Bread

Here's another daily project of mine: Bread. I have learned that you can make a big batch of really wet bread dough and just let it sit in the fridge for up to two weeks. You don't knead it or anything; you just stir it up with a spoon. When you want bread, you scoop out a blob, shape it, let it sit out in the kitchen for two hours, and bake it for half an hour. If you want something immediately, you can just roll it out and bake it right then and there for five minutes - voila, fresh pita bread. (I served that with hot dogs when Kari and Danny and the boys had lunch here yesterday.) Either way is completely fantastic. Dale could hardly believe I had made it myself. Details at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com, or buy their book. (I've been getting by with the website so far.)


(We ate the other loaf already.) The first time I tried it, I made the bread the way they recommended, with a steaming cup of water in the oven to make a crispy, crackling crust. My San Francisco bread-loving soul was in heaven, but the children, who adored the bread, couldn't gnaw the crust. So this time I went without steam and got something much softer.

I would love to be able to stop buying supermarket bread. Not only is most of it lousy and full of pointless food-science ingredients, it is stupidly expensive. Five bucks a loaf for the bad stuff. This delectable food is wholesome and cheap.

While the daily bread rested in the kitchen, Jordan turned the Slattons' former pea trellis into a tipi. (Tipea?) He was totally thrilled by this activity. And now we have a use for all those ratty blankets, which were furniture padding during both moves.