Sometimes it pays to shop around.

I got this recipe for "traditional" Spirit Vale spiced bread from an... exuberant baker who assured me that, although he'd adjusted the recipe a bit, it was all in the name of healthfulness and it was still essentially the same bread.

Having tried his recipe, I maintain that it is most certainly not the same bread. It may be healthier, yes, but it's also lost an unfortunate amount of flavour along the way. Next time I'll keep my fats, thank you!

Photo goes here.

Spiced Bread

Ingredients

• 400g hard whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 1 c. cold water

Directions

1. Combine flour, salt, spices, and yeast and make a well in the centre.
2. Pour in water.
3. Gradually incorporate dry ingredients into wet working from the centre outward.
4. Cover and let rest for ~5 minutes.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ~10 minutes.
6. Place in covered bowl and set aside to rise for ~1 hour.
7. Knock back and knead a few strokes.
8. Round, cover, and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
9. Shape loaf as desired. (I chose to make a pan loaf.)
10. Cover and set aside to rise for 30-45 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
12. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for ~30 minutes. (Check doneness and rotate if needed at 20 minutes.)
13. If desired, brush the crust with a bit of butter as soon as it comes out of the oven.
14. Let cool in pan for five minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

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Better Spiced Bread

This version of the bread incorporates baker's wet ingredients into the dough in place of the water (which I suspect bears a much closer resemblance to the original recipe, before my helpful baker friend's alterations). I think it could also benefit from a bit of sugar in the dough, but I didn't want to meddle with it too much all at once.

Ingredients

• 425g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 small egg (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. water (optional)

Directions

1. Combine flour, salt, spices, and yeast and make a well in the centre.
2. Split the vanilla bean open and scrape out all the seeds. Add the seeds to the milk. Toss the vanilla pod into your sugar bowl or save it for making homemade vanilla extract.
3. Beat the large egg into the milk mixture.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients.
5. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet, working from the centre outward.
6. Cover and set aside for ~5 minutes.
7. Smear the butter onto your work surface and turn your dough out on top of it.
8. Knead the dough on top of the butter until all the butter has been worked in.
10. Place in a covered bowl and set aside to rise for ~1 hour.
11. Knock back, round, rest, and shape as above.
12. Cover and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
14. Meanwhile, beat the small egg with the water.
15. Brush the egg wash onto the loaf. If using a pan, be careful not to allow too much egg to drip down the sides as it will make the loaf difficult to release after baking.
16. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for ~30 minutes. (Check after 20 as above.)
17. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.