Tuesday, January 12, 2010

loafin' it

I woke up today with the desire to make my own bread. There is just something special about getting up early, rolling up ones sleeves and getting to work on bread, which is sure to warm the house and offer a delicious aroma to the air.

I've got to hand it to women who were making bread (or who still do) without bread machines or KitchenAids. We have neither of those oh so convenient tools, and thus, I did all 250 kneads by hand. Using part whole wheat flour seems to make the dough a little tougher, and therefore requires more effort. I felt I had worked up a sweat first thing in the morning. But for the sake of the end result, I loved it!


I decided to do two loaves in the french style, thicker than baguettes, but still sort of free form. I had googled bread glazes this morning, and rather than use the usual egg wash that Mum's recipe called for, I chose to use olive oil. Look at the nice golden-brown crust it offered, and the oil added a hint of mediterranean sweetness to boot. I glazed it before and after it went in the oven.

Nearly as soon as it came out, Mum cut into it and we taste tested...Verdict, nothing beats homemade bread. Also, be sure to vote in the new poll and leave any comments or questions you may have! Thanks for stopping by.

2 comments:

  1. That bread looks awesome! I love homemade bread but it is so much work! I heard good things about this recipe and tried it a few months ago and it is SO good and it's awesome because you can keep the dough in the fridge for up to a month and then just rip off a hunk and bake it whenever (which is dangerous, for me anyway)!

    http://www.foodess.com/2009/03/artisan-bread-in-five-minutes/

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  2. That is amazing! I am so going to be trying this stat! Fresh homemade bread whenever I want? Yes please! Thanks so much for the link!!

    ReplyDelete

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