Mabon Marigold Honey Wheat Bread, Spiced Apple Butter and Rosemary (or Thyme) Honey

Why, oh why, does time go so quickly?  Or should I ask how?  It is already that time of year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and moves south in the Northern Hemisphere...a time when the Northern and Southern Hemispheres both receive the same amount of light as they do dark...or the Autumnal Equinox...Mabon!  It all falls somewhere between the 21st and the 23rd of September...but I'm never really sure of the exact moment...so these three days just sort of become an extended celebration!  The beginning of my favorite time of the year. 

It seems that I'm falling into a routine of bread baking to welcome in the seasons this year.  Hey, I can live with that.  My Mabon loaves were inspired by this Dark Mother Bread.  I used up the end of my first jar of the Marigold Honey that I've become so enamored with...

Mabon Marigold Honey Wheat Bread

from the kitchen of girlichef

Yield: 2 loaves

2 c. warm water

1 Tbs. active dry yeast

1/3 c. Marigold honey

3 c. white whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. melted butter, at room temp or just barely warm

3 ½ c. bread flour + a little extra

after baking:

~½ Tbs. butter, melted for brushing on top of loaf after baking (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Using a wooden spoon, add honey and mix well.

Stir in the whole wheat flour, salt, and butter. Add in the bread flour, in ~ 3 additions…you may have to work the last bit in with your hands.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop, and knead for ~10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Form into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough in, turning once to get a thin coat of oil all around. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size, ~1 hour.

Punch down the dough, then turn out of the bowl. Cut in half, and place in two greased loaf pans. Allow to rise again until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375° F and bake for ~30-35 mins., or until golden and fragrant. Immediately after you remove  from the pans (while still warm),  brush the tops with some melted butter, if using. Allow to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling.

These loaves turn out soft (from the addition of the butter in the dough), studded with marigold petals, and light...with a hint of sweetness.

The perfect accompaniment...

Spiced Apple Butter

from the kitchen of girlichef

yield: ~1 pint

This can be made either in a pot or in the crockpot...which is what I used this time.  So easy to just put everything in and let that magical pot do its thang.

~2 lbs. apples, peeled, cored & quartered

½ tsp. pure vanilla (or ½ of a vanilla bean)

1/4 c. brown sugar

big pinch ground cinnamon

good grating of nutmeg

small pinch of ground cloves

few pieces of crystallized ginger

1 whole star anise

big pinch sea salt

Place the apples and the vanilla in a crockpot (this amount fits in a small 2 qt. pot), cover and cook on low for 4½ hrs.

Lift lid and smash the apples up a bit with a fork or spoon.  Add all of the seasonings.  Replace lid and cook on high for another 4 hours or so...until dark and thick.  Warning...your house will smell irresistible to all who pass by and get a whiff!

Remove the star anise, the blend it all up with an immersion blender or in a stand up blender (carefully...it's hot!!) to get a smooth butter.  Store in a sealed jar in the fridge.

You could also toast the bread and spread it with a good bit of this...

Rosemary (or Thyme) Honey

Place a bunch of rosemary (or thyme) into a clean glass jar.  Heat some honey until it is just warm and pourable.  Pour over herbs. That's it!

Okay, I realize that's actually a picture of the thyme honey that I labeled rosemary honey. DOH! 

 Eat some at home with your family, friends and loved ones...and pack a basket to give to others in the spirit of giving...

My basket to celebrate the harvest includes Marigold Honey Wheat Bread, Spiced Apple Butter, Rosemary Honey, Witches Brew spiced red wine, a bunch of sage, some apples, a squash, some seed pods and some corn stalks turning from green to brown.  The basket itself symbolizes the gathering of the crops...the herbs, apples, squash, honey, wheat, seed pods, and corn stalks symbolize the culmination of the harvest brought in this year, and the transition to cooler temperatures and putting up the crops.

Bring on the Autumn fruits and veggies...and harvest foods...and comfort meals...corn mazes...squash, gourd and pumpkin patches...apple and pear orchards...YES!


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