Thu 3 Apr 2008
. . . May have ended! As many of you know, I have a slight aversion to making yeast bread. It just doesn’t work. That is, until today. Since I am cooped up in my house writing my thesis, I have taken to a number of (small!) distractions from the 12-14 hour days that I am putting in. I make a big pot of soup every few days that sees me through, and I have now taken my first step into the world of James Beard’s Beard on Bread. There is a definite satisfaction in kneading bread in between writing - it’s almost like I’m kneading my thoughts. Today’s accomplishment? Dark Herb (Rye) bread. It turned out. . . stunningly. Now let’s see if I can repeat it!
P.S. I can’t believe I haven’t created a cooking category for this blog yet. So much of my life is taken up with cooking. I look forward to sharing some more exploits with you.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9.09 pm
Congratulations, Sam! I made my own bread for 25 years (and just yesterday began again - check out my blog!) and really all it takes is lively yeast and a warm room. Kneading is good, isn’t it?
April 3rd, 2008 at 9.21 pm
An Excellent example of a lovely loaf of bread. Well done! Makes my mouth water just looking at it. I can almost smell and taste it…
Your mother encouraged me to make my first loaves of bread. (Hawaii, 1977) It prduced in me an omvredible feeling of accomplishment…and satisfaction. To this day, it ilicits the same feelings. ((:
April 4th, 2008 at 3.10 am
I’m proud of you kid! There is nothing more relaxing than the smell of fresh bread…and kneading is a great way to work out frustrations! Look forward to tasting your experiments with it when you get back here.
April 4th, 2008 at 6.20 am
Pam, It was very satisfying work. I used quick acting yeast rather than dry active. Maybe last time (when it turned out to be worse than a doorstop) I didn’t realise I was using quick acting. . .
Aunt Anne, I’ll send you a loaf
Ems, if I am actually able to recreate it, I’ll find a recipe especially for you.
April 4th, 2008 at 12.52 pm
So is this where we send in our bread orders? i’ll take 4 loaves of farmers bread and 3 sourdough whites….Oh, and can I get one of those cheese loaves too?
The loaf looks lovely Sam. Congrats!