Tag: bread

Baking

Round Two: Rustic White Bread

Emerald Thunder

I read Robin Sloane’s Sourdough this week, and, just like after watching The Great British Bake-Off, I desperately wanted to make bread. I figured I would turn my weekend birthday into a baking extravaganza, and round two with Rustic White Bread was part one of about five!

This loaf is definitely less rustic-looking than the last, but it wafted the same amazing fragrance around the apartment. I proofed it for a bit less time and made a smoother ball (and purposely scored it) before popping it in the oven.

Topped with some Kerrygold, I’m in for some delicious toast over the next few days. No sharing! 😉

Baking

New Year, New Bread

Emerald Thunder

Is this a New Year’s Resolution? Who knows? Maybe this lasts, maybe it doesn’t. All I know right now is that I made my best loaf of bread ever today! And I want to celebrate that personal achievement.

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Coming off of watching 40 episodes of The Great British Baking Show over the holidays, I needed to make *something,* but a sugar-overload during the latter half of the year has put me off sweet baked goods for a bit. It also seems more reasonable to eat an entire loaf of bread than to eat an entire cake. That’s how it works, right? It doesn’t have a mountain of sugar or butter, so I can eat it all myself?

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I used this Rustic White Bread recipe, and I’m quite pleased with this little loaf! Paul Hollywood was in the back of my head the whole time–knead well, don’t over-prove, have steam in the oven for a good crust! Using a Dutch oven didn’t hurt, either. When I brought it out of the oven and gave it a good knock on the bottom, there was a lovely hollow sound. Music to my ears!

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All in all, not a bad start to the year!

 

 

 

 

Baking

Irish Soda Bread

Emerald Thunder

I guess it’s about time I post about the Irish Soda Bread I made a while back. Leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, I searched and searched for the perfect recipe, and I found one that looked rather promising. However, just before I was going to make it, I got a different recipe from a friend, who said it was amazing. So my plans changed because I just had to make this other one. However, I have no idea where the recipe comes from because I only got a picture of the ingredients and steps from the cookbook it’s in.

This bread came together pretty easily, albeit extremely messily. My hands were absolutely covered in dough despite liberal flouring, and the counters and floor looked a bit worse for wear afterwards, too.

Mine was definitely a more rustic-looking soda bread, because I might have taken the “don’t knead it until it’s smooth” bit a tad too far. Oh well. The interior was super fluffy and moist, so I’ll sacrifice aesthetics for taste for the moment.

Hot out of the oven the bread looked delicious, and it was painful to have to take pictures before digging in.

I think I’ll definitely break out the soda bread every now and then, since it’s a bread I know I can make without messing up. I’m still not BFFs with yeast yet, but I think we’re slowly becoming more fond of one another, as evidenced by the light and fluffy pizza I made on Sunday. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Baking

So What if I Have Finals This Week (and One Tomorrow)

Emerald Thunder

After this week, school is essentially over, but I can’t seem to buckle down to do what I need to do to actually finish. I think I basically checked out a few weeks ago, which is not necessarily the best thing. However, all of a sudden I have this insatiable urge to bake and cook and do everything but school work (and dishes). As a result, my kitchen has and will have a vast assortment of baked goods throughout the week.

Baked Good #1: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

          

Baked Good #2: Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Strawberries

 

And this baking frenzy will continue as I prepare a Midnight Breakfast Tuesday night, consisting of at least pancakes and something else; lemon-blueberry scones Wednesday night for Thursday morning; and next week a graduation cake for my two suitemates. If only I didn’t have to spend money to satisfy my baking needs. It stinks to run out of supplies at the end of the semester and to have to buy more for a week of baking. Oh well.