Yeast-Risen Rhubarb, Blackberry, and Ginger Dessert Bread

As spring comes around, it is difficult to think of anything but yeast-risen rhubarb, blackberry, and ginger dessert breads.

The yeast really makes this recipe's dough a hybrid of bread and dessert, with a texture which allows it to be pulled apart instead of crumbling.  The ginger adds a somber note to its smell.
This recipe is great to be served alongside breakfast.  With enough sugar to be sweet, but enough berries, whole wheat, ginger, and savory aspects to its taste to be satisfying.  The current baking time yields a cake with a cracked, smooth crust and a moist, poundcake-like inside.
To get a drier, more bread-like dough, you could try baking it either for an additional ten minutes, or at a higher temperature (425˚F / 220 ˚C), keeping a cover on top of the dough as is bakes for 30 minutes and removing it in the last 10 minutes.
If you wish, you could cut this bread into slices and make it act as a fancy sandwich.  Spreading it with mascarpone and adding strawberries is very good indeed.

Serving suggestion.

Ingredients:

♕1.5 cup / 240g white flour
♕1cup / 170g whole wheat flour
♕1 cup / 410g turbinado sugar
♕1/3 cup / 80mL almond oil or butter
♕2.5 cup / 300g rhubarb, cut into pieces and washed
♕1/2c / 70g blackberries
♕3T / 7g grated ginger
♕2 eggs
♕3/4 cup / 240mL milk
♕2 heaping t / 10g active dry yeast
♕handful strawberries or blackberries (optional)

Procedure

♕Heat the milk until it is warm to the touch, as close as possible to (but not over) 37˚C / 98˚F
note: in the microwave on high power it is reached in 50seconds, be sure to stir before using thermometer
♕Mix sugar, white flour, milk and yeast, and let sit for 1-2 hours in a place as close as possible to 37˚C
♕Mix in the eggs and additional almond oil.
♕Sift in the extra flour, then add the berries, ginger and rhubarb
♕Pour dough into a greased baking pan and let sit for half an hour in a warm environment
♕If so desired, after the half hour, line the pan's edges with sliced strawberries or blackberries
note: I forgot to do this.
♕Bake at 350˚F/180˚C for 40 minutes.
♕Let sit in the turned-off oven for 7 minutes if you are not satisfied with the brownness of the crust on the bread.
♕Remove from oven and let cool under a cotton cloth until warm.
♕Serve with milk.

Rhubarb Fool

There are lots of recipes for fruit fools, and to complicate things further, some people even spell fool "foole".  But regardless of spelling, as a rule, fool(e)s are easy to make successfully.

Ingredients:

♕ 1.5 lb/700g rhubarb stalks
♕ 1/3 cup+1 T+1t/70g+15g+5g cane sugar
♕ 1/4 cup+1T/80g+25g honey note: if I had real maple syrup, I'd use that instead!
♕ 1T/15mL good vanilla extract
♕ just over 1/2 cup/125g whipping cream
♕ 5 strawberries, sliced

Procedure:

♕ Place a medium-large mixing bowl, preferably metal, and a mixer attachment into your freezer.
♕ Cut your rhubarb into 1 inch/2cm long bits
♕In a pot, cover rhubarb and 80g honey + 70g sugar with boiling water.  Stew on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
♕ Remove 3/4 cup/220g rhubarb, approximately, from the water and set aside.  Pour off any liquid that you can, but do be gentile with the cubes, as you do not want them to become a stringy mess.
♕ Continue to stew remaining rhubarb for about five more minutes, then use a colander or sieve to separate the matter from the liquid.  With this batch, do not worry about preserving the chunks, they will become mash and that's alright.  Drain the liquid as well as you can and place the rhubarb into a bowl.  Stir in 25g honey. 
♕ Make the whipped cream by getting your frozen bowl and mixer attachment, pouring the 125g of cream into the bowl, and whipping for approximately 7 minutes.  Start on low speed and gradually increase it, adding vanilla and 15g sugar (cane if you like rough texture, plain white or powdered if you want smooth whipped cream) just before the cream begins to form peaks.  Be careful not to overwhip!
♕ Spoon about half of the whipped cream into the mashed rhubarb, mix, and place on the bottom layer of your serving bowl.  Top with sliced strawberries.  Place unmashed rhubarb on top of that, and dust with 5g sugar.  Garnish with remaining strawberry slices, and whipped cream. note: if you have rum raisins, I suggest breaking them out for this recipe as well. 
♕ Refrigerate ASAP


♕ Done!