Comments on: black bread

By: NicM

NicM — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:02:32 +0000

Just made this for the second time and it’s even better this time. I love the complex flavors and with a bit of cream cheese, salmon lox, and capers it beats regular bagel for breakfast any day. I decided to wrap one and freeze it for later. Any tips on reheating? I’m thinking 350 for 20 minutes or so?

By: Ande

Ande — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:05:41 +0000

This is a question from a novice bread maker ;o)
whenever I have tried to make plain white bread or some other bread, mine always comes out with the consistency closer to cake than bread. What I am doing wrong? I knead the breads by hand for at least 20 minutes.

Thanks and love your recipes and writing!

By: deb

deb — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:48:41 +0000

Yes, you can make this in 2 loaf pans. It’s been a while since I did it but remember it working fine. You can pop it out of the loaf right away and cool it on a rack. In fact I could go for some with some deli meats right now, if you are sharing…

By: lostinsimulation

lostinsimulation — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:05:36 +0000

i would like to know if anyone has tried this in a loaf pan. i love the taste of this bread, but want desperately to try it a vehicle for some good deli meats. i thought about trying it in a loaf pan and adding 1-2 tsp of vital wheat gluten. any thoughts on this? does one cool it in a loaf pan? please respond ASAP. Hungry kids to feed!

By: SMiGL

SMiGL — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:16:44 +0000

Nice bread :)

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:32:43 +0000

I’ve been lusting after this bread since September when I searched your website for easy bread recipes to make at school (i.e. bread with far fewer ingredients than this one). Home for Christmas, I used my mom’s ingredient cabinet and only had to buy a few more. I didn’t read the comments before I baked, so I now realize I got lucky having two beautiful loaves! I used instant coffee instead of instant espresso, forgot the fennel seeds, didn’t grind the seeds (I know it was optional…but I wanted to, just didn’t have a grinder), used dark rye instead of medium, and oat bran instead of wheat. The recipe withstood all these minor changes and we consumed the whole loaf in about an hour and a half. Ate it with leftover Christmas ham, with goat cheese tomatoes and cucumbers, and with butter and apple butter.

Thanks for the recipe!!!

By: deb

deb — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:24:50 +0000

Liquid. I’ve actually never seen it granulated (unless you’re thinking of brown sugar).

By: Bronwyn

Bronwyn — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:28:20 +0000

I have a question: is the molasses you use for this the liquid form or the sugary granule form?

By: Libby

Libby — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:37:35 +0000

Hello. I made this black bread yesterday. I found the dough to be very wet and sticky even after I added all the flour (I used all-purpose rather than bread flour, don’t know if that made a difference). I ended up adding about 3/4 c more flour to make it knead-able without sticking to the counter and my hands. But it rose great and the loaf turned out fantastically! Tasty and sturdy but not too dense. For me, it slices better the second day. Thanks for the great recipe!

By: Dave J.

Dave J. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:58:53 +0000

This is an excellent recipe–I made it tonight, and have been working hard to keep myself from devouring an entire loaf before tomorrow morning. As others have indicated, my first attempt was not so successful: I didn’t let the water/chocolate/molasses mixture cool enough, and it killed my yeast. Today I made it before doing anything else, and let it get down to room temp, and had no problems with the rise. The bread itself is amazing–dense, flavorful, incredible. I’ve been eating it with some Kerry Gold salted butter spread on top–perfect! Thanks, Deb!