Yeast Breads: European Almond Loaf

This loaf makes an excellent sandwich bread or morning toast. It goes well with coffee or tea and can be made into buns or rolls if you're serving a larger crowd.


Ingredients


⅓ cup butter
1 cup almonds, sliced or slivered
3¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup mashed potato flakes
1 tsp anise seed
1 tsp salt
1¼ tsp quick rise or bread machine yeast
1 cup sour cream
½ cup water
2 eggs


Preparation


Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add butter and almonds, cooking until almonds are light brown. Stir constantly to avoid burning the butter. When complete, set aside.


In a large bowl that is not metal, combine flour, sugar, potato flakes, anise seed, salt, and yeast. In a small saucepan, combine water and sour cream and heat over medium heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs.


Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture. Combine until a soft dough forms. It will be more like a batter and does not need to be completely smooth. Cover loosely and place in a warm location to rise. Allow dough to double in size, which will take about 1 hour.


Spray a bread pan with baking spray to prevent sticking. Stir dough to remove air bubbles and spoon gently into prepared pan. Cover and let rise until once again your dough has doubled in size. Again, this will take about an hour.


Heat oven to 350°F. Uncover dough. Brush top with egg wash if desired, though this is not strictly necessary. Bake loaf for about 40 minutes, until loaf is brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Slice bread when cooled.


This bread will keep 4 to 5 days if kept in an airtight container.