Tasting Room Bread Recipe: Safflower-Coriander Loaf

We've gotten several requests for our tasting room bread recipe.  People even want to buy loaves from the tasting room!   We provide our fresh-baked loaves strictly as a palate cleanser, but we're happy to share the easy recipe.

We bake our tasting room bread in an upright-style bread machine.  We prefer an upright model to the horizontal pan machines because it consistently produces a more thoroughly mixed, fluffier, and uniform loaf.  The basic recipe is for a large 2 pound loaf of white bread, but we add two secret ingredients:  coriander seed and safflower.  Coriander seed gives the bread cubes a citrusy crunch.  Reddish-orange safflower petals from the thistle-like safflower plant (also known as "poor man's saffron) give the bread a deep yellow color and a subtle tobacco-like aroma.  We find safflower in the bagged displays of Mexican spices at our local grocer.

Here's the recipe, which you may want to adjust depending on your basic bread machine recipe . . .

Add to bread machine in this order:

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons "better for bread machines" yeast
• 2 tablespoons whole coriander seed
• 2 tablespoons safflower

Set for 2 pound loaf, medium dark.