Our Daily Bread

We talk a lot of simple pleasures in life.  One of those simple pleasures for us is a loaf of homemade sourdough bread.  Tricia keeps a batch of sourdough starter going at all times as she bakes a loaf of bread each week.  I can't remember when we last bought a loaf of bread from the grocery store.  The wholegrain bread we make is from a mixture of spelt and kamut wheat. 

The sourdough starter smells so good.  Oftentimes I'll walk in the kitchen and Tricia is popping the top off the starter to smell the fermentation going on.  She was getting everything ready last night to make a fresh loaf, so I thought I'd grab my camera and document the process.  Here she's poured some of the wheat flour into the mixing bowl and added the starter.

The dough hook attachment on the mixer works the dough and gets it all kneaded and ready.

For the last ten minutes, the dough is taken out of the mixer.  Tricia kneads it, folds it, presses it and works it really hard.

Then she works it some more.  The bread changes form with the kneading, getting more elasticity.

We like to bake in stoneware loaf pans.  The stoneware is brushed down with coconut oil so the bread will pop out with ease after cooking.  Then we place the dough in the stoneware.

We cover it with a dishrag and will allow it to proof overnight.  In the winter time, when the house is cooler, we'll proof it in the warmer of the oven.

We began proofing at 10 pm.  Then here we are the next morning at 6 am.  Look at the difference of the photo above with the one below.  You can judge how much it has risen by looking at the distance between the rag and the bottom of the light plug receptacle in each.

The bread is put into the oven.  We call it Lovin' in the oven.  In just a skinny minute or two, the aroma of freshly baking bread fills the home with an irresistible fragrance.

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” – James Beard

James Beard is right!  It is vitally important to cut a slice off while the bread is fresh from the oven, warm and soft.  I will fight you for the heel!  Spread some good homemade butter on the warm slice and it'll take your breath away.  That's some of the last butter from our cows for a while since we dried the cows off.

Give us this day, our daily bread...

Sometimes It's A Good Thing to Loaf Around

We have a half gallon mason jar we keep in the fridge with some sour dough starter in it.  At first glance, it looks like something that was on a back shelf that got forgotten about.

At second glance it even looks worse.  If you unscrew the top, there is a crusty formation on the rim and sides of the jar.  If you peer down into the jar, the concoction is bubbling.  If you put your nose next to the top of the jar, it smells...  GREAT!  The sour dough starter has a sour, but slightly sweet smell.

When I walked in from work, Tricia had just pulled a loaf of sourdough bread out of the proofer.  The bread had risen.  I reached out to touch it, but that wasn't a good idea.  You don't want it to fall.  We placed it in the oven and I went outside to pick purple hull peas, black-eyed peas, and okra.  My task was to be back inside in about twenty minutes to pull the hot loaf of sour dough bread out of the oven.

I walked back in to a wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread wafting through the kitchen.  I pulled the golden brown perfect loaf of bread out of the oven and admired it for a second.

Can we make it a little more perfect?  Yes.  Yes, we can.  We'll slather some butter over the top of the warm loaf of bread and allow it to melt into the top of the bread.

I'll stop the world and melt with you.  You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time.

Some people don't like the heel of the bread.  I do.  It's my favorite part.  I like to cut a slice while it is still hot and put some more butter on it. 

Taking a bite out of crime

This is as good as it gets.  Who says it's a bad thing to loaf around?

Fresh Baked Bread in the Oven

"Oh, but anyway, Toto, we're home – home! And this is my room – and you're all here – and I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And... oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home!"  - Dorothy in the last lines of The Wizard of Oz

Home is a haven, a safe refuge from a world gone mad.  There is safety at home. You are surrounded by ones you love and there is a feeling of acceptance and familiarity.  It is a place where you can be yourself and relax and unwind.

Have you ever noticed that every home has a particular fragrance?  When you open the back door and walk inside, it just smells like 'home.'  I tell you what, sometimes home smells extra nice.  For instance, when there is a fresh loaf of bread baking in the oven!

Some realtors will tell you that if you are looking to sell your home, it needs to smell inviting.  Fresh baked bread or chocolate chip cookies evokes a feeling of comfort that supposedly makes prospective buyers make an offer.  We're not trying to sell our home, but when I walk in and smell fresh baked bread, I'm definitely comfortable and happy!

Lovin' in the Oven

When you pull that bread out, everyone gathers round.  The "heel" of the bread, in my opinion, is the best part.  I'll fight you for it.

I like to get some butter and slather (I like the word slather) lots of it on top of the warm bread.  Then I like to pop the warm bread out of the loaf pan and slice it while still warm. Then I either put more butter on the warm bread or I get out the jar of Steen's pure cane syrup and pour a generous helping on the slice.

After the slice is gone, a critical decision must be made.  Should you have another slice? Or should you back away from the warm, fresh baked bread?  While it is still warm, it takes superhuman will power to stop after eating one slice.  Fresh bread is quite the temptress.  Get behind me Satan!