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I have not taken part in Skywatch Friday in a couple of weeks now and have missed doing so. I just love photos of the sky. While out watering my garden yesterday morning I was kneeling down to reach some of my containers that needed a drink and happened to look up to see this pretty sight. I never get tired of peering through the lacey bronze fennel that is self-sowing with abandon around the garden lately. It is such a pretty culinary herb with medicinal benefits. I am not a huge fan of its anise flavor but it sure adds that certain oomph to tomato sauce!

Please be sure to visit all the other blogs participating in today’s Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend!

Last week I wrote about harvesting my Bronze Fennel seed and I mentioned how I like to make a rye bread with the fennel seeds. Karen, from Greenwalks, asked if I could share the recipe so here you go Karen. Here is the recipe complete with pictures!

This recipe makes a very dense and hearty bread. I like to use stone ground rye flour which makes it even more hearty.

Fennel Rye Bread

• 1¼ cups water, warmed to 115°f
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 3 Tablespoons molasses
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• ½ ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons crushed fennel seed *please see below note*
• 1½ cups rye flour
• 2-2 ½ cups bread flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in molasses, butter, salt, chocolate, fennel seed, and rye flour.

Add as much bread flour as needed to make a knead-able dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. (Rye bread dough can tend to be pretty stick so keep this in mind.)

Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled. (I like to let my dough rise in the oven with the light left on.)

Punch down and shape into a loaf. You can make it a round loaf or you can use a bread pan- it’s all up to you. If you use a bread pan make sure it is buttered or oiled.

Allow the dough to rise again for about 45 minutes to one hour.

Bake at 375°f for about 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

*Side note* I found the neatest idea online for grinding up seeds, nuts, etc. I don’t know why I have never thought of it before either! Place your seeds in a mason jar and then attach your blender’s blade to the jar and use your blender to grind up the seeds. I tried it and it worked like a charm! You can follow this link to where I got the idea from to read more about this neat little kitchen trick.

Bronze Fennel in flower August 10, 2008

Thankfully I did notice the falling seed and got to it fast enough to still harvest more than I will probably be able to go through in one year. There are still a few unripe seed heads floating around on the plant that I will get to once they are ready. With the weather we are having (very dry and warm) they should be ripe within a week.

Fennel seed ripening September 10, 2008

Fennel seed is such a nice herb to gather and I find it to be very easy to grow as well which makes it an even more welcome plant in my ever growing herb garden. I use the seeds in all sorts of culinary dishes. When making spaghetti sauce I like to toss some crushed fennel seed in with the remaining ingredients. Fennel seed is found in Italian sausage and if you can envision that flavor then you can see that it would of course blend well in spaghetti sauce.

I also like to add some fennel seed to a rye bread recipe that I make that includes molasses. The anise flavor of the fennel compliments the strong flavor from the molasses.

Fennel has a reputation for relieving stomach upset and aiding in digestion so drinking a tea made from the seeds after a rich meal just may help your body not feel quite so full and bloated. In fact I have often wondered if this is was why fennel seed was first originally added to fatty meats such as pork.

Bronze fennel is absolutely beautiful in the spring and summer with its lacey bronze colored foliage. How wonderful is it that is also rewards us with its delicious and useful seeds come the end of summer?

If anyone is interested in reading a more extensive article on Fennel then I recommend visiting this page from Herb Companion’s website. It also includes some recipes using fennel.