I have started a new photo challenge, 30 days of gratitude.  Yes, I know I am already listing things I smiled about each day.  And doing an alphabet photo challenge. And that’s all good, because that’s exactly how I see these things, as challenges.  Challenges to think outside the box, challenges to be creative.
Today’s gratitude topic is “favorite food.† I am sure it will come as no surprise when I tell you my favorite food is bread.  Bread is kitchen alchemy.  Think about it, it’s just flour and water, basically.  Fried it becomes fry bread, staple food of the First People.  Boiled, bagels (staple of the Jewish people) or pastry/dumplings (comfort food of the South).  Baked, it becomes…bread.  Carbohydrates to provide the body with the necessary energy to function.  And we haven’t even started adding things in yet!
Add a little fat and you have biscuits.  Or pie crust, which you can wrap around sugared fruit for a dessert, or meat and vegetables for a savory main dish.  And what about adding fruit or vegetables right into the dough?  Banana bread and zucchini bread are still what?  That’s right, bread.
And this is why the first thing I did this morning after I got my kids up for school, before I started my laundry, was to take my sour-dough dough out of the fridge where it rested overnight, divide into two loaves, shape it, and stick it in a barely warmed oven for its final rise.
I will serve it tonight with home-made beef stew. Â And it will be delicious.
Pingback: Baking Bread | MetroGypsy