I was inspired to make an olive loaf by this video from Eater. I used the same basic approach as an Italian braid with the exception of the braid preparation. I rolled each braid flat, stuffed it with olives, then pinched it together. I was afraid that the braids would come apart at some point in the process.
Luckily, my fears were unfounded. This beautiful loaf was the result.
As you can see, the olives stayed near the top. Plenty of bread surrounded them. The result was wonderfully balanced and a great change of pace. Now I just need a good supply of olives to be able to put this on my regular rotation.
I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...
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