Sour cherry lemon bread
I have a backlog of recipes to post, but for some reason they all feel daunting. Maybe it’s that anything requiring more than a handful of ingredients feels insurmountable because 2020. Can’t we all just live on snacks? I mean: Saltines topped with Monterey Jack and pepperoncini. Popcorn with nutritional yeast and more salt than seems healthy. Pickles straight from the jar.
When Jonathan and I lived in Seattle, we often escaped the city’s buzz by driving north to the pastoral Skagit Valley. If you’ve not had the pleasure of visiting the Skagit Valley, imagine Puget Sound lapping up into farmland and rolling foothills climbing into the jagged teeth of the Cascade mountains. Plus rivers and islands and some of the best food I’ve tasted.
One of our first trips involved a self-guided food tour of the area. We stopped by a small goat farm (now relocated to Walla Walla) and collected a variety of cheeses from the roadside stand where we put our cash in a jar. We drove up the road to what has become my favorite bakery where we found sour cherry lemon bread, graham crackers, and kouign-amanns. Then we continued north up the tree-lined, winding Chuckanut Drive skirting Puget Sound and the Chuckanut Mountains. Hidden around a hairpin turn, we found the entry to Taylor Shellfish Farms. We drove down to the sea, bought fresh oysters, and indulged in the best picnic of my life.
When the pandemic hit, I knew Breadfarm’s sour cherry lemon bread was going to be one of the things I missed most. I’d never made sourdough anything, so how could I hope to create something close to the best bread in the world? But I missed it so much that I tried.
I can now buy loaves from Breadfarm’s curbside window. But if you aren’t in the area and need a little life breathed into your snack, or breakfast, or lunch, or dinner selection, this sour cherry lemon bread spans the gap between snack and dinner like my jogger pants span the gap between loungewear and go-out-appropriate-wear. Yes, this bread is the jogger pants of food. You’re welcome.
I love it schmeared with goat cheese or brie and a drizzle of honey. But it’s equally amazing topped with salted butter. The tang of the tart cherries, lemon, and sourdough combined with the creamy sweetness of cheese or butter, and I’m living my dream.
P.S. Some other not-to-miss spots in the Skagit Valley: Mariposa Taqueria, tweets cafe, Bow Hill Blueberries, the french fries at Third Street Cafe, and the Smith and Vallee Art Gallery.
Servings: 1 loaf (approx. 9 slices) Time: 45 minutes active + overnight rise, rests, and baking Via: Inspired by Breadfarm
50 grams active sourdough starter
360 grams warm water
470 grams bread flour
30 grams all-purpose flour
9 grams kosher salt
zest of 1 lemon
4-5 ounces dried tart cherries (dried bing cherries are also great)
Make the dough. Mix starter and water together in a large bowl or cambro (see photo above).
Add the flours and salt and mix with the fork to form a shaggy dough. Finish combining with your hands to fully incorporate the flour. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
Replenish your starter with flour and water and store as desired.
Add the goodies. Add the lemon zest and dried cherries to the rested dough and gently knead them in for a couple of minutes.
Stretch and fold (optional step). Let the dough rest another 30 minutes and then complete one set of stretches and folds: Gently grab the far edge of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it down into the middle. Turn the bowl/cambro a quarter-turn and repeat. Then another quarter-turn and repeat. And one last quarter-turn and repeat. Let the dough rest another 30 minutes and complete one more set of stretches and folds.
Overnight rise. Cover the dough with the damp towel and tuck it in for the night (8-10 hours) or until it has doubled in size.
Shape the loaf. Gently remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Starting on the left side, stretch the dough and fold it toward the middle. Repeat on the right side. Repeat from the bottom. And repeat from the top. Turn the dough over and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a loaf pan or proofing basket with a towel and dust it with flour.
With floured hands, gently hold the far side of the dough and pull it toward you, so the shape tightens. Place the dough into the loaf pan or proofing basket with the seam-side up.
Short rise. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough should be a little puffy.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut a piece of parchment to fit your dutch oven.
Score the dough. Once rested, place the parchment over the dough and invert to release. Lightly sprinkle rice flour or all-purpose flour over the top and rub with your hands until evenly distributed. Use a razor blade or sharp, small knife to make a long crescent-shape down one side of the loaf. On the other side, make four short, shallow diagonal lines. (See photo above.)
Bake. Lift the dough by the parchment into the dutch oven, cover, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes.
Cool on a rack for at least an hour before serving.