33/52 Aubergine Bread

Aubergines. Eggplants. They look so nice with their firm, shiny, purple skin, don't they?

Like a lot of people I know, I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with aubergines.
Sometimes I love the taste, especially when they are completely overcooked and soft. Other times just the thought of them (and their hard skin when not cooked long enough) makes me want to gag.

The idea to look for a bread recipe using aubergines came suddenly last week. I don't know where it came from but it was a good one, I think. And even better that I found a good recipe right away...

Aubergine Bread

Adapted from Blogkoch

Makes 1 big or 2 smaller breads

2 medium aubergines/eggplants

3 teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds

thyme

2 teaspoons honey

25 g (0.9 oz) fresh compressed yeast

1 tablespoon (apple) vinegar

600 g (4.8 cups) flour (400 g (3.2 cups) mix for dark bread, 200 g (1.6 cups) wheat flour)

• Grate aubergines (with skin) into bowl and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Combine flour, sesame seeds, thyme and remaining salt. Dissolve yeast in about 250 ml lukewarm water together with the honey. Add yeast-water, aubergines (with liquid), and vinegar to the flour-mix and knead for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add more water. If it is too "wet", add more flour.

• Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for about one hour.
• Shape as you wish and bake at 200°C (390°F) for 40 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes if you have the feeling that it is getting too dark. In general, when you knock on the bottom of a freshly baked bread and it sounds hollow, it is done.

My modifications:

The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon flax seeds. I just felt like only using sesame seeds.

I have to admit that I totally forgot to add the thyme... So don't worry if you don't have any at hand.

The taste:

Delicious! Very moist! And the aubergines are not in the foreground so even people who are not the biggest aubergine fans should like the bread. Try it with a bit of butter - pure deliciousness! Should go great with anything from the BBQ as well.

What's your favorite bread? Any special or uncommon ingredients?