Sweater: UO * Pants: Old Navy * Scarf: Christmas gift * Boots: Target * Belt: thrifted
I almost wrote an entire post about some various attitude problems I've been having lately (internal attitude problems, not plate-throwing, temper-losing attitude problems). I wanted to talk about what I've been struggling with, and think about ways to address and mediate those issues. And that's fine. Really. That would be a fine post to write, and I'll probably still write it sometime. However, this morning, I'd really rather not dwell on the negative. Because if there's anything that makes my attitude problem worse, it's being self-indulgent about it. So I'll think, and write about it later, when I can talk about it with more distance and objectivity. (Also, please note that things are, in large part, really great. This is just a small hiccup in the way that I deal with things, and something that I know I have to work on. Don't worry!)
So, to focus on things that make my world go 'round, let's talk about bread. You heard me. I've been exploring the world of bread-baking in the past few months. I have a few phenomenal cookbooks now, and have started recently to branch out beyond the super-easy beer bread and standard loaf breads. I made a killer ciabatta bread over Christmas break. Ciabatta is really good. I think that bread made my parents, and Joe, love me a little bit more. So I'm determined to keep rolling on this train of yeasty goodness. Enter the sourdough starter.
Ha! That last picture was me trying to capture my foggy cold-weather breath on film. Joe snapped the picture at the right moment, but I think my camera is a bit too rudimentary to catch misty air.
For the past 5-6 days, I've been "feeding" a pretty unpleasant-looking gray goo in a glass jar in our kitchen. It has started to smell very yeasty and not unlike apple cider, on some days, and is bubbly and active. Starters (this one is called a liquid levain in my fancy bread cookbook, which I want to sleep with because it introduced me to the ciabatta and must be magical) are used in a ton of breads, and in all of my favorites. A good baguette starts with a levain, as does sourdough (of course), and pretty much any bread with a thick, wonderful crust and an airy, light inside. I think my starter will be ready to use tomorrow or Thursday, and I think I'm going to give it its test run with a buckwheat batard (I've been getting buckwheat, rye, and whole wheat flour in bulk from the local Co-op where Joe lives, and it has made this hobby infinitely cheaper, and more interesting).
Are any of you novice (or professional?) bread-makers? Any tips for a newbie like me? Any cookbook or recipe suggestions are welcome, as well as must-have tools and appliances (I'm getting very close to justifying the purchase of a stand mixer, since a lot of the bread doughs are too moist to knead by hand).
I know this is a sort of weird, very disjointed post, in which I do not talk about my outfit at all (let's be honest, its awesomeness speaks for itself). How do you guys feel about posts like this? Honestly, they're my favorites, since they're most representative of what goes on in my little brain early in the morning. Of course, there are those posts where everything truly comes together, and the words and reflections connect with the pictures and the sentiments, but not every day can be that serendipitous. So today we get a mustard scarf, an attitude adjustment, and yeast.
Title song: Johnny Cash, "Breaking Bread"
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