Weekend baking: Buttermilk Quick Bread
into this bake? I asked myself.
Cheese goes well with fruit - fresh or dried - and since I was planning on making a cheese flavoured Quick Bread, I assumed that the raisins would fit right in. For extra flavour, I added a tablespoon of garden thyme and red pepper flakes. I have to admit, I wasn’t so sure about my decision to include the raisins. While the combo may work when eaten together - raw, as a snack, baked in a bread, how would that work? But hey, you don’t know if you don’t experiment, push the boundaries.
Fifteen minutes after the loaf was tipped out of the pan, I waited all but 5 minutes before cutting in to the bread. Ummm, the aroma of cheese, mingled with thyme warmed the air. The golden raisins were like little jewels, embedded in each slice. The buttermilk-infused crumb tender and soft. I took my first bite and nodded agreeing with the aged cheese and thyme combo and feeling the kick of the heat from the pepper flakes. I wondered how rosemary in place of thyme would work. On the second bite, as I chewed, I bit in to the raisins nestled in the crumb, tilted my head to the side and went, hmmm - interesting and not bad. Not a ringing endorsement eh? There are 2 reasons for that. First, the sweet raisins definitely work with the savoury cheese and herb flavour. When the sweet mixes with the salt, it provides a very enticing flavour, one balancing the other, like Yin and Yang. I contemplated whether adding more raisins would be better to ensure that flavour blended in each bite; however, I thought against it because this Quick Bread was really a savoury Quick Bread. The amount of fruit was just enough to make it more appealing.
The second answer is simply this - there are people, who if they are having something sweet, then it is sweet, if they are having something savoury/salt, then that is what it is. None of this fancy mixing and mingling. I say this to say - if and when you try this recipe, know the people who are going to be eating it and determine whether or not you want to put in the raisins. Try it and let me know what you think.
Cynthia cynthia@tasteslikehome.org www.tasteslikehome.org