Potato Leek Soup & Brown Bread

Burt's Potato Leek Soup

3 Big Leeks (all of the white part and as much of the green part you think is edible)
3 lbs of potatoes (russet) cut into bite size chunks
1 onion minced
6 cups chicken broth or stock
1/4 cup butter for sweating, sauteing the leeks and onions
1/4 cup butter into the soup after the potatoes and stock are added
2 tbsp of minced garlic
Salt, Pepper (didn't measure these. Use until you think it's enough)
about 1/2 tsp each of Rubbed Sage, Celery Seed, Onion powder, ground thyme
2 to 3 tbsp of dried chopped chives
1 cup of half & half

Put the butter into a soup pot on med high, melt it, throw in the leeks, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and sweat/saute them until they break down and get soft. Takes about 10 to 15 mins.

Throw in the potatoes, toss them around and get everything nice and mixed up. Pour in the 6 cups of chicken broth, all of the herbs/spices and the rest of the butter. Bring to a quick slight boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft and all fall aparty. (it's a technical term)

At this point you can use a potato masher to kind of mash it all and leave chunks of everything or pull out the stick blender and blend until nice and smooth.

For the final touch pour in the half & half (or heavy cream if you want), stir it all up, add more salt and pepper if it needs it, then serve it up. Enjoy!

And the delicious molasses brown bread recipe came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and can be found HERE.

I am posting Mel's full recipe here just in case her website goes away.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses

2 tablespoons unsweetened, natural cocoa powder

3 tablespoons oil (see note)

1/3 cup honey

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (optional – see note)

3 cups white whole wheat flour

3-4 cups all-purpose flour

2-3 tablespoons butter, melted

Old-fashioned oats for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon if powering through this by hand), combine the water, yeast, molasses, cocoa powder, oil, honey, salt, gluten (if using), and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Mix until combined.

With the mixer running, slowly add the rest of the whole wheat flour. Start adding the white flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-7 minutes (about 10-15 if kneading by hand). The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but shouldn’t leave a lot of residue on your fingers if you grab a piece.

Turn the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel, and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.

Lightly punch down the dough and divide into three equal pieces. Form into tight oval loaves and place on parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheets (I fit two loaves on one large, rimmed 11X17-inch baking sheet and the third loaf on another baking sheet). Lightly cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel and let rise until puffy and doubled in size. Optional: right before baking, using a very sharp razor, knife or bread-slashing lame (I use this one from King Arthur Flour), cut three deep slashes in the top of each loaf.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly brush with about a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with the oats and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

NOTES:

I’ve used all sorts of different oil making this bread: olive, avocado, melted coconut. You could also use canola or vegetable oil.

The vital wheat gluten is optional but I highly recommend it if you want a really soft, light, chewy loaf of bread. Another alternative is to use bread flour in place of the white flour (and omit the gluten). Also, if you don’t have wheat flour, you can make this with 100% white flour. I haven’t tried making this with all whole wheat flour – if you experiment, I’d suggest increasing the kneading time by a few minutes to really develop that gluten and get a soft, light loaf.

The oats in the recipe are more for looks – and they tend to fall off while slicing but I like the look and texture of them so I’ve kept them along for the ride. You could easily omit them if they’re not really you’re thing.

This recipe transitions very well to rolls (about 12-14) or any size of loaves.