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Sunday, January 30, 2011

More Comfort Food

Just a quick post to acknowledge a mighty fine meal!

Before I left to teach this morning, Aaron reminded me that he would prefer not to make the bread dough. Fortunately making bread dough is much easier than many people think. Until about a year ago, I was one of those people who thought bread was complicated. Bread CAN be complicated, but it doesn't have to be. At 8AM, I started to mix the ingredients for bread.

Ingredients:
3 c lukewarm/tepid water
1.5 Tbsp. coarse salt
1.5 Tbsp. yeast
6.5 c. flour

Today's bread had a mix of all-purpose flour (recommended by the bread book I use) and white whole wheat flour. I didn't feel like opening a new bag of all-purpose flour when I had plenty of flour open already. I also decided to add some herbs to the water, salt, yeast mixture before adding flour. The same bread book suggests 1 tsp. of thyme and 1/2 tsp. of rosemary, if using dried herbs.

Aaron made my lunch and breakfast as well as worked on getting pancakes started for the kids while I set the ingredients in my stand mixer (love that appliance!). At 8:15AM, I was ready to leave for work, and the bread dough was sitting in the mixer bowl with a towel over it, ready to rise.

Now bread is a comfort food for many, but that isn't the only yummy thing I came home to. Dear Aaron set up split pea soup in the slow-cooker, as we planned. When I opened the door after what had been a VERY long day, I smelled a most delicious soup burbling happily in the kitchen.

After a few hours at home, catching up with the kids and Aaron, playing some video games to unwind from the aforementioned VERY long day, I realized I should put the dough in the oven. 5PM - preheated oven to 450 with pizza stone on one rack and broiler pan beneath. 5:30PM - put shaped dough on stone and in oven, poured 1 cup of cold water on broiler pan and quickly shut the door.

6PM - Homemade split pea soup with freshly baked bread.

Caleb ate 3 bowls of soup and at least 2 pieces of bread. Aaron and I both agreed we ate 1 piece too many of the bread. Ellie happily ate her soup (yay! veggies into dear daughter!!) and politely requested bread with butter. All was right with the world.

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