From the Waverley Kitchen Journal
Fig and Pepper Bread
Mary’s Note: Sometimes the two most improbable things make the best combination.
Ingredients:
2 cups whole grain spelt flour
2 ? cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ? cup coarsely chopped figs
2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 dry yeast packet
1 ? cups of warm water
Whisk four, salt, pepper, and yeast until blended, by hand or with whisk attachment of mixer.
Add olive oil and warm water. Knead for 10 minutes, or use dough hook attachment of mixer for 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and springy.
Oil a large bowl, place dough inside, and cover bowl with a damp hand towel. Let sit in a warm place for approximately 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.
Softly knead in the chopped figs and evenly distribute throughout the dough (lightly flouring your hands can make handling the dough easier), shape into an oval, then place on a baking sheet.
Snip three shallow lines into top of the dough with scissors, then lightly dust the dough with flour.
Let rise, uncovered, until dough swells a little more—10–15 mins, or longer if the kitchen isn’t warm.
Play tray in 350° oven for 40–45 mins until crust is slightly brown and the load sounds hollow when tapped on the underside.
Cool on a wire rack.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The year everything changed. I think we all have years like that, when our lives splinter in to very clear befores and afters. One of those years for me was when I wrote Garden Spells, the first Waverley Sisters book. It began as a simple story about two sisters reconnecting after many years. Then the apple tree started throwing apples and the story took on a life of its own, and my life hasn’t been the same since.
For the befores and afters that made First Frost possible, many thanks to my mom, Louise; my Dad, Zack; Sydney Allen; Hanna Allen; Michelle Pittman; Heidi Caramack; Billy Swilling; the Loopy Duetters, for their support during the bone-dry writing years; Andrea Cirillo, Kelly Harms and everyone at the Jane Rotrosen Agency, for taking a chance on a strange little garden book; Shauna Summers, Nita Taublib, Irwin Applebaum and everyone at Bantam, for feeding and watering it and making it grow; the amazing Jen Enderlin, for giving new life to a cranky old apple tree, and the whole team at St. Martin’s Press, for your good humor and creativity. Most of all, to my readers, for your unfaltering support and enthusiasm for Garden Spells, without which I never would have stopped and asked, What happened after?
Lastly, I can’t think of a year everything changed more than in 2011, when I was diagnosed with cancer. My life before and my life after are so vastly different that sometimes I think they were lived by two separate people. Many of you have been with me on this journey from the beginning, many joined me in the middle, and many have come in after. To all of you, I want to say a special thanks for being a part of my life—before, after, and everywhere in between.
I just celebrated my third year in remission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SARAH ADDISON ALLEN is the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, and Lost Lake. She was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.
Visit her at www.sarahaddisonallen.com.