L’automne
You like it or you hate it. Are you more Spring or Fall?
For some, it becomes a time of year when snuggling in remains a favorite activity and good energy is lifted, and for others, like my brother B., everything becomes gloomy and dark, with Nature elements gradually fading away before coming to a slow end. Brrrrr, enough to give you shivers, pas vrai ? In New England, however, when it is sunny and fall reaches your door, I do not see how it is possible not to fall in love with it.
When I left for France ten days ago, I knew that the chances to come back to find l’automne would be high. In many ways, I was looking forward to it because I love fall in New England. “Ici, les feuilles sont magiques”, I remember thinking the first time I experienced autumn in Massachusetts (Here the leaves are magical). How come that they have this color?
I do not think seeing brighter colors in leaves anywhere else before. When asking a garden designer friend about the reasons behind this color chemistry, she replied that the phenomenon causing this explosion of colours was the acidity of the soil. Because the soil is pretty acidic in New England, leaves turn crazy to provide a display of marvellously bright colors. In October, this is a special place to appreciate les merveilles de la nature (Nature’s wonders), trust me.
Yesterday turned out to be a good day. As I looked outside the window by early afternoon, it was impossible not to have my attention captivated by the playful and cheerful beam of sunlight that was coming in through the sheer curtains. It was as if the sun was calling me outside. “Viens donc jouer dehors,” it seems to be whispering in my ear (Come and play outside). Qui ? Moi ? (Who ? Me?) I decided to listen to the call (toutes les excuses sont bonnes ! all excuses are good) and went for a stroll in the park near our house, with my camera in hand, in the hope to find inspiration for some snapshots. I was not disappointed.
In view of the explosion of colors found in every direction I was looking, I knew that it was then official: despite the mild temperatures for the season, fall was definitely here.
One year, I even collected a bunch of these leaves to mail to my mum and my friend S. in New Zealand!
Everyone seemed to have fun with it!
I came home refilled with all the good energy you receive from plenty of bright colors and sunlight. There seemed to be so much happiness outside! Always good to take when it comes! I was in the perfect mood to bake something for an afternoon snack (or thinking about breakfast the day after, il faut toujours planifier à l’avance, pas bête !) (always plan ahead, not stupid!) I decided to bake bread. In the fall? I think: nuts and cranberries, because I live in cranberry land! I was imagining crunchiness with toasted walnuts and zest and fruit with cranberries.
I improvised Cranberry Walnut Bread Rolls: des petits pains aux cranneberges et aux noix. Note that because I used whole wheat flour as well, the texture of these bread rolls is denser than if only using white flour. With walnuts, I always prefer a much fuller taste. Whole wheat flour usually gives a nutty taste to the bread which complements well the toasted walnuts.
Delicious with a little bit of fresh butter. Nice toasted the day after.
You need:
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup water, lukewarm
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tsp fine cane sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 4.5 oz walnuts, toasted
- 2 oz dry cranberries
Steps:
- To toast the nuts, preheat your oven at 400 F.
- Place them on a baking sheet and toast for 10 mns.
- Remove to let them cool and chop coarsely.
- Sprinkle the yeast on top of 4 Tbsp lukewarm water and leave to froth for 5 mns.
- In a bowl, place the flour. Add the salt and sugar and mix together.
- Add the butter cut in pieces and mix.
- Make a well in the middle and pour the yeast. Mix with the tip of your fingers.
- Slowly add the rest of the water. Knead the dough with the palm of your hand until it is elastic and forms a ball.
- Cover and let rise in a warm part of the house, until it doubles in size.
- Add the nuts and cranberries and knead the dough again.
- Form small bread rolls (about 8 or 10, depending on the size, they will rise). Place them on a baking sheet and cover again to let rise for 30 mns.
- Preheat your oven at 410 F.
- Brush the rolls with some water and place in the oven for 20 mns or so. The rolls are ready when they have a nice golden color and sound hollow when tapped with your finger.
- Remove and let them cool on a cooling rack.
Ingrédients :
- 300 g de farine blanche
- 100 g de farine complète
- 30 g de beurre, à température ambiante
- 25 cl d’eau, tiède
- 2 càc de levure de boulanger sèche
- 2 càc de sucre de canne en poudre
- 1,5 càc de sel
- 100 g de noix, toastées
- 60 g de canneberges sèchées
Étapes :
- Pour faire griller les noix, préchauffez votre four à 200 C.
- Placez les noix sur une plaque de cuisson et faites les griller pendant 10 mns.
- Retirez-les et laissez-les refroidir avant de les concasser grossièrement.
- Prenez 4 càs d’eau tiède et saupoudrez la levure dessus pour la faire gonfler (pendant 5 mns).
- Dans un bol, placez la farine. Ajoutez le sel et le sucre et mélangez.
- Ajoutez le beurre coupé en morceaux et mélangez.
- Formez un puits au milieu et versez-y la levure. Mélangez du bout des doigts.
- Ajoutez doucement le reste d’eau tiède. Travaillez la pâte avec la paume de votre main jusqu’à ce qu’elle soit élastique et forme une boule.
- Couvrez-la d’un linge propre et laissez-la lever dans un coin chaud de la maison, jusqu’à ce qu’elle double de taille.
- Ajoutez alors les noix et les cranneberges et travaillez-la à nouveau.
- Formez de petits pains (environ 8 à 10, selon la taille, ils vont encore lever). Placez-les sur une plaque de cuisson et couvrez-les à nouveau pendant 30 mns pour les laisser lever.
- Préchauffez votre four à 210 C.
- Badigeonnez les pains avec un peu d’eau et enfournez-les pendant 20 mns environ. Les petits pains sont prêts lorsqu’ils ont une belle couleur dorée et qu’ils sonnent creux.
- Sortez-les du four et laissez-les refroidir sur une grille.
These look perfect for Fall. I love Fall, even though the seasons don’t change much here in Los Angeles.
They look marvellous! And whilst they may be perfect for toasting the next day, I highly doubt I’d have any left by then 😀
Ooh yummy rolls Béa, bet your kitchen smelt devine afterwards.
Moi je préfère l’été à l’hiver mais je reconnais que l’automne nous offre de belles gammes de couleurs or ou ocre !
I am a lover of Fall and all things Fall….these look wonderful.
Your fall is looking gorgeous – that dog certainly seems like he is enjoying himself! And the rolls look wonderful!
do you think I could attempt a similar thing with fresh cranberries? And yes, I am falling in love with fall here. Everything has been so beautiful and perfect. I find that early morning, around 7-9 am is the most perfect time to see the leaves
Quelles belles couleurs d’automne! C’est ce qui me manque a Charleston.
Tes petits pains ont l’air delicieux!
A local bakery makes a cranberry and nut bread that I love to toast and spread with Nutella or slice thinly to eat with a piece of Apfenzeller cheese. Fresh cranberries would work; use a bit less water and toss with flour before incorporating.
The trees are getting gorgeous over here too! I do love fall… but then, I also love the spring, and the summer, and the winter. I’m just glad I live somewhere with changing seasons, or I’d get bored!
Your rolls are beautiful!
-L
The rolls looks great and the leaves are beautiful! Enjoy!
Oh c’est drôle, j’ai une recette de Paul Hollywood sur mon blog de Petits pains aux noix et aux raisins qui ressemble beaucoup à la tienne sauf que le rapport farine complète/farine blanche est inversé. Déja bons tièdes tels que, ils étaient délicieux avec du fromage.. je me demande si ça marcherait aussi avec des cranberries.. parce que noix + cranberries, c’est une association choc que j’adore!!
Et tes photos, Béa.. que dire.. toujours pleines de poésie, de douceur.. tout a l’air beau et paisible avec toi!!
Gorgeous shots of fall in New England! I lived in Boston for 7 years, and I miss it. I have to admit that your photo of the cranberry rolls is just as beautiful as the leaves. I agree that whole wheat flour in this recipe is a must.
Indeed New England fall weather is beautiful.
Fall! I’m a fall girl. Spring gives me hayfever! Your photos are beautiful Bea especially those gorgeous colour of the leaves.
ps.I came across to your blog via Ellie’s 🙂
Je vais aller déjeuner, tu m’en cède 2, je vai me égaler!!!Merci.
Tes photos sont magnifiques! Quelles belle couleurs l’automne nous donne!
moi je préfère le printemps pour le confort et les jours qui rallongent mais j’aime définitivement la cuisine d’automne et tes photos de bois me parlent, terriblement!! nostalgie de cette époque où je n’habitais pas la ville et où je voyais la nature changer doucement!
beautiful pictures..especially the first one
Les photos des Etats-Unis et du Canada en automne m’ont toujours fait rever, chez nous les arbres ne deviennent jamais aussi beau, a part peut-etre en montagne. Je comprends qu’on puisse tomber amoureuse de ces paysage.
Et tes jolis petits pains, j’ai tout ce qu’il faut pour les faire, meme des noix fraiches de chez mes parents. Je vais les essayer.
I love the fall for all the food celebrations and that’s it. Gimme Spring, so that I can finally stick some seeds in the ground and grow incredible edibles!
toujours magnifique!
I love the lighting in your photos. gorgeous bea!
I’m so more fall! How can you not around here? That said…I’m totally not a WINTER! 😀
J’aime tellement les couleurs de l’automne…tes photos sont magnifiques! Et je prendrais bien un ou deux petit pain…
If I lived in the Midwest again, I would be more Fall than Spring. But here in California, I prefer Spring. Gorgeous pictures!
The leaves haven’t turned in NYC yet, but I can’t wait! Your beautiful photos give me something to look forward to.
Lovely petit rolls they are. And what gorgeous fall you have there. *envy* The leaves really look so pretty. Wish I could have few of them too!
Je suis en train de faire des complexes quand je viens sur ton blog…dis moi, tu paies un photographe pro pour faire ces photos… tu as fait des cours au moins ??? Comme c’est beau, tes photos sont vraiment à chaque fois tellement belles. Mais pas seulement, elles parlent, racontent d’elles mêmes ce que tu as vu ou vécu…Toujours justes et touchantes… Bravo et encore bravo pour tout le reste, s’il n’y avait que les pohtos…
Amitiés
Claude
Anne, ah I would miss the change of seasons for sure!
Ellie, thanks!
Bron, it was a nice scent indeed!
Fabienne, ah oui cette gamme de couleurs est magique ici!
Peabody, yes Fall is really great.
Anita, yes there were actually two dogs playing, so cute.
Connie, did you see Pepper’s comment? I guess you can 😉
Helen, merci a toi.
Pepper, this sounds very good, thanks.
L, I bet the trees must be nice in your area too, with all the ones I saw everywhere.
Kat, yes a bice fall these days for sure.
Avital, venant de tes mains boulangeres et patissieres, mille mercis! Et ravie de savoir que tu aimes mes photos 😉
Julie, I bet you miss the fall here, so gorgeous. Hope you still get some of it wherever you are.
Krista, yes beautiful it is indeed.
Ilingc, welcome to my blog if this is your first time. I am glad you like the pics.
Sylvie, ahah je veux bien dis!
Choupette, merci a toi.
Alhya, ah oui le printemps ou l’automne, choix difficile, mais en fait, ils apportent chacun quelque chose de bien different. Je sais que sans arbres, je serais bien triste!
Jules, thanks!
Gracianne, ah j’espere que ce sera un franc succes!
Rowena, ah very nice way to look at things, you are so right.
Audrey, merci!
Jenjen, thanks a lot!
Jeff, yep, no way you can hate it here. Too pretty to be true, better last!
Milie, merci!
Sher, do you get fall in CA or a short season?
Lisa, ah funny, we are not yet that far! It must gorgeous when it hits NYC!
Lisa, thanks to you once more.
Claude-Olivier, tu me flattes. Pas de raison du tout de se faire des complexes, mais non! Je ne suis qu’amateur, pas de cours, juste la passion de prendre des photos 😉 Mais un grand merci a toi pour ton message si sympa! Ca fait bien plaisir!
Bea, thanks for the great recipes on your site. Having fun making them- started with the lemon chicken, then the squash harvest loaf, and now these rolls- and they taste good, too! 🙂
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I know I’m late in commenting…but I have a few questions.
First – I’m relatively new to baking bread but someone bought me a pound of instant yeast last time they were at the amish market and was wondering if you knew about the substitutions.
Second – I wish my fall looked like your fall, midwest is nice, but not that pretty…and you have parks!
Third – Would I be allowed to post this recipe on my blog? I would give you full credit of course.
Fourth – Would this work as a loaf?
Urk…must bake more.
Hi there, not sure about yeast conversin I am afraid. Yes I know fall is pretty nice around here at peak foliage. New England is known for this, and I understand why! Sure you can post it along if you provide the source and a link. I would be delighted you try! As to a large loaf, well, it should work although I only made a batch of small rolls. Try and let me know, you will be the tester! 😉 Happy baking!
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