Battling Bread

Today it was too cold to ride.  The pipes in the barn were frozen this morning and the arena alternated between sloppy and frozen.  It never got warm enough for it to dry at all.  So, I stayed inside and waged war with bread.  Yesterday, you may remember, I tried to make sourdough bread and ended up with a brick.  Even the chickens refused to eat it.  I've successfully made sourdough bread before.   Here's the evidence:

The problem was, I couldn't remember which recipe I had used for this loaf of bread. 

I decided to use a different recipe from the same book I used yesterday.  In general, the book is excellent.  I thought I owed it another shot.  And I was DETERMINED not to fail.

1) I mixed the dough.  It still seemed awfully wet and sticky.  

2)  After (violently) kneading it forever, I still had a sticky slack dough.  It did develop some glutin and start talking back to me (resisting the pressure of kneading) but I still had my doubts.

3) After an hour of rising, I gently deflated the dough and folded it up like a letter, both directions, and let it rise another hour.  It wasn't easy to fold.  ...getting worried...

4) Then the dough was dumped and rested for 20 minutes before being shaped into a boule and put in the wood shaping bowl.  I know how to shape boules.  I pride myself on being good at getting the surface tension just right.  I couldn't get any tension.  The dough was too soft, sticky and slack.  I pulled it, I dragged it across the wood, I swore at it, I threw it, I made a mess.  I had to vacuum the kitchen after giving up and just plopping it in the form.

5)  At least it rose nicely.

When I dumped it out of the mold onto the parchment paper, it went flat.  AARGH!  I slashed the top and put it in the oven, filled the oven with steam, and crossed my fingers.

6)  The finished product.  Definitely on the flat side but it made a nice hollow sound and smelled divine.

Brett and I did the evening chores together.  I took the camera along.  Hyacinth are coming up in the garden and my tomato plants have sprouted in the greenhouse.

We got all the horses fed, the pasture mucked, and blankets on as the sun was setting. 

Finessa dove right into her hay

Flash didn't even look up although he has an ear on me

Kalvin

Jackson hoping for a cookie

I'm happy to report that Sedona is doing well.  She ate all of her breakfast this morning and spent the day barking at squirrels and playing with the puppy.  When it was time for dinner I found her deep inside a squirrel hole.

 

Tonight for dinner we had seared Ahi, potatoes, rhubarb compote, ....and sourdough bread.

A successful day, n'est ce pas ?