Our First Sukkah

My wonderful husband built our first Sukkah. We got the poles and part of the Sukkah covering for free. The rest of the covering was from some canvas cloth that we had never used. And, we collected reeds, bougainvillea and tree branches for the rooftop. It is so beautiful, it reminds me of a chuppah (wedding canopy). It really brought me to tears when I saw the finished product because I have wanted to have a Sukkah ever since I moved to Israel. I missed decorating the Sukkah that my great-grandfather built. We used to hang fruit from the walls. I have such wonderful memories of that. Now we have started our own tradition.

I will be blogging about a special Sukkah adventure and a special meal on Sunday. Instead of the usual Challah, I decided to make a bread I had never tried before, Corsican Basil Bread. We planted some very fragrant basil that I have been meaning to add to bread dough for quite a while. This bread is very easy to make and the result was fantastic, although I should have put in a little more basil to accentuate the taste.

The recipe calls for the basil to be put on top of the bread and I decided to mix it into the dough. The recipe also said to make a puree, but the mixture was more minced than pureed.

Corsican Basil Bread
Servings: 1 kilo loaf (2lbs)
Ingredients
  • 500 g 1lb white bread flour
  • 25 g 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 cup + 2-1/2 tablespoons water warmed to 26C (80F)
  • 2-1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup basil
  • 3-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
  1. Puree the basil and olive oil in a blender or a food processor.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast and water. Mix well, incorporating the salt at the end. Then mix in the basil puree.
  3. Knead the dough for about 20 minutes. Place the dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
  4. Punch down the dough and form it into a round ball. Place the dough on a baking tray covered with a towel and let rise for approximately 1 hour at room temperature.
  5. Preheat the oven to 220C (440F). Just before baking, score the top of the bread with a sharp knife.
  6. Reduce the temperature to 190C (380F) and throw a small amount of water onto the bottom of the oven to create steam. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned.
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Written by Baroness Tapuzina

Michelle Nordell (aka Baroness Tapuzina) was a foodie from the womb growing up in the House of Weird Vegetables, so named by a family friend because all of the unusual and exotic food cooked and eaten there. She loves to change recipes using herbs from her garden and spices from the spice shops she enjoys visiting.

2 thoughts on “Our First Sukkah

  1. How lovely your sukkah looks, Michelle. May you and your husband enjoy many, many future Sukkot holidays together in your own sukkah.

    Basil in bread? Hmmm….looks really good….I’m thinking of ways to use up the last of my basil. This recipe might be the way.

    See you!

  2. The Corsican Bread looks both healthy and yummy…The members of recipebuddys.com as well as myself are looking for bread recipes…maybe you can post some of your recipes on the site… I am sure the members would be very greatful…thanks

    I wish our sukkah looked so good… Ours made it only the first night…then we had rain…

    Andy
    http://www.recipebuddys.com

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