Life's Little Details: Knitting, Sewing, Green Living, Frugal Living and Cooking In A Little Corner of Southern French Countryside.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

'A Baking We Will Go


Homemade Buttermilk Bread
Originally uploaded by Sheepish.
I've long loved baking. I have even dabbled in bread-baking for quite some time, now. I've got several books on the subject and can confidently bake just about any bread now with no trouble. Trying to stick more closely to a budget that resembles the amount of money we actually have has prompted me to I bake my own bread a few times a week now. Actually, we never buy bread at the store anymore. I mentioned recently that I dislike the flavor of store-bought bread more and more. The bread in the picture may give you a little idea of why.

I don't usually make this kind (Buttermilk White Bread - an excellent recipe from Beard on Bread (I doubled the recipe to get two loaves and added in some whole wheat flour to satisfy my desire to feed the family healthy foods)), because it calls for ingredients that increase the price of the bread. Well, that and the fact that the more French-style sour dough bread I tend to make suits my bread-devouring husband's palate much more. I have noticed, too, how quickly this one disappears (perhaps he likes the sour dough less than I had thought...).

Anyway, all the breads I make frequently make me want to take pictures. Aside from a recently blocked knitted object and a breast-feeding newborn, I can think of few prettier things than homemade bread fresh out of the oven.

So, of course, I decided to share the loveliness. It made some mighty tasty grilled cheese sandwiches, too (believe it or not, that's the whole reason I made it). I guess it's a shame I couldn't share that, as well.