There is a sort of peacefulness to being indoors with the rain falling down safely out of doors. A warm cup of coffee, a list of tasks which may be completed without stepping foot out of the house… it’s all good. I was baking yesterday and am doing more today, as I work on another recipe for my First Reader. I was asked for the English Muffin Bread recipe yesterday, so I will include it below.
I’m also throwing together a sort of link-roundup. Anyway, items of interest from my open tabs. Then I’ll go back to other work and enjoying the rain.
Ingredients
- 4 cups White flour
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 2 packets (4 1/2 tsp) quick-action yeast
- 2 c warm milk
- 1/2 c water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- In the mixing bowl, place the warm milk, water, yeast, and sugar. I allow the yeast to proof for ten minutes if I have time, but quick yeast doesn't need it. Slowly add in other dry ingredients. If the dough remains loose and sloppy, add in more flour slowly (1/2 cup at a time or less) until it forms a soft ball.
- Allow to rise, and then turn out onto a floured surface. WITHOUT punching down, cut the dough into two parts and form gently into loaves. Place into greased loaf pans that have been sprinkled with cornmeal and allow to continue rising while the oven preheats at 350 deg F. After about 30 minutes, put the loaves into the oven and bake until hollow-sounding when thumped on top of the loaf, about 35- 40 minutes.
- Remove to rack from pan and allow to cool before slicing.
Biscuits?
Speaking of baking, a friend pointed me at this article yesterday. I’ll have to try it. I haven’t done much with self-rising flour, I wasn’t raised using it. But it’s certainly a good idea that superfine ground grain would make a softer biscuit.
Ancient Recipes
Only these recipes aren’t for food, but alchemy. I would love to take these classes where history and chemistry come together in harmony. Amazing stuff, really. I wonder how much could be done at home? Some of it looks sickening dangerous – burning powdered lead?! – but maybe…
Virtues and Chivalry
We’re raised, some of us, to not say anything at all if it isn’t nice. But can it be possible that sometimes rudeness is not only necessary, but the virtuous thing to do? How else can we fend off anonymous bullies?
Muffin Bread: Yum. Filed in the list for October or so, however.
Ancient Recipes: I’d be leery of several of those myself. Mercury sulfide is not something to be handled casually, either. What I found annoying (the word I finally settled on) was the “safety concerns” by these supposedly intelligent and well-educated scientist about reproducing the Boyle experiment. They apparently believe that Boyle was foolish enough to also load his pistol with a ball and destroy his difficult to make vacuum chamber?
Virtues and Chivalry: First Reader is spot on, as usual. I keep my counter-strike forces well honed.