Merry Christmas! 

Family time inevitably lends itself to much food preparation and subsequent gorging (for those of us with less self-control...)  It's exciting to see who brings what dish, and to eye which will be predictably super tasty. :)

Yesterday morning, one of my brothers showed up at my parents' house with two freshly baked loaves of Pilgrim's Bread.  His loaves were beautifully browned and rounded, and I had a hunch that restraining myself from snacking in the hours leading up to our family meal would mean the chance to snag an extra slice without feeling too guilty. :)  Needless to say, the bread was superb and I'm keeping tabs on the extra loaf in the kitchen...

A couple weeks ago, I, too, had made up this recipe (and then forgotten to write about it...how could I?!) 

40.  Pilgrim's Bread, pg. 58

Though I was poked fun at for gushing to my siblings yesterday about how this bread "is such a good slicer", it remains absolutely true that Pilgrim's Bread is one of the best out there for slicing from my experience.  The cornmeal gives the dough more structure while not adding too much of a corny taste.  And while I had misplaced my rye flour when I made it (I really did...how do these things happen? I'm not sure...), last night's sure dose of rye does give the loaf a more complex taste, and it would be a sad day if I missed putting it in again.  When I made my batch, in place of the rye, I used wheat germ, and it still turned out very satisfactorily.

If you're a repeat bread baker and looking for results, I recommend adding vital wheat gluten and potato starch flour to your bread doughs.  The vital wheat gluten helps the bread rise better and increases shelf life.  The potato starch flour makes a tender crumb.  Neither are essential, but both do nice things to enhance your bread.

This dough is a bit softer and lighter than the oatmeal bread, so be careful when moving the raised loaves into the oven for baking.  I, unfortunately, jarred one of mine, and it fell a bit when I put it in the oven. 

Overall: 4.4 out of 5  A great multi-grain bread that keeps its shape!