Sunday, May 31, 2009

Water Fascination




Tell me why boys will avoid bathroom water faucets with the determination of junk yard dogs after an intruder?  But upon being turned loose to walk beside a river or water fountain, they constantly ask, "Can't we touch the water?"  Do they think it will feel any different then it does from the tap?   In fact it was difficult to get them to stay out of the water long enough to pose for just one picture.




River Walk



Saturday, a new section of the San Antonio River Walked opened complete with a miniature loch so that the tourist barges could navigate up its course.  

Table Topper


While Ezra napped last week, I put together this table topper from a charm pack that I've had for quite some time.  It was easy and quick.  

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

It's In The Bag









This week I've been knitting away on a bottle cosy. It is so amazing how different this project looks after it has been felted.  What I discovered was that my washing machine does not have hot enough water, and so I added boiling water to help things along.  

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Baguettes



Today I tried the baguette recipe which is made from the same master dough.  The first scoop came out of the container that I mixed the dough in and since this scoop was at the bottom, I discovered that I had not gotten all the flour incorporated as I should.  However, I shaped and baked the loaf anyway knowing that the birds would not be complaining if the loaf wasn't perfect.  Then I shaped a second loaf from the overflow container.  The bread rested for 20 minutes and then baked for 25.  If it tastes as good as it's appearance, I'll be pleased.  Right now I'm letting it cool as the book recommends before slicing. Yesterday's vultures are at work and napping.

Monday, May 4, 2009

The First Results

So here's the shaped loaf.  It was about 3 ounces under the 1 pound requirement and looked rather small on the board.  It did not rise during the forty minutes it sat out but puffed up quite a bit during the baking.  I discovered that my oven was about 15 degree cooler and thought I should have baked the bread five minutes longer.  I would have a picture of the finished product but my family fell on the bread like vultures and there's just a tiny stub left on the counter. The taste was pleasing and a bit like a sourdough.  Tomorrow, I'm going to make baguettes. 

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The Unexpected








Yikes!  Look what happened after less than an hour.  




It seems that the container is way too small.  Tomorrow, I'll have to find a bigger one, but in the meantime I simply tossed half the dough into another like container.  Will this effect the outcome?

Bread Beginnings

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day has arrived,  and I'm trying out the first master recipe.  I must say that this isn't like any bread recipe I've ever tried in the past.  The ingredients are the usual but this was mixed in the container you see in the picture with no kneading.  I just dumped in the water, salt, and yeast, stirred it up and then dumped in the flour all at once.  That concoction got mixed until all the flour was incorporated and there were no dry patches.  This is now sitting on the kitchen counter where it is suppose to rise for 2 hours before going into the refrigerator.  This recipe is enough for 4 loaves that can be assembled anytime in the next 14 days.  I'll be baking the first loaf tomorrow and we'll see what the outcome is.  It's fun to experiment!