Weekending

Weekending

It was one of those weekends where you need a weekend to recover from your weekend.

There was lots of baking, lots of cooking, a glorious Easter sunrise, and a good bit of eating!28collage

Easter was early this year, but the weather did not make it seem like that – it was 76 in Pittsburgh yesterday. On March 27. Yeah – that was crazy, but eating outside was certainly a treat!

Last night I was ready for bed by 8 o’clock – literally, ready to go to bed to sleep! I tried reading and no dice. I gave up and turned off the light.

You will find me quietly easing into Monday wishing it was Friday, which seems miles and miles away.

Pour me another cup of coffee, I think it’s going to be a long week…

My Bread-ucation

My Bread-ucation

Without bread all is misery. – William Cobbett, British journalist

I am a student of bread. I have taken Craftsy classes about bread. I have read tomes on bread. I have eaten tons of bread – some very good and some not very good.

And the challenge of my life is making very good bread given the limitations of a home kitchen.

I think I make a pretty good crusty loaf of bread – there is always room for improvement, but I feel confident that flour, water, yeast, and salt will result in a beautiful and tasty loaf of bread.

However, not everyone likes a crusty loaf of bread, crazy, I know…but they don’t.

Enter the quest for a good sandwich style loaf of bread.

I found this recipe via King Arthur Flour and have tried this bread several times. My first try did not get much rise…I questioned the viability of my yeast so I ordered new yeast and tried again.

Try number two with new yeast did not result in a markedly different result…

Now, don’t get me wrong – this bread tasted amazing. It was excellent slathered in butter, or toasted and topped with jam or peanut butter, topped with tuna salad, or grilled with cheese.

However, it was not a tall lofty loaf, but rather one that was short in stature.

I took to the internet and searched the King Arthur site to see if I could find an answer and lo and behold, I did! Who knew that my bread pans were the fault?!

The new pans did indeed improve the rise and the end result of two lovely loaves just made my weekend!

There is always room for improvement, but, I am on the right track!

 

Short in stature

Short in stature

But big on taste!

I have had little to no success with “tender” breads, outside of rolls, but when I saw this recipe in the Sunday Recipe Roundup I decided to give it a try.

What it lacks in stature does not hinder the taste or texture.

Bonus in that I know where my problem lies and have ordered new yeast to solve it!

 

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