In Which I Bake

[eiblyn]

So when I graduated from college I bought myself a fancy bread cookbook and said that I was going to take some time to remember what it was like to be human and I would make that journey through baking bread. Yeah, well, that cookbook then proceeded to languish on the shelf through my first marriage, the arrival and subsequent fabulous-ness of the Sly, my second marriage...and well, you get the picture.

After finding out Sly was sensitive to wheat I seriously considered just giving the book away. But our household isn't completely wheat-free and Lance and I still enjoy good bread.

In my journey to find happiness lately, I decided to break out the book as we are running low on grocery money at the end of the month (because I over-spent at the co-op...Oops.) and I have a fair amount of time on my hands. I also just really want to use it. With my considering going back to school in the fall and with Lance slated to deploy next January, I am trying to get myself into the healthiest mind-state I can manage.

Which is why I have a beautiful dough rising on my stove that I will shape into two baguettes and a round loaf. This will be sandwich bread for the rest of the week and the accompaniment to the spaghetti I'm making Wednesday night. I must say, it feels amazing.

This is my first time baking bread with a poolish. And it may not turn out perfect because I left it to rise in the oven with the light on and that was a touch too warm. Ideally, it should be rising at 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit and it was 90 degrees when I pulled it out of the oven to begin incorporating it into the final dough. I also folded the bread at the wrong time, but it looks beautiful. And as first tries go, I've followed the recipe and directions fairly well. I have a few more techniques to fiddle with, but I can see myself making beautiful bread for quite some time.

Next month, I anticipate buying yeast from the co-op and flour too. I want some organic flour that is cheaper than $3.50 a pound, so if they have that, I'm going to jump on it. Man, there are so many reasons that this bread baking fills me with joy. One of them is that it makes me feel connected with my ancestors. I was actually so excited I was up early this morning! That's saying something.

Comments

[skylark913.livejournal.com]

I also <3 baking bread. I haven't yet this season, which is kind of saddening, but it's all good. I prefer to make from a sourdough starter. It seems to go quicker and a touch easier. I just need to remeber to take care of my starter between batches, which is where the hard part is for me.