Friday 21 October 2016

Twiddling Thumbs.


                             Afficher l'image d'origine

This time of year can be very dull. For me it is more tedious than anticipatory.

Mornings can be quite cool, but not cold. Afternoon sunshine can be warm, but not hot. We are in a period of neither one thing nor another.  We're in limbo land; waiting for the winter onslaught.

Being someone who likes to keep busy, I have drawn-up my usual list of jobs to be completed before spring, but this year's list is worryingly short.

I have the caravan to complete, quite a bit of errant Ivy to hack back, some serious weed-killing to be done on gravel paths/drives etc, and possibly a small interior DIY project or two. Otherwise most of my work will be wood-sawing, and general tidying. Haddock's is reasonably weed-free, so will look after itself for a while.

It looks as if we shall not be having any mushrooms, so even that bit of bottling will be denied me.

I shall make paté, nearer to Christmas, and will pickle onions and red cabbage, but all these activities take no more than the occasional 20 mins.

Maybe I'll use my extra free time to make bread. For years I've wanted to make bread that I could be really proud of, but although my attempts have been OK, they have not been what I would call 'special'. I'll let you know.

N.B. The bread in the photo was NOT mine, but that's what I'll be aiming for.



28 comments:

  1. Good luck with the bread making! Learning to make superior bread sounds like a great way to keep busy this time of year.

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    1. I promise myself I'll do it every winter, but somehow fail to do so.

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  2. Roll up those sleeves and set to work. To achieve that kind of result I bake the bread in a very hot cast iron casserole dish with a tightly-fitting lid. It needs to be as hot as the very hot oven you bake your bread in..you gently roll, or drop your bread dough (preferably sourdough) into the dish, cover with the lid and bake covered for most of the time. Remove the lid towards the end of baking. I find this works every time. I don't do it very often, because it is my very favourite type of bread and I cannot resist. Have fun, but wear long oven gloves!

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    1. I've never tried baking inside a cast iron dish, but it sounds logical. I'll give it a go.

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  3. Same here. Now I have the garden squared up I feel a little lost as to what to do with myself. I do spend more time in the kitchen, read a lot and go out wandering. Hate to be stuck indoors though. That picture looks so good I could eat is straight off the page.

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    1. That's why I chose it Elaine. It looks so damned good!

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  4. Give it a go Cro...the cast iron casserole dish way of doing it seems ideal.

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    1. I will. We've woken to a light frost this morning, so Bread Baking season is almost with us.

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  5. We seem to be having a mushroom-free Autumn here in Somerset too. I don't know what makes the little bastards decide to poke their heads above ground any more. I think they must have meetings about it underground to decide.

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    1. Here it's X amount of rain, Y amount of heat, and Z amount of days waiting. None of these has been right. Hence no luck.

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  6. Learning how to bake bread seems like a noble quest! I only know how using a bread maker. We are going from afternoon temperatures in the low twenties, to flurries overnight. -Jenn

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    1. It was frosty here this morning; JUST. But quite pleasant now. I'm not keen on the cold.

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  7. I agree with Elaine. Cook covered at first then take off the lid. Much better result. And try try again. My first loaves were bricks. Once you get one success you're up and away and never look back.

    Found a mushroom bag in our garden shop this morning. May buy one yet. 10 euros. Keep in a dark place, spray with water now and again and mushrooms (the flat ones called plevrotis here) pop out the sides.

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    1. I shall definitely try the pot method; I'm fascinated.

      Those mushrooms are called Pleurotes here, and I think are what they call Oyster Mushrooms in the UK. I've found them growing on old logs; very nice.

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  8. or even lift a pencil or brush to paper?

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  9. I am sure you will find something to do, but I know what you mean. I try to live my life with purpose but the winter usually only leaves me projects for which I have little enthusiasm. However, baking is always a fun thing for me to do also.

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    1. I do occasionally find myself wandering about looking for something to do.... I usually find something.

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  10. You've reminded me of my weekly bread-making time back in the 1970's. I quite enjoyed it, as a Sunday routine. My boyfriend liked the toast.

    Sorry about your lack of mushrooms. We've had some warm, muggy days, and today is grey and rainy with chilly weather due to return overnight for the weekend. I've yet to see any chanterelles at the farmers markets.

    Best wishes.

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    1. Yes, no mushrooms. We have a few Parasols and Field Mushrooms, but they're not really the ones we want.

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  11. I can smell that bread baking !!!! ..... I'm not a mushroom forager so I wouldn't know the mushroom situation here in the U.K. But, we have loads of mushrooms in the lawn and in our pots at the moment so the conditions must be right but I don't know what type they are. XXXX

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    1. People in the UK are very fond of Field Mushrooms, but white mushrooms are probably the only ones I never pick. There are so many very similar white mushrooms, some are delicious, others give you belly ache, whilst a few will kill you. I rest my case.

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  12. After mant 'mediocre' attempts Cro, bread has now gone to the absolute bottom of my to do list.

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    1. I want to master it first, maybe then I'll become less obsessed.

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  13. Your lady in Frayssinet would be most disappointed if you start making your own bread.

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    1. Sandrine is part of my problem. I want to make some bread as good as hers (I'd also like a suntan as good as hers).

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  14. A very large puff ball was found in Scotland a couple of days ago, don't actually want to eat one but it was cut up and enjoyed by several people.....http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-37703204

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