The Biggest Yummy Sourdough Loaf!

This sourdough loaf I made came out huge! It was very yummy with cheesey soup and pastas. One loaf lasted us for days and it wasn't that hard to make. I found the recipe from 'Kitchen Bible' an excellent cookbook I've been borrowing from the library.

Sourdough Bread
(Kitchen Bible)

To make this bread, the starter must be prepared a couple of days in advance. Despite the need for forward planning, it is easy to make and the leftover starter can be used to make more loaves.
For the Starter

1 1/2 C bread flour

one 1/4 oz. envelope instant yeast

2 1/4 C tepid water

For the dough

4 1/4 C bread flour

one 1/4 oz. envelope instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 C water

Prepare ahead Make the sourdough starter 2 days in advance.

1. To make the starter, mix the flour and yeast together in a large nonmetal bowl. Using a wooden spoon gradually stir in the water to make a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in the kitchen ( not necessarily in a warm place) for 2 days, stirring daily. The finished starter will look separated and have a sharp aroma.

2. For the bread, mix the flour, yeast,sugar and salt together in a large nonmetal bowl. Make a well in the center. Stir the starter well. Add 1/4 cup of the starter and the water to the flour mixture.

3. Stir until the dough comes together, adding a little more water if needed. Knead on a lightly floured work surface for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume.

4. Oil a large baking sheet. Punch down the dough and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Shape in to a ball and flatten the top. Transfer to the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled.

5. Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Lightly dust the loaf with flour then, using a sharp knife, slash the top in a diamond pattern. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375˚F and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Leftover starter dough can be kept indefinitely, if used once a week and maintained with regular additions of flour and water to invigorate it. Refrigerate the leftover starter in a covered container for up to a week. The day before using, stir in 2/3 cup flour and a generous 1/3 cup water, let stand at room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and not the lid, for 8 hrs.

Feather Clip

I've been wanting a feather hair clip and I've been wanting to do something with my hands so I decided to combine the two together. I'm sorry I didn't do very well at taking pictures of the steps along the way.

 The supplies I bought at Micheal's except for the pearls, they're buttons from the button box.

I hot glued a hair clip onto the back. If you wanted I'm sure you could glue a safety pen on as well in order to wear it on a jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By slipping my hair clip into a little hole that was in this hat I created a nice hat pen.

Suitcase cabinet

This is my bathroom where I wanted a little cabinet above the toilet. I'd seen were someone had taken an old suitcase and converted it into a little cabinet. So, with Stephen's help and the Sampley's suitcase this is what we ended up with.

Flower Garden

Stephen and I often talk about a flower garden that we're going to have someday. We decided to make ourselves a little flower dictionary of our favorite flowers. These are some that we found while on a walk last week. I've put the names of the ones that we identified, the others maybe you can tell me. :) Enjoy God's beautiful handy work that grows all around us!

Lamb's Ear

Mecarduniu- Gold Dust

Mexican Heather

Mums

The little white flowers are Alyssum- Snow Princess

Celosia- Burgandy

Celosia- Burgandy

Yellow Celosia

Danthiums

Hydrania

Pentus "Nova"

Surprise Lilies

Verbena

Homemade Burger Buns

With only two in the house to cook for I run into the problem of hamburger buns going  stale before I can use all eight of them up. I ran across this excellent homemade hamburger bun recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and made half a batch which gave me four beautiful fluffy buns.

 

Beautiful Burger Buns
(Taste of Home)

Yield:8 | Prep:2 hrs 25 mins. | Bake: 15 mins.

1 cup water

1 Tablespoon instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons butter, soft

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups unbleached All-Purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon water

1. Place the water and yeast in a large bowl; let sit for a few minutes to allow the yeast to soften. Add sugar, butter, egg, flour and salt and mix until a smooth dough forms.

2. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes, until the dough is soft and bouncy.

3. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour, or until very puffy. Once the dough has risen, punch dough down and transfer it to a lightly floured surface.

4. Divide into eight pieces, and round each into a ball. Cover; let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

5. Lightly grease a large baking sheet, or line with parchment. Preheat the oven to 375˚. Shape each ball of dough into a bun by pressing down on them until they are 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Let the dough rise once more, for 30-40 mins.

6. For egg wash, combine the egg and water. For a shiny top, brush the buns with egg wash.

7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 12-15 mins. till golden. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Hang It On A Ribbon

This little desk in our bedroom always seems to collect little odds and ends that my husband and I lay down. 

 

As you can see from the articles, mostly that I lay down. :)

 One day I decided to be inventive and came up with this idea for getting some of the clutter out of the way.

Now you see I have it all were I need it, around my looking glass.

Fashionable Old Scarves

 At a yard sale I picked up two beautiful vintage ladies scarves for ten cents each. Here are a few ideas I tried with them.

 The little bistro table in my apartment needed a table cloth. This silk scarf added a nice bit of elegance and color with it's purple flowers.

This cute poke-doted scarf worked perfect for keeping my hair nicely pulled back for a day of house cleaning and cooking.

I folded the handkerchief in half to form a triangle. Then pulled the two corners  to the back and tied the bow.
 

Today I rolled the scarf up and tied it into a bow for going into town.

Autumn Tea

Autumn Tea

A friend of mine gave me a tea book for my birthday. It has excellent recipes for teas that fit every mood you're in. It gave me inspiration. One night while flipping through the tea book I decided to combine several recipes together and taste the result. Stephen and I loved it and named it the Autumn Tea.



1 cup of brewed back tea

1 Tablespoon of milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 Tablespoons of brown sugar

a dash of cinnamon on top