A Good Bread is Hard to Find

The weather in Texas has actually been cold for the past few days. Parker brought a mustard green in from the garden last night that was frozen all the way through! Now that I have had a taste of the cold weather, I am ready for it to go away. I wait for the cold to set in every year like I will enjoy it, but I never do. My skin gets dry, my lungs hurt when I ride my bike, and there is a very high likelihood that Banana will go to the bathroom in the house. She is extremely prissy. She hates walking on grass, getting her paws wet, and cold weather. Since current conditions are unfavorable for sunbathing, she has been keeping herself busy by barking at anyone that walks in front of the house.

I, on the other hand, have been busy baking bread. The amazing double decker bread box my cousin Jenny gave me for Christmas is getting some good use! I have been experimenting with a new bread making technique, and I think I actually like the way the bread tuns out. I tried two recipes from the December/January issue of Mother Earth News magazine. These are no-knead recipes! The magazine article explains that the practice of kneading dough is a result of tradition rather than necessity. I am not sure how true this assertion is, but the bread turned out fantastic! I was even able to apply the technique to the sourdough bread I've been making for months now and I had great results! The secret is time. It almost takes a full 24 hours to make a loaf. This time is mostly inactive. I would guess that I spent about 30 minutes total having to fool with the dough.

I plan on posting the no-knead recipe for my sourdough bread once I have it perfected. It is so close! The only problem with the last loaf I made was the crust. It was too thick! An adjustment of oven temperature and baking time is all that is left for me to figure out!