Sweet Potato Everything Bread... Necessity Breeds Invention

I had this big fat sweet potato staring at me for a week. As some people in this household are not to fond of them, and I wasn't having a taste for it. I wanted to use  the sweet potato in  another way. I also had some Poppy Seeds that have been whispering for me to use them, every time I open my cabinet. 

Sweet Potato + Poppy Seeds + Yeast =A beautiful relationship

I call this my Sweet Potato Everything Bread. I'm feeling pretty confident as a baker now, where I can take liberties with a recipe base and expand. One of my first Daring Bakers Challenges a few years back was a great Potato Bread which I have used from time to time and seems almost fail proof. Using that recipe as a base I decided to switch out the white potato for sweet. Unfortunately I did not have the total amount of All Purpose Flour and didn't want to use more  Whole Wheat Flour , which was also required. I looked on my shelf and found some King Arthur's Rye Blend Flour and used some of that with the other two flours. I figured if anything it would be a great experiment. I also made an egg wash with some honey . The bread was topped with Poppy Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Dried Minced Onion and Sea Salt. The recipe yielded enough for a 20 rolls and 1 medium sized loaf of bread to slice. Certain Someone, who is very picky about bread was pleased with the results. He liked it. I take that as a  huge compliment because Europeans are finicky about their breads and are often disappointed with the  commercial findings here in the United States. The loaf and rolls have a tender crumb that would be great with jams or savory items.

Sweet Potato Everything Bread

12 oz of sweet potato pieces

4 cups of water

1 Tablespoon and 1 tsp seas salt

2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

6 Cups All Pupose Flour

2 Cups Rye Blend Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 tablespoon butter at room temp/softened

Egg Wash

1 egg

1 teaspoon of milk or cream * Cream gives more glaze

1 teaspoon honey

Topping

2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds

2 Tablesppons Dried Minced Onion

2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Boil the sweet potato chunks with skin in the 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until tender. Drain the sweet potato, but save the water! Do not throw away the cooking  water as it will be used in the recipe. Peel of the skins and mash the sweet potato. Run  the sweet potato with the 3 cups of the cooking  water ( you may  have to add more water to make up difference) in a blender to make a smooth liquid mixture. Pour warm mixture into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Cool down until lukewarm .Add the yeast to sweet potato water and mix gently. Let rest for 5 minutes. It will start to bubble slightly on the surface.

Whisk together the all Purpose Flour and Rye Flour in a separate bowl to combine.  Add a few cups of this flour blend to the yeast , sweet potato mixture. Add the butter and salt and with the paddle attachment slowly blend to incorporate. Continue to add the remaining flour and the whole wheat flour as well. Switch to the dough hook. The dough will be sticky still but will start to take hold as more flour is added. It will still be a stickier dough however. With the dough hook , beat for several minutes ( about 8-10 minutes) until the the dough starts to hold its shape .Turn out into a clean bowl or container with lid. Cover and let rise in a  warm place for 2 hours or until double.
 On a clean counter surface which is lightly floured,  turn out the risen dough and punch down and knead to shape. Place the rolls or loaves into the respective baking  tins and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise again for approximately 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450F
Mix the Seed Topping ingredients.
Mix egg,milk, and honey for egg wash.
After second rise, brush the formed dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with Seed Topping.
Bake at 450F until golden for about 30-40 minutes depending on size and shape of dough. If the topping starts to brown to fast . lightly cover with foil.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire baking racks for 1 hours or more to let bread rest.

 

I submit this to BYOB

 

Curried Chickpeas and Onions with Roti , Fresh Juices...Meatless Monday Ideas

 I'm in love my juicer again and having a ball. What's propelling me ,among  good health, is an opportunity I'm exploring involving a portable juice stand this summer on Saturdays at a Farmers Market in the area. It's not set yet, but I'm thinking about it hard. When my Mother had cancer she loved a nice simple glass of carrot juice.  For some reason I shied away from it, preferring to use my juicer for apples, and citrus. I've been missing out! One of my favorite go to morning drinks  to sip on at work is a chilled carrot and apple juice. It's so delicious and surprisingly filling.

Apple Juice helps aides Obesity, Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidneys,liver, gallstones, colitis, gout and dysentery. 

Carrot Juice improves vision, aides recovery after physical or mental stress to body. Fights cancer, anemia, and tuberculosis. Its also increases appetite and strengthens immunity.

Source Great Home Remedies/  Benefits of Juices

  The fun is playing around with your own proportions and mixes. The key to great  tasting juice is allowing it to chill but consume within a that day.

If you cant find or afford Organic Produce try this recipe I found on Tipnut.

Homemade Vegetable Wash

1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
2 TBS baking soda
2 TBS lemon juice 

Mix ingredients then pour in clean spray bottle. Spray fresh vegetables & fruit generously. Sit for 5 minutes then rinse off well.

Note: Make sure to first mix ingredients in deep container since there will be some fizzing from the baking soda & vinegar.

Carrot Apple Juice

4 small- medium organic apples

4  organic Carrots

I don't bother peeling the apples but I do skin the carrots.

Cut into manageable pieces and extract in juicer.

Carrot and Sweet Lime Juice

I found these sweet limes in the Latin Market. Popular in India, they are more sweeter, and less acidic than limes. They are known to help upset stomachs and used as throat remedies.The taste reminds me of a mild sweeter grapefruit .

3 sweet limes either pressed in citrus juicer or peeled and cut into wedges to extract juice

4  small to medium carrots.

 

As you know if you read this blog Certain Someone is a Carnivore. I find myself using the times he's away on business or working late , to indulge in lighter , meat free recipes. He does loves curry as a spice however. Maybe acquired from eating the fabulous curry wursts in Germany growing up. So when he flew in late on Meatless Monday  night and wanted to know what the good  scent was that filled the hallways of the condo. I said it was my dinner and he probably would not like it ,as it had no meat. I save some leftover and served it to him later on in the week as a side dish. He totally liked it. You can eat this a side or just an main course. I used frozen Roti, an Indian pan fried flat bread which is unleavened as compared to Naan. Either or can be used, but this is a good option for those searching for unleavened  foods. I found in the Asian stores. But check your local grocer ad these items are showing up in  more mainstream markets.

* Note: You can add the shredded carrot puree from juicer to this dish as well.

Curried Chickpeas and Onions  with Roti

serves 2

 1 can or jar of Chickpeas/ Garbanzo beans rinsed. 

( I will always advocate for fresh/dried but these will work in a pinch for time)

1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tbs vegtable oil

1 tbs curry powder

1 tsp Fenugreek powder ( optional)

1 tsp Tumeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp sugar

salt to taste

1/2 cup water

Rinse and drain chickpeas. Set aside.

In a skillet heat vegetable oil and add  curry, fenugreek ,chili,turmeric, white peeper . Stir around until fragrant and add onions. Reduce heat to medium and saute until softened, about a few minutes. Add chickpeas, and saute until coated in spice and oil mixture. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for  5 minutes .Taste and adjust with sugar and salt.

Prepare Roti according to package instructions and serve with curried Chickpeas. I use two Roti's per person.

Duck Fat and Garlic "Toasted" Camembert Mini Grilled Cheese...Holiday Cooking With Ile De France

I love small plates and little nibbles. I also love all things rich ( my men, my life, my food). One of the most most beautiful and richest cuisines out there is French. I look back at long ago my school years in Paris and wish I took advantage of the resources out there then. But I was young and Paris was my Movable Feast.

This past week was the arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau. My old friend Terry treated me to the Annual Fete at the French American Chamber Of Commerce. This is an opportunity for many restaurants to display their food in the small plate format. One place was making grilled Camembert sandwiches on a hot plate. I took a bite and noticed the Camembert didn't melt through the grilled bread. Terry and I were talking about earlier and I had a revelation. I was going to make this dish with the duck fat I rendered that was in the freezer.

Forget butter, but use the duck fat for that extra dimension. I also decided to add mushed blanched garlic to create a Gascony style Butter. Before the health police start, did you know Duck Fat is better for you than butter? Duck Fat has less saturated fats than butter 32% versus 62%. Duck fat has higher Mono Saturated Fat than butter and is more comparable to Olive Oil (read about it here).

So when I received my Ile de France sample, I was ready. With the Holidays you want a quick easy recipe to assemble and that will keep warm with minimal fuss. Toasting in the oven , rather than frying works very well and insures the cheese is melted through.

Duck Fat and Garlic "Toasted" Camembert Mini Grilled Cheese
makes 12 and can be increased easily increased
24 slices of Baguette
1/2-3/4 cup Duck Fat (can be purchased )
5 cloves of Garlic ( or to taste)
Ile De France Camembert Cheese
Dried Thyme
Water to blanch garlic

In a small saucepan , blanch garlic cloves until tender( about 1 minute).
In a small mixing bowl mash the garlic into the duck fat. You can use a immersion blender or food processor to make smooth.
Take a pastry brush and brush each slice of Baguette.
Assemble small wedges of Camembert into two slices of bread.
Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with dried Thyme.
Bake at 350 F until golden, approx 15 minutes. Turn/flip sandwiches midway and press down with spatula to aid the cheese in melting. Turn up to 400 F the last few minutes to insure crispness and browning.
Serve on passed platters or on small plates with dressed greens.
*Can be kept in warming oven until ready to serve.

Pecan Apple Honey Challah

One of my favorite breads has to be a egg based bread called Challah. This bread is Jewish in origin and eaten mainly on the Sabbath and high holy days. Normally its braided into one loaf. For the Jewish New Year , Rosh Hashana, its formed into a more circular pattern to symbolize the cycle of the year.Apples and honey symbolize a sweet new year . So a Challah made with apples and honey is loaded with symbolism and reference. One doesn't have to be Jewish to appreciate this. I saw a Apple Honey Challah in the September issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Seems a lot bloggers have already given this recipe a go . I decided to toss my dough into the ring. But rather than stick to Martha's recipe , I added a handful of chopped pecans. The recipe is pretty good. Just note if you are not experienced with bread making this is a wet dough. The recipe doesn't explain that. I used a bit more flour and my my Kitchen Aid, You don't want a non wet dough, but it should be well kneaded and smooth. A well buttered rising vessel is essential. I used a spring form cake pan as my baking pan. I also noted several bloggers had difficulty in the size of apples. I had dried some apples earlier in the week and used those chopped with chopped fresh. This made it more manageable than slices. The pecans are optional but I think they are fantastic and take the bread to another level. This would be great for coffee or tea and even french toast.

Pecan Apple Honey Challah adapted from Martha Stewart's Apple Honey Challah Living September 2009

4 oz. (1stick) unsalted butter , plus more for bowl

3 ½ C. unbleached bread flour, plus more for surface

3/4 C. warm water

2/3 C. honey

2 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
2 t. active dry yeast

2 t. coarse or sea salt

1 ½ apples peeled and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Butter a large bowl, and melt 4 T. butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; let cool. Combine 2 T. melted butter, the flour, water, 1/3 C. honey, the eggs and yolks, yeast, and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer. Mix until dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth or use dough hook and stand mixer, about 10 minutes. The dough will be wet but should be smooth . Transfer dough to buttered bowl, and brush with 1 T. melted butter. Cover with plastic. Let rise in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 ½ hours. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat into an 8 1/2-by-14-inch rectangle. Top with apples and pecans ; knead to incorporate. Return to bowl. Brush with remaining T. melted butter; cover. Let rise again in a warm place until dough almost doubles in volume, about 1 hour more.4. Preheat oven to 375°, with rack in lowest position. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (I used a spring form pan). Roll dough into a rope (about 24 inches) on a floured surface. Coil into a circle, and transfer to pan. Butter plastic wrap, and cover dough. Let rise again until dough almost doubles in volume, about 45 minutes more.5. Heat remaining 4 T. butter and 1/3 C. honey in a saucepan over medium-low heat until butter melts. Brush dough with half the honey-butter. Bake until golden brown and firm, about 35 minutes.6. Brush challah with the remaining honey-butter. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Turn out loaf from pan, and let cool.Makes one 9-inch round loaf.

This is my submission for BYOB.

We Bake Gourmet: Cracked- Wheat Topknots

This is my third installment in the We Bake Gourmet series. My fellow bakers have had great luck with this recipe. And I have too, but I had to make some changes due to lack of ingredients and laziness. Nevertheless I am very pleased with the results. The recipe calls for milk, and both whole wheat and all purpose flour. I ran out of milk due to Certain Someone drinking git all before he left, and had to use Nonfat dry powdered milk. I also didn't realize until mid way that I ran out of all purpose flour! So the recipe has way more wheat flour and about 1 cup of all purpose. Surprisingly the dough turned out well in taste and texture. My flaky sea salt was actually smoked salt which was wonderful.

I have been nibbling on these hearty knots all week.

I'm pressed for time as I have a lot going on this week. You can find the printable version of the recipe here on Gourmets site.

Here are my modifications:

1/2 cup Non Fat dry milk dissolved in 1 1/2 cups of water. Dry Milk is a wonderful tool in baking and helps with the rise. Its also very economical.

3 1/2 cups of Whole Wheat Flour and 1 cup of all purpose.

Visit my other baking friends for the Gourmet Bread Challenge.Judy - http://www.nofearentertaining.blogspot.com/Sandy - http://www.bakersbench.blogspot.com/Kelly - http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/Claire - http://www.thebarefootkitchen.com/Andrea - http://www.andreasrecipes.com/

Don't forget to watch me on CBS 2 Weekend Morning News on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 10am. This is local, but I will link to the blog afterwards.

We Bake Gourmet: Crusty Cornstalk Rolls

My apologies for posting this weeks bread challenge late. I'm sure you will understand that Certain Someone came home for an all to short week, and I was doing what I love best, spoiling him. I actually baked this bread for Sunday dinner to go along with the Veal roast. What appealed to me about this recipe was the gorgeous rustic appeal. Unfortunately my artistic skills didn't take hold and craft better looking stalks, but I was satisfied with taste. I must admit the addition of corn meal at first out me off this recipe, but one taste of this while warm with butter is just pure country goodness.Steam creates a crust similar to a baguette. All in all this was pretty simple to put together. I can see this in a heart shape for Valentines if anyone is eating in.

Crusty Cornstalks Rolls adapted by Coco Cooks from Gourmet February 2009

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tsp of sugar

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour and additional for kneading

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp yellow cornmeal

a spray bottle of water

Stir yeast, 1/4 of the water, and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside and let foam. If the mixture doesn't foam after 5 minutes , start again.

Mix flour, salt, 1/2 cup of the cornmeal and remaining cup of the water. with a wooden spoon or hands until soft dough forms.

Turn out dough on lightly floured surface. Knead until dough is elastic and smooth for 6-8 minutes.

Place ball of dough in oiled bowl. Cover and seal with plastic wrap and kitchen towel.Let rise in a draft free setting until double in size. 1-1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough and without kneading fold like a letter into thirds.Roll the dough now into a 12 inch log.

Flour lightly as you need to preventing sticking.

Sprinkle a baking sheet covered with parchment or baking stone with the remaining 2 Tbsp of cornmeal. Place dough diagonally across. With cooking shears cut 3 inch long diagonal cuts alternating sides. Make sure you have a center stalk. Pull and stretch dough to create separate rolls but connected to stalk.

Cover with a clean kitchen towel( not terry) and let rise , draft free for 1 1/2 hours until double.

Preheat oven to 425F with rack in center.

Spray rolls with water bottle, place in oven and spray 3 more times in the first 5 minutes.. This helps form the crust. Bake until golden for 20 min. Let cool on rack for at least 20 minutes. Serve. The rolls can keep 1 month in freezer wrapped. Best eaten on day made.

Visit my other baking friends for the Gourmet Bread Challenge.
Judy - http://www.nofearentertaining.blogspot.com/
Sandy - http://www.bakersbench.blogspot.com/
Kelly - http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/
Claire - http://www.thebarefootkitchen.com/
Andrea - http://www.andreasrecipes.com/

Burgers Transformed With Rose Levy Beranbaums Golden Burger Buns

For the past few months on the blogospehere I have seen a trend in making your own hamburger buns. I immediately thought what a brilliant idea. Breads intimidate me. I have no fear of yeast, like a lot of people, but I want to perfect and master it. Breads for me are either hit or miss. This my friends was a hit. If you don't know her, Rose Levey Beranbaum is the well known author of The Cake Bible, The Bread Bible, and some other great titles.Her approach is very scientific but she comes off as approachable and likable.She has a great blog where I got this recipe for hamburger buns made with Sweet potato. Rose calls them Golden Burger Buns.Sweet Potatoes have been popping up in my CSA box lately and other than bake them I wanted to find some more uses.I don't like to candy and sweeten them all up. I also made a little promise to myself and Certain Someone I would bake more breads. He would much prefer that then cake. In the kitchen at the caterers I have shaped and baked some dinner rolls and its piqued my curiosity. The bad memories of the Daring Bakers making Julia Child's french bread has faded into the distance. In my preoccupation with other matters I didn't follow the recipe as written, but it all worked. I retarded(let dough rise in the refrigerator) the first 2 risings because I started at night, and had to go to work the next day. After work I shaped them , let rise the final time and baked. Because I didn't have sesame seeds I used some fried garlic I got in China town to top the buns. The garlic smell as they baked was heavenly and I prayed it wouldn't burn. I quickly fired up a burger and just adorned it with my German curry ketchup, and Dijon mustard. I didn't even let the buns cool thoroughly in my haste. Most times its the burger and the fixing you remember. This burger was all about the bun. So soft and delicious. I will be making these again and again.

Growing Up In D.C...Remember the Rum Bun?

Did you know this is my 99th post and I only begun last summer! How time flies.Speaking of which I had a wave of nostalgia sweep over me.I realized I hadn't had a Rum Bun in a long time.Growing up in the Washington D. C area during the 70's AND 80's Rum Buns were a distinct part of the bread basket before dinner in the great seafood houses such as Hogates, O'Donnells, Bish Thompsons,Flagship,and Anchor Inn( most long since shuttered).As a child I couldn't wait to did into those warm sweet rolls before my order of Lobster came. Whats a child doing ordering Lobster you ask?Well legend has it that I was the lobster baby. Before I could even read I had to have my lobster!No Kiddie menu for me. My mother encouraged it and my father resentfully paid the bill.Once he tried to trick me and say there was no lobster on the menu. I grabbed his menu and said 'let me see'. My big eyes went over the menu and found it. He couldn't get away with it. Eventually I grew out of my lobster addiction. Certain Someone was appalled when he heard this story and thinks I'm spoiled rotten. Maybe I am.

So back to the Rum Buns...Now that we have Internet I did a search. I found the Hogates recipe from the former chef on a few sites. They looked consistent. I mistakenly believed I had a well stocked baking pantry, but I didn't . So I made some changes as the amounts of some of the ingredients were large. I ran out of All Purpose flour so I added Amaranth flour and wheat in addition to the 1lb of what I had. I didn't have 4 oz fresh yeast and prayed my 2 oz of SAF instant yeast worked ,as lesser amounts are required with this type. And the recipe called for obscene amounts of Rum Extract. One bottle is 1 oz. The dough alone required 2z. So had to add real dark rum. I purchased more Rum extract later on for the glaze and icing. Yes glaze and icing combined!These babies will be going to work as they are to lethal to leave laying around.

In other news the lovely folks at Cakespy sent me these cute badges for giving a lead. If you haven't checked out this site do. They are loads of fun and seem to have spies everywhere giving us great reviews, interviews, etc.

Also Ben has awarded me the Blog of Distinction Award. Thanks darling. I guess I have to pass that on.

Hogates Rum Buns

Ingredients:

Dough

2 pounds all-purpose flour

1 ounce all-purpose flour

6 ounces granulated sugar

5 ounces raisins

4 ounces vegetable shortening

4 ounces butter (unsalted, room temperature)

2 tablespoons grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground bakers cinnamon

1 ounce table salt

1 cup water warm

4 ounces fresh yeast

1 cup pasteurized or fresh eggs

2 ounces rum extract

1 cup whole milk

Cinnamon-Sugar Mix

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 cup sugar

Glaze

1 cup water

1/2 cup rum extract

6 ounces granulated sugar

Icing

2 ounces rum extract

2 ounces light corn syrup

1 ounce unsalted butter (melted)
12 ounces confectioners sugar

Directions:
In a mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine all dough ingredients. Mix for 20 minutes until dough is smooth, place on floured tray and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Flour work surface and roll dough out 4 inches by 20 inches. Brush with melted butter (not in above ingredients) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix as needed. Roll dough strips tightly together. With knife, cut into sections three fingers wide and place in greased (not in above ingredients) muffin pan. Place a towel over the buns and proof them (let them rise until double in size.takes between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the temperature of the room). Then bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Turn pans occasionally for even baking. Remove from oven and brush with glaze (Heat glaze ingredients until sugar is dissolved)immediately. Cool for at least 10 minutes, then coat with icing( just mix all ingredients together adding the liquids a bit at a time) before serving.

Chicken,Fennel,Sun Dried Tomato Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Today is Day 2 of how I used my vegetable box.I decided to focus on fennel .I was stumped because I have only had fennel in salads. A Internet search pulled up the same types of recipes. I could have roasted it with and served it up with fish or chicken. Nah. I decided to use in a Chicken Pot Pie. Why Not? I had a really good chicken pot pie in the company cafeteria and wanted to do it my way. Rather than a short crust I decided to make a Buttermilk Biscuit crust( need to use that leftover buttermilk from the Daring Bakers Challenge). I figured Certain Someone may like this .Plus there would be leftovers as he and I towards the end of the week will be in opposite directions. While I'm sunning( working ) it up in sunny Florida he'll need some good leftovers to pull out.I decided to use Martha Stewart's Biscuit recipe for the buttermilk biscuit.The filling is my inspiration.It wasn't to thick , all the better to sop up the sauce with your biscuit crust!

Coco's Chicken,Fennel,Sun dried Tomato Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Filling

1 bulb of fennel sliced thin(remove tops).

3/4 cup of frozen peas

3 boneless chicken breasts cooked and cut into cubes( I cooked mine in ground sage, salt ,pepper, bay leaf and parsley.Save any liquid).

1 cup plain yogurt

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

9 sun dried tomatoes snipped into pieces

2 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 375 .Mix chicken , sliced fennel,peas, and sun dried tomatoes in dish you are baking in.In a pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add flour. Mix like a roux until incorporated.Gradually add chicken broth while whisking. You should have a slightly thickened sauce. Add the yogurt and thoroughly mix.Pour over chicken and vegetables.Make Martha Stewart's Buttermilk Biscuit ( note I reduced this by half). Roll out a round of dough to top dish.You can add cut outs with the leftover. Brush the tops with Buttermilk and bake for approx 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Dont forget about Tamale Open!

Daring Bakers Take on Julia Childs Labor Of Love , French Bread

This is my fifth Daring Bakers Challenge, and I must say the most challenging. But that's the whole point of me joining, to push my limits and explore all aspects of baking from savory to sweet. When Mary at Breadchick and Sara at I like to Cook, took on hosting duties, they went all out. Our challenge reflects Julia Child's own obsession with mastering French Bread. Last year I read Appetite For Life, The Biography of Julia Child by Noel Riley Fitch. Julia, ever the perfectionist, spent years mastering her bread with her ever patient husband Paul at her side , encouraging,tasting, and critiquing. Its reflected in Volume 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 18 pages are dedicated to this recipe that consists of just flour,water, yeast, and salt. Go figure. I was pretty confident I could do this and set aside one Saturday as it takes about 10 hours in total of rising, shaping, etc. I had purchased the baking tiles, a tool for slashing, prepped my muslin as the pastry clothes.All seemed well until it started getting around dinner time , and Certain Someone was impatiently waiting. I had purchased Brie,charcuterie, etc for us to have sandwiches on my homemade baguettes. The end result at around 10:30 pm was a hard pale,misshapen baguette. we ate the sandwiches , or shall I say gnawed. It was edible but had a hard shell to it that wasn't what I would call crusty. Nevertheless I vowed to attempt it again and finished up the rest over the next day. Not awful , but not right. I figured with Certain Someone gone on a golf outing,I would have time. But I got a cake commission that took my whole weekend and had to put it off. So on the final Sunday of the month I woke up at 6:30 am determined to have a decent bread to post about. I decided to one large Boule. I didn't feel confident enough to shape the baguettes again. All went well and at 5:00 we had some slices with raspberry jam and butter. A pre Oscar Night snack.I liked the color and the outer shell softened as it cooled down. Certain Someone was happy about that, and so were his teeth. He said it was good.One thing I learned for sure is that bread making demands your respect and attention. Whatever distractions and disruptions in your life will show up in the final result. Its not ironic that bread is symbolic and referenced in religion.Bread is life.My month has been trying to say the least. But all my fears and worries about my life and job were resolved by the time I made the second round.

The recipe is long,so I will post it to Coco's Recipe Box and you can check it out here.Meanwhile check ot the ever expanding Daring Bakers and what they produced.