LAVENDER BREAD

Ingredients...

Yeast (1 packet)
Honey
Sugar
Salt
Lavender
Warm Water

In a glass bowl place a heaping tablespoon of organic (very important) honey and slowly let the warm water melt the honey. About 2 and a half cups of water will do. Stir the honey and make sure it has dissolved. Slowly sprinkle the yeast in and stir. Let sit for about 5 to 10 minutes or until it has a foamy cap.

In a large bowl throw about 3 cups of flour in, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of lavender and about 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 and a half tablespoons of salt. Mix with a wooden spatula and create a well in the center. When your yeast mixture is ready to go, pour it inside the well. Mix together. The dough should be pretty wet, almost of a liquid consistency. Add a bit of flour and keep stirring. Remember to just add a bit at a time. When it gets too hard to stir, on a floured surface, take the dough out of the bowl and start kneading. Kneading is very important- the yeast is like a heart that you need to pump to keep alive.

When your dough is ready to "sleep", place in a bowl and cover with a moist linen. After an hour or so it will double in bulk. When this has happened, punch the dough to release the air. Continue kneading and place back in the bowl and cover again with a moist linen. I like to let it sit overnight so then first thing in the morning you can put it in the oven and have fresh bread for breakfast or you can bake after it has doubled in bulk at least once.


READY TO BAKE
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Knead the bread for one final time. Shape how ever you like. You can make a braid, a twist, a twisted wreath, rolls, whatever you prefer. Place on a oily baking sheet. After you have done this let it sit for 15 minutes. Once you have put it in the oven let it bake for about 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 400 degrees. It shouldn't have to bake for more than 45 minutes but depending on what kind of oven you have whether it is gas or electric or old or new it might just bake for an hour (like my bread does in my 1950's oven).