I woke up this morning trying to remember something I intended to do today. I’m sure it was important, like cleaning out the closet or dusting the bookshelves. But since the thought escaped me, I sat down at the computer to check my email, which, by the way, is not at all unusual for a Saturday morning.
One of the first that I opened was a feed from Today's Creative Blog extolling the beauty of Windows Live Writer and since I had nothing better to do and am always looking for an easier way to format a post here or there, I asked my husband to download it while I fixed another cup of coffee.
I may like this. It looks good so far. Now I need to play around with photos and new text, maps, tags, etc. Oh, I may be in trouble here. Surely, that closet can wait until next Saturday!
I call this little ATC “Cherish Mary Pickford” ~ I’ve been playing around with Photoshop this past week and have really enjoyed it. Just wish I had time and energy to do some scrapbooking.
Several days ago I decided I wanted to try Terry Thornton's bread. Although I was not all that excited about dragging my large bread maker out of storage in the pantry, I was excited about trying Terry's recipe. Well, turns out I couldn't find my bread maker. Bob and I looked and looked. We poked into corners in this house and the attic that I forgot were there. But no bread maker to be found. I'm sure it's somewhere ~ surely I wouldn't have put it in a yard sale ~ would I?SALLY LUNN
(Yeast)This is the yeast version of this famous English bread which has been popular for several hundred years. (The cookbook also has a baking-powder version.) Serve the bread for tea or afternoon coffee, with bowls of fresh fruit, or at breakfast with butter and plenty of homemade jam.
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup scalded and cooled rich milk
1 cake yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour, sifted
Cream the butter, sugar, and salt. Add the cooled milk. Dissolve the yeast in the water and add to the creamed mixture along with the beaten eggs. Add the flour a little at a time, beating thoroughly between additions. Cover and let rise until doubled. Then punch down and pour into a well-greased loaf pan or small tube pan. Cover and let rise again. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until loaf is golden brown and tests done.
NOTE: To bake as buns pour the batter into well-greased muffin pans, cover and let rise. Brush with beaten egg and bake in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until done.
BRIOCHE
Brioche is typically French. Some authorities believe that it was named for the town of Brie, where it supposedly originated, and that originally it was always made with Brie cheese. It is a rich basic dough with many uses. This recipe, my favorite, is based on the one given in Catherine Owen's Culture and Cooking, or Art in the Kitchen (1881 edition), which she said was from the Paris Jockey Club.
1 or 2 cakes or packages yeast
1/4 cup warm milk or water
3 tablespoons sugar
7 eggs, or 6 egg yolks and 4 whole eggs
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups soft butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon cream
If dry yeast is used dissolve it in the warm milk or water along with the sugar. If fresh yeast is used, cream it with the sugar and add the milk or water. Add the 7 whole eggs, or the egg yolks and eggs, and stir well to blend. Add 2 cups flour, the salt, and the butter and beat thoroughly. Add the remaining flour, blend, and beat well. Beating Brioche dough is very important, as it is too soft to knead. Either beat it is a heavy-duty mixer, or else pick up the dough in your hands and slap it down on a breadboard. (This will become frustratingly sticky, which is why I beat the dough in a mixer, very thoroughly, before and after adding the last 2 cups flour.) When the dough has been well beaten, brush the top with melted butter, cover the bowl, and let it rise until doubled. Then punch it down, cover the bowl again, and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly. This will take at least 12 hours, so it is best to made Brioche dough the day before it is needed. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days. When needed, remove from refrigerator. Handle it quickly, as it soon becomes too soft to use. Brioche dough can be shaped in various ways. You might braid small pieces of dough and place the braids in small, buttered loaf tins (these are fluted tins available in specialty shops). Or make small loaves, or regular-sized loaves, or buns to be baked in buttered muffin tins. In any case, let the shaped dough rise until doubled. Glaze with egg yolk and cream. Bake rolls or buns at 400-degrees for 20 minutes; large loaves at 375-degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.
NOTE: If desired add another 1/2 cup flour to the dough. Shape it into a crown or large round loaf and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Let rise until doubled and bake in a 375-degree oven until browned and done.Next I'm going to buy some small loaf pans and try Terry's bread recipe. I'm just very afraid mine won't be as pretty as his turned out to be!
