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I used a poolish started since I already had it available, but he starts with a barm. He does say you can use a poolish.
As a beekeeper, I loved it that this bread has honey as an ingredient because, of course, I used honey from my own bee hives. The honey and all the spices give the dough an inviting warm color.
I follow all of his directions as precisely as I can (for a person for whom precision is a challenge, at best) so I use Pam Olive Oil spray since he calls for it in almost every recipe. Here I used it to oil the bowl in which the dough would rise.
This bread baked up beautifully into pretty round loaves.
While the bread was baking, I made the glaze of sugar, water, honey and orange extract so I would be ready to paint it onto the loaves when they were done.
Every year when our office has a holiday party, we draw names. I give some version of the same gift every year - a jar of my honey (or homemade apple butter, if there is no honey - like this year), some homemade breads - this year it was this Artos holiday bread - and a few other homemade goodies - like seasoned nuts, candied orange peel. I think the receiver was glad to get this loaf.
I certainly enjoyed the one I kept which I ate right away - hers I saved in the freezer until the party.
