred shape (or put it into the loaf pan). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled again, about 40 minutes.

Slash the loaf as desired and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

If you want a soft crust, wrap the loaf in a clean kitchen towel as it's cooling.

This loaf has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
Yum

4 comments:

hobby baker Kelly said...

What a pretty soft loaf. I'm surprised that it is appealing to me so much, I wouldn't normally think of PB in the actual dough but this has lots of possibilities. Thanks for sharing!

Mimi said...

Great idea! I bet the fat in the PB gives the bread a really nice soft texture!

Plain Chicken said...

You had me at peanut butter! Looks great!

Lauren said...

This bread looks and sounds amazing! I've made peanut butter quick bread before, but never thought to make a yeasted version. I bet this bread makes killer french toast or a peanut butter banana panini. Can't wait to make it!

Post a Comment

I love to hear from you! Thanks for commenting!