By 5:30, when I tucked them in, the sky was beautiful.
My flowers are pooping out.
Simple dinner. Pasta and salad.
This morning....a different story. No beautiful sunrise. No sun. Grey with wind and the temperature ended up in the low 20s.
We had fine snow most of the afternoon. I went to Wegmans for a few items and when I got home Gary started making his first loaf of bread (after a 35 year break).
We got the recipe from our friend Helen Smag......
I'd say (by the way it turned out) that we need some serious brushing up. Live and learn. Tomorrow morning Gary is picking up a bread maker from our friend Sally. Can we go wrong
with that? We are determined.
The snow is so deep in our back yard, Gucci got stuck.
Tucked the girls in a little early as they were just getting covered with snow.
(of course Abbe rolled in the indoor again and is working on changing her color)
Sidney always goes out to the barn before evening chores and then comes back in with me. He spends most of his time in the library.
Tonight....sloppy joes, corn and coleslaw.
We are still in the low 20s, which is much warmer than it was last night (-9 not counting the wind).
Enough...already.
Night all.
We're having more of the same tomorrow . . . but at least today was nice - maybe you'll get our good day tomorrow.
ReplyDeletelooks cold, bet it feels cold, how many layers do you wear??Sidney, one sensible fellow.
ReplyDeleteAh bread baking is such an obsession! I've been an avid bread baker for about ten years and I'm still always tweaking. I think two things of importance are: 1) rise time-I let my dough rise overnight in the fridge (the slower rising in the fridge gives way more flavor), then punch down in the morning and let it rise again in the fridge about 3-4 hours and then rise another hour on the sheet pan or in the loaf pan before it goes in the oven. This gives serious flavor and 2) using King Arthur Bread Flour. It has a higher protein content and makes the bread chewy and have a strong structure. Also you can make higher saturation breads (more flavor, better texture) with the KAF BF because the high protein allows the bread to be chewy and soft but not doughy.
ReplyDeleteAlso I always put a pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven. This creates steam and a more stable heat in the oven. There is a great website called the Fresh Loaf full of bread crazed people offering incredible advice. Watch out though--it's such an obsession and Gary might take over your kitchen!
The weather you're getting is unbelievable. I've heard of snow, but this is quite dramatic.
ReplyDeleteThe same kind of weather we're having here in Virginia -- We're getting our one and only 'warm up' today that if we blink, we'll miss it.
ReplyDeleteBread making really is an art. There is a place that teaches a class on artisan breads that I'd love take sometime. Until then, I have Wegmans! :-)
If you're interested I have a really simple yeast bread recipe that doesn't require kneading. Let me know and I'll message it to you on FB.
ReplyDeleteHello Lori and Gari. We have a bread making machine, and with its assistance even I can make a decent loaf occasionally. Mostly Ann sets it up so that it makes bread overnight and we come down to new made bread.
ReplyDeleteHello Lori and Gari. We have a bread making machine, and with its assistance even I can make a decent loaf occasionally. Mostly Ann sets it up so that it makes bread overnight and we come down to new made bread.
ReplyDeleteSnowed here all day and night Saturday. Didn't expect the 4-5 inches we got. I heard it was going to be a dusting. I think I was sold a bill of goods on that one. Anyway, we are up to almost 30 today with sun so I'm hoping some of it melts before being plunged back into the single digits tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for Gucci. She must have been surprised when she got stuck!