Monday, December 17, 2012

The Good and The Ugly

The Good...

I baked this oatmeal batter bread on Saturday.  It's a tasty loaf but I've decided I don't really like batter breads.  They are too soft and tend to assume strange shapes while baking.  I'll make this recipe again but will add a few more cups of flour so it becomes a soft kneadable dough.  With a short knead time not too much gluten will develop so it should still be fairly soft.

We'll see, grasshopper, we'll see.......



The Ugly......

is providing the impetus to finish the tiles for the wood stove surround.  We went ahead and put the stove in with just the wonderboard up.  Necessary as it is getting too cold to have the electric heat coming on to keep us minimally warm.

 Wonderboard (cement board) is just about as ugly as it comes.  It's so awful that I am not going to photograph it until we are ready to put up the tiles, so I have a Before and After record.  This part will happen next spring and summer.

Of course the temps are going to be in the fifties with lots of rain for the next few days, but last night it was nice to be warm and not have to dress in many layers to stay warm.....uhhhhh......I'm being a little dramatic here!  The cats are quite simply ecstatic and are basking away like sloths.

On a more somber note, I have made no comments on the horror of Newtown, CT.  I'm very simply unable to achieve any sort of understanding of such an act......but this is beyond understanding.

As always, thanks for stopping by......*s*


10 comments:

  1. It's a rainy Monday here so I was just thinking about making your cuban bread. I guess we both have bread in the head.

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  2. Making Finnish cardamom bread tomorrow, make for Christmas and Easter. The chickens have cooperated donating eggs. Have never tried batter breads. I need to finish our wood stove surround but for now standing on a ladder in yet another room slapping paint on the wall...... The solstice approaches!!!

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  3. These loaves look yummy to me! They look very individual and made with love - not like the factory-made bread one buys in the stores!
    I am like you - I just cannot write about this terrible act - I hope society will learn from it.

    Christa

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  4. I am with you that I really like what yeast does to bread. I am not a big fan of batter bread and find the yeast worth the effort.
    I made your cuban bread yesterday again!

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  5. Dearest Suzi,
    Being from Europe, we hate all the fluffy bread. So ours we buy at Costco or I bake some myself too.
    Funny that you're dealing with backer board too (cement board). We just this afternoon got the shower doors installed and now I can start cleaning up. Not much time for Christmas decorating this year around.
    Hugs to you,
    Mariette

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  6. Great to have you send a "slice of life" (pun intended) from your house to mine. I'm glad you are going to be warmer. Warmer is good!

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  7. nope, not much to say about Newtown except there are waaaaaay too many guns in America

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  8. Hi Lori.....Rainy days and bread seem to have a natural affinity for each other.

    Hi Sandy....I just looked up my recipes for Finnish bread. It sounds delicious. It looks like you are making painting progress!

    Hi Christa....The bread is good; I just don't like the texture.

    Hi Meredith....Cuban bread also makes delicious stuffing and bread pudding.

    Hi Mariette....Many of us seem to be involved with backer board this Christmas.

    Hi Elizabeth....Your work is always a delight. YES! Warmer is good!

    Hi Gary.....It's hard to remember that there are crazies in the world who want to cause mayhem.



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  9. The bread looks wonderful! I love homemade bread! Have a very Merry Holiday!

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  10. Hi Connie...Thanks for stopping by.

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