Artisan Bread...Easy and Affordable...

This is a great, easy recipe for a really good loaf of crusty, artisan bread.  A loaf of artisan bread in my local grocery store sells for $3.99.  I can make my bread using locally milled organic flour for about $1.75 a loaf!

Now, I should warn you that it takes 2 days to make this bread...don't panic!  The hands on time is probably less than 20 minutes...

Here are our ingredients:

3 cups flour ( I used an  Unbleached All Purpose White Flour from Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill ), plus a little more for dusting.
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 
3/4 tablespoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
small amount of butter

To make the bread you need 2 large bowls, a wooden spoon, a plate and a large covered pot...

Lightly coat one of the bowls with butter. Dump the 3 cups flour, yeast, salt and water into the other bowl and stir until it form a loose dough (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for this step...it's easier on my hands).

Dust your hands with a little flour, remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball and place in the buttered bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap...place the bowl in a warm place and forget about it for 12 to 18 hours.   After that time it will look like this...

Dump the dough on a floured surface.... (dust your hands lightly with flour and use them to scoop out any dough that sticks to the bowl).

Fold ends of dough over a few times and form into a ball shape.  Place the dough on a generously floured plate and sprinkle with more flour...

 
Cover the dough with a towel and set somewhere warm for 2 hours (my house was cold that day, so yes, that is a heating pad under the dough :)  After 90 minutes of the 2 hour raising time set your oven for 450 degrees and set the covered pot in the oven to preheat...

After the pot has been in the oven (don't you just love my 1956 GE Range with Double Ovens?...I Do!!!) for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven (use potholders, it's HOT!), uncover and dump the dough into the pot.  Replace the cover and bake covered for 30 minutes.  Take the cover off the pot and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.  The bread will sound hollow if thumped.  Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool....

Serve warm...preferably with your own homemade butter  :)

Enjoy!

Deb
(Recipe adapted from Jaden Hair who adapted it from Jim Lahey)

Mmmmmmm...Butter!

Here is one of my favorite things to have in my fridge...fresh, homemade butter....

Ingredients:
Heavy Cream (preferably organic)
Sea Salt (optional)

Pour the cream into the bowl of a mixer (or food processor)....

...turn the mixer on medium low and beat until cream starts to thicken...

...turn speed up to high and beat until buttermilk starts to separate...scrape down sides of bowl as needed....

I cover my mixer with a towel at this point so it doesn't throw buttermilk all over the kitchen...it's going to start sloshing soon....

When you hear a lot of sloshing and the butter is glommed on to the beater...it's done...

Scoop the butter into a sieve and press with a spatula to remove the remaining buttermilk (you can mix in a little salt at this point if desired)....

Store the butter in a small bowl...and don't forget to to save the buttermilk!  It's great for baking (especially biscuits...but that's another post :)

Enjoy!

Deb

Marissa's Jewels....

For the Bride....

For the Bridesmaids...

For the Moms...

Enjoy!
Deb

Marissa's Jewels Continued....

Coming back to jewelry making after a two year sabbatical has been an experience!  Everything takes twice as long as I think it should...I promise I'll be the most organized jewelry artist on the planet before this is done...since I have to search and find everything I need and I'm labeling all my drawers and boxes as I go along...I spent an hour this  morning looking for my 3mm bezel cups!!  I bet they heard me snarling all the way to Seattle...

I've almost finished Marissa's pendant and earrings...a little more sanding to go and a couple of bezel cups to add...I hope to fire them tomorrow and then on to the enameling....

Enjoy!

Deb

Eat Local...Another Option....

It is November and out little local produce stand has closed for the season....and it's Olympia Local Foods to the rescue! This is the brilliant brain child of Tom and Celia Husman, owners of Tachira Farm ...easy, one stop shopping for local produce, dairy, meats and many more goodies!  It almost seems too easy.  I place my order online between Friday morning and Tuesday morning and pick up my order on Thursday afternoon.  And every week my order seems to get a little bigger as I try new products...

This is the order we picked up yesterday.  I love knowing that my cage free, organic eggs came from Yelm, the carrots from Shelton and the squash from Olympia ...all of my order was from a less than 50 mile radius of our home!


Last night I made a stir fry of chicken, peppers, onions and kale...tonight a bean soup with chard and carrots...

Enjoy!