Bread and Knitting

Work has been a little crazy so it has been a while since I last posted.  I have been playing around with sourdough starter and bread the last couple of weeks.  I used this book that I mentioned in my last post.

My first attempt was dense through my starter was fantastic.  I tweaked a recipe in the book and added a little my water than what was called for.  This was probably the best loaf I have made.

Baked in a covered cast iron dutch oven.  Beautiful.  The inside looks a little dense but it is actually very light.  I omitted the wheat the recipe called for and used a combination of all purpose and bread flour. Want to see the inside?

I have to say this is my best sourdough. This bread is a two day process without making the starter.

Keeping winter in mind, I knitted a pair of fingerless mitts for the pharmacy drive through.

Not too bad for a novice knitter.  This was a free pattern from tons Patons.

In July we became grandparents, so we will be traveling soon to meet our first granddaughter little Pj.

More Cookbooks?

So a while back I told myself I wouldn't buy anymore cookbooks.  Some how this came in the mail:

Yep, I see this in my future:

Then a friend bought me this!

And look at this!

I found it funny that they are called Breaking Bread and Breaking Breads.  This is why I can never be on a Paleo diet.   So instead of kicking myself for having new cookbooks, I decided I was celebrating the fact that 14,000 year old toast was found.

Bread Baking Sunday

Woke up the mixer:

Baked two loaves of honey wheat:

Recipe:

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup melted butter
2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten
4 cups wheat flour
2 cups bread or all purpose flour

Maybe 1/4 cup extra water

Dissolve honey in water add yeast, let foam.
Mix in butter and salt.  Add gluten then add flours.  Knead until smooth.  Oil a large bowl, add dough, turn to coat and cover. Let rise 1 hour.  Punch down place in two oiled loaf pans, cover and let rise 1 inch above top of pan.  Preheat oven to 350 bake 25 - 30 minutes.

Now sandwich bread is ready for the week.  Bought a new slow cooker.  I know, I know I didn't need another but then again I did.  More on that tomorrow.

Baking and Carving

Homemade rolls for Sloppy Joe sandwiches the other night.  I am sorry I cannot find the link for the recipe, I thought I had saved it.  I started to carve a Hitty doll, from Rachel Field's  Hitty Her First Hundred Years.

Not that I needed another project.  I ordered a blank from ebay.

Balsa wood, I am glad it is a soft wood because my hands ached the first couple of days.  Her head and body are rounded out somewhat and I am just using a pocket knife.  At least she has a neck now.

I made her a dress from a pattern I found online to get more of a feel for her size.  It's getting there.  

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I have been making this bread for a while and it is a favorite of my husbands.  Two sandwiches a day make two loaves of bread go quick.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread:

2 cups warm water (110 F. degrees)
1/4 cup of honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons of yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons of vital wheat gluten
4 cups wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup or more of water if needed

Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees.
Dissolve honey in water and add yeast.  Let it foam then mix in salt and butter.  Add gluten, alternate white and wheat flour when you add.  Knead until smooth.  Add water if needed.  I keep this dough tacky, not sticky.  Place in a well oiled bowl, turn over and cover with oiled plastic wrap.  Let rise an hour.  Punch down, shape into 2 loaves and place in oiled pans and covered again with oiled wrap for half an hour.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  I brush with butter when it comes out. 

Just Wait 5 Minutes

It was hot, hot!   Then all of a sudden the skies opened up.

But before the rain there was bread:

Why I did not listen to my own intuition when the book said to slash and my brain said " Don't do that", is beyond me.  My dough dropped down to three inches, it was still fluffy and cooked through but it was gloriously risen before I took the knife to it.  

This is my second recipe from A World of Breads by Dolores Casella.  The name of this bread is My Good Father's Shepherd's Bread, isn't that a hefty title?  It is a monster of a bread!

BTW, the downpour lasted 5 minutes and it is hot, hot again.

I Saw The Sign

As you can see Seamus Cuddy (yes I named my statue), is a little wet but has had plenty of small snails to keep him company.  We have had quite a bit of rain which started last Wednesday and has kept up ever since.  I am not really complaining, everything is green and fluffy and I am sure I will wish for rain when the sun comes burning through.

Last week I noticed that a used bookstore opened up in town.   My daughter had a friend visit over the weekend and it turned out that her grandmother owned the bookstore and her mother works there. Since I had to drop her off there I took that as the stars were in alignment.  I walked away with a handful of books and you will be surprised to know only one cookbook.  I see more trips there in the future.  

A Word of Breads by Dolores Casella 1966.  Oh my gosh!  Bread recipes galore.  I was in bread heaven.  I flipped through and made her Onion Rye Bread p.80-81.  Very good!  I made DH a sandwich with it when he arrived from Missouri last night and he asked for another one made from it for lunch today.   With 294 pages of bread recipes it will take me a while to bake through this book but it tastes like a winner already.  I paid $3 for my copy but I think on Amazon used I have seen them for $.29.  

The Bread Also Rises

A long, cold winter is good for baking.  I did a lot of that.  Once upon a time I tried to turn into an artisan bread snob.   Which turned out worse than my even thinking about being a foodie.  I went from not being able to make a simple loaf of white bread to trying to grow mold...on raisins...under the full moon, etc.   Then there is feeding different starters.  It is a little like having a newborn in the house, the feedings are spaced out a little longer.  Baking bread, once enjoyable, became a chore.  Mold, which is easy to come by in the South, did not want to grow on raisins in my kitchen, and my starters were hit and miss and my bread was nothing to brag about for all the trouble.  I was on message boards with too many rules, the main one being no commercial yeast, and I needed chemistry lessons.  Not a bad thing, but I wanted to enjoy bread again.  It was with a homicidal heart that I ended the life of all but one of my starters.   It is all a matter of what works best, if I don't have yeast on hand, I use potato.  Most breads I make do not require starter.   I love to bake bread.

I joined a bread group and this book was all the rage:

After seeing pictures of breads made from the recipes of this Better Homes and Gardens 1973 edition book, I bought one (did you think anyone had to twist my arm on this?).   I shelled out $1 on Amazon used, plus shipping.   I love this book.

This is Pilgrims' Bread (pg. 61), made with white, wheat, rye, and cornmeal.  This double loaf recipe lasts quite a while.  

Best-Ever Muffins (pg. 87), were a hit as well and were made with the blueberries picked and frozen from last year. 

Hoagie rolls were not from the book, were from a shared recipe:

Amie's Sub/Hoagie Rolls

1 1/2 tsp. (about 1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)

2 tsp. honey

2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups bread flour

2 cups all-purpose flour



Directions

In a small bowl, add honey to the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add yeast and let sit for 5 minutes, or until frothy/foamy. Add oil and stir to combine.

Combine salt and flours in a medium mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer, or by hand, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Beat until smooth on medium speed. If dough is too wet, add a little more flour to make the dough soft.

On a lightly floured surface (or in the mixer bowl with bread hook), knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-6 minutes.

Lightly grease a large bowl with a bit of oil and place dough into bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set oven to 400 degrees.

Punch down dough and, on a lightly floured surface, divide into 8 balls. Shape each ball into a long oval, roughly the size of the hoagie roll you wish to make. Arrange long ovals on parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Cover again and let rise an additional 25 minutes. Brush on an egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.


Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Very good but because of the sodium content will not make very often.  

This was baked on the same day so since I had the oven going in went a lasagna:

I guess I should have made some Italian bread!