Ever hear of/make Saffron Bread???

I am going to surprise my boyfriend and make this bread. He said his grandma used to make it when he was little and he loved it, but she has since passed away and their family hasn't made it in years. I have looked up recipes online and pretty much know what I'm going to do, but I was wondering if anyone has made it before and is there anything special I should know? I have the ground saffron already (thanks to my mom). It sounds really yummy and I am excited to make it. If it turns out the way he remembers, I am going to make it for Christmas and bring it to his side of the family's house for dinner as a surprise.

It sounds yummy ....... is it an Indian bread?

I've never had saffron bread.

Are you sure that what you have is actually "saffron"? Saffron is known as the worlds most expensive spice. Saffron is the sun dried tiny stamen part from the crocus flower and it is hand picked only one week a year.

A single ounce of saffron will cost $60.00 or more. I bought a 1/2 ounce about 8 years ago and treat it like liquid gold.

Tumeric is most often substituted for saffron because it gives the same colour as saffron and it's also more economical. Even restaurants use Tumeric instead of saffron otherwise the price of their food would triple just because of a single spice.

You can buy real saffron at Penzey's as they have locations in Brookfield, Glendale and Greenfield. They sell three different kinds ranging from 8.95 to 13,95 for one gram.

Its sold only in "thread" form not ground as its the stigma of the fall flowering crocus.

Originally Posted by GailC

You can buy real saffron at Penzey's

Click to expand...

That is my all time favorite spice store.

Saffron bread is (or was) very popular in parts of the UK. When I lived in Cornwall (south of England) it was everywhere, although I've not had it for years and don't seem to see it up here in the north.

http://bakingforbritain.blogspot.com...fron-cake.html

I remember that Mom tried to make it once in the bread machine. The recipie (which was specifically for bread machines) didn't work for some reason and it turned out like a hockey puck. Dad wasn't really thrilled when he read the grocery bill. I remember him making a remark that, per ounce, that stuff was twice the price of silver.

Yep, I mean saffron. My mom had some that she kept frozen and she gave me a tablespoon full. She bought it once when she saw it the cheapest at an ethnic foods store. She ground it for me. I am going to try and make it now! I also did find a breadmaker recipe if anyone wants to try that, but I don't have a breadmaker so I am doing it from scratch.
This is the recipe I plan on using: (I am adding raisins since he said his grandma did
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons saffron
1/2 cup hot water
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
6 cups all-purpose flour


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DIRECTIONS
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat; add butter, sugar and stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, soak the saffron in the hot water, let cool until lukewarm, drain and reserve the liquid.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk mixture with the reserved saffron water and eggs. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Add the salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon zest and 4 cups of the flour; mix well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large mixing, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, form into 14 inch long 'ropes'. Braid the 'ropes' together and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

I've never had it before, but it sounds sooo deliscious!!! Let us know how it turns out!

The only thing is I had read a previous recipe for it and it called for ground saffron so my mom ground it for me, but this recipe calls for just saffron so I am going to use 1/2 of what it calls for, in the ground form. I hope that's right...

In the process of letting it rise right now....a few things about it:
1. Making lemon zest is a good arm workout. I need a new grater.
2. It smells divine so far. I didn't realize it would be so lemony, I LOVE lemony things.
3. I feel like I didn't use enough flour. Hmmm....
4. Overall, I am worried. LOL

Well.... ?

Welllllll......I thought I had nutmeg and didn't, so I used mulling spice, and probably half of my saffron spilled (lol) I had to strain it through a coffee filter to get the grit out and just use the liquid and in the process spilled it, so it wasn't as yellow as it was supposed to be. That and, when I showed him what I made he said "what is it?" Ummm....it actually turned out pretty good. next time I will make it into 2 loaves and cook it less time. The inside was REALLY yummy with butter.