winter squash herb bread

Combine the milk, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan and heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add 2 cups of flour and the eggs, squash, sage, dill, garlic, and salt.

Mix slightly to combine ingredients. When the milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, stir it in with the rest of the ingredients to form a sticky ball.

Add the remaining flour ⅓ cup at a time, mixing to moisten each addition, until the dough becomes smooth. It will be wet and slightly sticky. Cover your hands with a little flour, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased loaf pan.

It can also be divided into small balls to make dinner rolls (place on a lightly greased cookie sheet or in a muffin tin). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until the dough has more than doubled, about 1 to 1-½ hours. While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Place the risen dough in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown and the sides are slightly brown, an hour or 70 minutes. Check the sides by pulling the bread out of the pan. When done, cool bread on a wire rack, then serve or wrap and refrigerate.

* Source: Dan Nicklas in The Herb Companion, October/November 1993 * Typed for you by Karen Mintzias