 |
| Dancer Helps with Card Making |
Dancer meowed and meowed when I sat at the table to make more cards this evening - poor kitty is getting old and his hind legs are giving him trouble, so he can no longer jump up onto the table as he used to. I had to carry him and put him on the table and oh, he was so happy! He investigated all the items and sniffed at them to make sure they were what they were supposed to be, and plopped himself down in the middle of it all! "I'm still the chief quality control officer in charge here", he says!
M was here, this morning, to tend to the garden. He concentrated on the front garden, today, tidying, weeding, and pruning.
Later in the afternoon, I decided to make some bread. I finished my loaf of store bought bread a few days after Thanksgiving and, since I haven't put in another order of groceries, I've been out of bread for about a week. Not a big hardship for me, but, every now and then, I think a slice of bread would be nice. As I told one of my friends, I had visions of crusty bread rolls dancing in my head. So, I mixed up a batch of bread dough and kneaded it and kept it to rise:
 |
| Bread Dough |
Except...it barely rose! Maybe the yeast was too old. Maybe the liquid I added was too hot and killed most of the yeast. Probably I didn't knead it well enough (I was worried about my hands cramping). Probably, too, the house was too cold! I should have left it to rise in a warmed oven. But, I didn't. I left it in the living room to rise and later, I set it in front of the heater. The dough did rise a little bit, after several hours, but, it didn't quite double. I divided it into three portions, put two portions into loaf pans and made eight small rolls with the third portion. Then, I set it in front of the heater, again, but, it didn't do anything much. Finally, after more than 10 hours of "rising", I put it in a prewarmed oven for 30 minutes and went ahead and baked it! I think I made myself two nice door stops and some hockey puck substitutes! LOL!
 |
| Bread Rolls |
 |
| "Flat" Bread |
I tried one of the rolls, still warm from the oven, with some butter, and it was tasty! Crusty outside and soft enough on the inside. I don't know if they will remain soft on the inside, though.
 |
| Blurry Photo of the "Unrisen" Bread |
I didn't cut the bread, but, the loaf in front is about 1 1/2 inches high! I will cut it tomorrow and see how it is. Maybe I can cut it horizontally and make garlic bread with it!
In the meantime, my home smells wonderful with the aroma of freshly baked bread!
While I was waiting for the bread dough to rise (or not), I cleaned the kitchen, scrubbing under the stove burners, wiping down the inside of the microwave, wiping down the counters, and did the dishes. Later, I made a couple more cards, watched the evening news, crocheted a bit, chatted with friend R and another friend, video chatted with my daughter, and emailed a friend. I didn't vacuum, though, so that gets on Thursday's to do list.
Today, I am grateful for:
- M tending to the garden for me
- Bread making adventures!
- Phone calls and emails with friends
- Video chats with my daughter
- Working appliances
- Bread making adventures!
- Phone calls and emails with friends
- Video chats with my daughter
- Working appliances
Today's joyful activities included crocheting, card making, and bread making, even though the resulting bread was a bit of a failure!
Anyone has any fail proof bread making tips?
There's nothing better than the smell of baking bread, so at least that part worked like it was supposed to. I hope the bread is as tasty as the rolls when you try it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I had two of the rolls this morning for breakfast and they still tasted good. I'll try the bread, later. I think it will taste fine, but, the texture will be denser than regular bread.
DeleteSee, Dancer was supervising the wrong task. He should have ignored the cards and kept an eye on your breadmaking ... you would have been okay then!
ReplyDeleteYes! It's all Dancer's fault that the bread dough didn't rise! LOL!
DeleteIt's harder to make bread in the cold weather. I put mine in the gas oven on low. Maybe it was more like pizza dough.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I should have kept it in a warmed oven to rise! It would have made a good pizza dough! Maybe that's what I should have done! It won't go to waste, though. :)
DeleteYou are so kind to Dancer! Poor senior kitty. Your bread looks delicious and you said it smelled delicious. I've had not so well risen versions that were delicious nevertheless even if they wouldn't have won any prizes. When you wondered if the rolls would remain soft later, I remembered the breakfast rolls we used to eat in Italy. They were great when fresh, but later would have served as good ammunition in a slingshot or miniature trebuchet. I hope yours stayed soft!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady; he always had trouble with his hind legs, even as a kitten, but now that he's older, he has to pull himself up with his front paws. I've placed plastic step stools and cardboard boxes to make it easier for him to get up on to the sofa and daughter's bed!
DeleteThe rolls have remained soft and I had two of them for breakfast, today. I actually like their texture as it reminds me of the bread we had when I was growing up, unlike the soft fluffy supermarket sandwich bread. I haven't tried the loaves of bread, yet. It'll go well with soup, I think! :)
Your bread does look yummy even if not fully risen. You could still make pizza with a bread loaf if you cut it in half lengthwise. It would be like a French loaf pizza. Cats do need to be in the middle of the action! I'm sure Dancer is grateful for the lift!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie; the bread tasted good! I tried it, today. Yes, I did think of the French bread pizza. But, I think I'll make garlic bread when daughter comes home for the holidays - she loves garlic bread!
DeleteDancer wanted to be included. It's funny - if I am in the family room, he'll sleep on the back of the sofa; if I am in the living room, in the arm chair, he'll complain because there's no room for him and either sit on the piano stool or the other sofa. If I'm on one of the sofas in the living room, then, he's on that sofa! I'm sure your kitty is the same.
I haven't baked bread in ages. I wonder what the issue might have been. Could you possibly use some of it to make breadcrumbs and freeze them? X
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a combination of old yeast, insufficient kneading, and less than ideal rising temperatures. I cut one of the loaves in half, horizontally, and froze it to make garlic bread, later. I am making my way through the other loaf - but, I could always make some bread pudding with it, if it dries out too quickly. :)
DeleteHaha - I saw the title of your post and thought, "uh oh" lol
ReplyDeleteReading through it seems that your rolls are tasting good and there is hope for the bread so things seem to have turned out.
You are a good momma to Dancer helping him access his favorite areas - which is anywhere you are :)
Ha, ha, I am obviously not a bread baker! I am making in-roads into one of the loaves? bricks? of bread. It tastes good. The second one, I sliced in half, horizontally, and froze it to make garlic bread when my daughter gets home. If not, I can always make bread pudding with it.
DeleteDancer does like to see what I am up to. Poor kitty is getting old.
Best blog post title ever!! All I can say is that since Dancer did such a fine job supervising the card making, perhaps he should be supervising the baking as well. (wink, wink)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Ha, ha, if I wasn't afraid of having fur all over my bread dough, I might have allowed Dancer to supervise the bread making! It might have risen more!
Delete