Between Stupid and Clever

We have a morning ritual around here. I get up and get ready for work and at some point while I'm in the midst of primping, my amazing husband gets up, puts on a pot of coffee and makes me breakfast. It's truly amazing since Isaac doesn't go to work until the afternoon, a pure unselfish act of love.

Even more amazing is the fact that Isaac doesn't get bored with my choice of breakfast. I love an English muffin. He once asked me what I saw in an English muffin. It's an honest question. Left untoasted and unadorned an English muffin is more exciting to look at than it is to eat. I see it as the perfect vessel. After all it's all nooks & crannies, meant to hold butter or jam (or peanut butter if you're like me).

With all my spare time lately I've been doing a lot of baking. I sit in the living room surrounded by cook books and pour over ever page looking for the next challenge. This week I took on my old faithful.

I have to admit I'd never even considered *making* my own English muffins. How on earth would you start?!? Leave it to James Beard to show me the way. I have a battered copy of Beard on Bread sitting on my shelf and there is no chef I would trust more with my favorite breakfast. After all, they did NAME the cookbook award after him.

The book is dated (it was published in 1974) but it's full of great facts and some funny signs of the times (like the microwave version of English Muffin bread).

The recipe is simple, the only technique I hadn't used before was adding dissolved baking soda after the first rise. Chef Beard warns to mix well so the bread isn't streaky, I found it difficult to be certain I had mixed well enough since the dough was already well formed. Both rises went flawlessly and looked beautiful.

When the bread was finally done I had high hopes, it looked perfect.

Exactly like an English Muffin when sliced!

Even more so when toasted:

Of course it's just a vessel so I had to add some butter & jam for the taste test. The verdict? Success! No more store bought English Muffins for me!

The Recipe:

James Beard's English Muffin Bread from Beard on Bread

Makes one large loaf or two small ones

Ingredients:
1 package dry active yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
7/8 cup warm milk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in
1 tablespoon warm water

Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water in a large bowl, stir until the yeast and sugar are dissolved, and let the mixture sit until it proofs.

Add the flour, mixed with salt, and the warm milk in alternate portions while stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Holding the bowl tightly, beat the dough very hard until it shows some elasticity and looks almost ready to leave the sides of the bowl (it will remain loose and sticky). When it has an almost gummy quality, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours (until doubled). Stir down with a wooden spoon, add the dissolved soda , and beat vigorously again for about 1 minute, being careful to distribute the soda throughly or the bread will be streaked. Then butter one 10 inch or two 8x4 inch tins and fill with the dough.

Let rise again in a warm place for about an hour to 1 1/4 hours. Bake the bread in a preheated 375 degree oven until it is golden on top and shrinks slightly from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then turn out on a rack (if necessary, loosen from edges of the pans with a knife). Cut in slices about 1/2 inch thick for toasting and butter them well.

Being a teacher doesn't always afford me a lot of leisure time. Now that we are in summer even while I'm working summer school (3 days a week 6 hours a day mind you), I find myself with way too much free time.

Things I've done with said free time:

*Cleaned the house top to bottom
*Cleaned up my blog a bit
*Read a lot (this, this & this for a second time)
*Trying new recipes. Yesterday I tried making Chocolate Cherry bread which is only bloggable because it was an utter failure. When I added the cherries to the dough that said dough became a sorry soggy sight. I had to add quite a lot of flour and re-knead the whole bit which took away from the integrity of the dough as well as the flavor.
*Spending way too much time on the Ravelry forums. Which has an upside, I've made lots of lovely new friends!
*Knitting a sock for Isaac. This October will mark 5 years of marriage and this is the first pair of socks I've knit for him.

I *love* this colorway

The yarn is Bellefonte Sock yarn from Valuetree the pattern is the Manly Sock pattern by Hannah Six. I love the slip stitch rib pattern and yarn combo and the eye of the partridge heel. I didn't much care for the way the toe was written so I used a basic version of the german round toe.

I never get tired of pictures of sock toes

*Catching up with all things Starfleet. Did you know they run all the new "Star Trek" shows at some point during the day? My tivo is full of campy, wonderful Sci-fi because of it. I don't think I could watch one second of regular daytime TV. Who knew there was such crap out there?!?!

Tomorrow we are heading to the farmers market. I'm hoping to pick up a few pounds of strawberries to make Jam.

I'm also hoping to hit the fabric store. I need a few new skirts for this hot weather.

Theres thunder outside and I just wish it would rain already. It's one of those days where we *could* be out running around but with the rain threatening it's easier to justify sitting home and being "blah".

I need motivation (or maybe just caffeine) as there is plenty I want to do but it requires effort to turn off the computer and go do it. Do you ever just have one of those days?

In an effort to motivate myself I thought I'd show off some things I have done in the past month that have been lovely, wonderful and worth every minute.

I made a batch of "no knead bread" from this recipe (adapted from the book artisan bread in 5 minutes a day).

Overall it was really good, the recipe couldn't be easier though I found it a tad salty. Next time I'll adjust that.

We painted the bathroom.

Before:

After:

The blue is perfect in there & the shower curtains & dark towels keep it from being too "beachy".

I knit a hat:

It's a no pattern basic roll brim hat for the Knitters for Obama Charity drive.

So now that I've reflected & am feeling ever so slightly more motivated I think the first thing I'll do is turn off the computer & make some coffee. After that who knows what I might be inspired to do.