I definitely liked the spice bread more on its own. We really didn’t like it in the stew (and I should have trusted my instincts to NOT put it in) – it made the stew too sweet and I didn’t much care for the texture 😦 I WILL make the carbonade by itself in the future though!)
It’s more complicated, but I suggest halvesies–separate into 2 separate pots for the final long simmer. Bread in one pot and not in the other. That way, you are still trying it, but you’re not wasting the entire pot if you don’t like it. Alternatively, you could separate out 1/4 of it for the bread version, adding 1 slice. 🙂
I loved the bread and liked the stew. The bread thing is the quirky and fun part of it so I’m happy I tried it. The bread is a keeper, the stew may not be.
cookthebookfridays 
The spice bread toasted and lightly slathered with butter and jam is a great breakfast! 🙂
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I had it with tea. It was heavenly!
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I definitely liked the spice bread more on its own. We really didn’t like it in the stew (and I should have trusted my instincts to NOT put it in) – it made the stew too sweet and I didn’t much care for the texture 😦 I WILL make the carbonade by itself in the future though!)
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Ahhh, what to do? My instinct is also not to add the bread to the stew, but not doing so seems like a complete alteration of the recipe. Tricky.
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It’s more complicated, but I suggest halvesies–separate into 2 separate pots for the final long simmer. Bread in one pot and not in the other. That way, you are still trying it, but you’re not wasting the entire pot if you don’t like it. Alternatively, you could separate out 1/4 of it for the bread version, adding 1 slice. 🙂
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You know, I lived in Belgium for a year and do not remember this in carbonnade… And I don’t have my book to re-read the headnotes here….
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I loved the bread and liked the stew. The bread thing is the quirky and fun part of it so I’m happy I tried it. The bread is a keeper, the stew may not be.
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I’m going to try it with the bread, I say if you fail, fail big 🙂
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I found it delicious in and out of the stew. It melted away and
gave such a great flavor.
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