Thanksgiving Pilgrim Loaf

Today, we're making a festive Pilgrim Loaf to celebrate the Harvest season. This uniquely shaped and savory Harvest Bread will make a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving feast. It has a nutty flavor with just a hint of sweetness. The recipe for this festive bread is courtesy of ACH Foods (Fleischmann Yeast).


You might also enjoy these additional Harvest Breads:

• Pumpkin-Shaped Nut Bread
• Harvest Dipping Bread
• Harvest Wheat Sheaf Harvest Wheat Sheaf (Sponge Method)
• No-Knead Cranberry Harvest Bread
• The Pilgrim Loaf
• Tom Turkey Bread

Recipe for The Pilgrim Loaf
Makes 1 loaf


Ingredients:
3 to 3-1 / 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 / 2 cup cornmeal
1 envelope RapidRise Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 / 4 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1-1 / 2 cups cooked wild rice or brown rice, cooled*
(I used a mixture of long grain & wild rice)
1 / 2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons cornmeal
* 1-1 / 2 cups cooked rice equals about 1 / 3 cup uncooked wild rice or 1 / 2 cup uncooked brown rice.


Directions:
In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1 / 2 cup cornmeal, undissolved yeast, and salt.




Heat water, butter, honey, and molasses until very warm (120°F to 130°F).





Gradually add to flour mixture.






Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally.







Stir in rice, nuts and enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.












Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.






Cover; let rest 10 minutes.






Roll dough to 9-inch circle.








Fold in half, slightly off center, so top layer is set back 1 inch from bottom edge.





With sharp knife, make 4 equally spaced cuts from curved edge toward folded edge, about 2 / 3 of the way across loaf (cutting through both layers).





Place on greased baking sheet that has been sprinkled with 1 tablespoon cornmeal.




Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.




Sprinkle top of loaf with remaining cornmeal.





Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until done.





Remove from sheet; cool on wire rack.





Here is the finished Pilgrim Loaf as part of a festive table decoration.






Happy Holidays! Thanks for visiting the Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog.

We hope you enjoyed learning how to make this bread as much as we did sharing it with you.

--Cathy


Here are some additional festive bread recipes and resources:

• Festive Recipes
  
• Roll Recipes
  
• Pumpkin Bread Recipes
  
• Baking Supplies
  
• Bread Flour
  
• Bread Mixes

Harvest Bread Recipes:

• Pumpkin-Shaped Nut Bread
• Harvest Dipping Bread
• Harvest Wheat Sheaf Harvest Wheat Sheaf (Sponge Method)
• No-Knead Cranberry Harvest Bread
• The Pilgrim Loaf
• Tom Turkey Bread

Feel free to leave a comment about this blog, or submit your own bread experience. We'd love to highlight your story on The Bread Experience site.