Lavender Bread

We are completely in love with our lavender bed.  I purchased a large number of plants at a flea market.  We planted – and we learned. 

Where we live, the winters are cold and harsh.  Lavender does not like cold.  It does not like harsh.  It dies in cold harsh winters. 

Two varieties of lavender are a little less prissy than the rest of the bunch.  Munstead and Hidcote are varieties that have a fighting chance against the cold and snow.  (We’ve had far better luck with Munstead, but we have friends up the road who swear by Hidcote --- go figure)  I still lose young, small-ish plants every winter, but I have 5 strong healthy (getting larger) plants that keep coming back year after year.

Our lavender bed is right beside the driveway – its not the optimal location in terms of babying the plants through the winter (they get snow piled on them every time we shovel) – but when your pant leg or your skirt brushes the lavender as you get out of the car ---- aaahhhhh…..

So – one of the rites of summer is lavender bread --- we make it every summer.  We’ve become “famous” for it among family and friends (people ask for it!)  Its lovely toasted with berry jam in the morning for breakfast.  It also makes the very best BLT for lunch. 

Lavender Bread

½ cup water

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup olive oil

4 cups bread flour

3 TBS lavender leaves finely chopped

1 ½ tsp lavender flowers finely chopped

1 TBS gluten

2 tsp salt

2 ¾ tsp yeast

Mix all of the ingredients in your bread machine pan.  Bake according to the bread machine directions --- yum.