Question marks fill my life right now. How can I make this bread more moist? What do I need to do to make this bread rise? Where can I buy these ingredients? What needs to change to make this the best granola ever? How am I going to arrange my baking and selling this summer to make it manageable? How can inventory become less of a hassle?
Needless to say, all these question marks drive me a little batty at times. Often times when one question mark gets answered, a new challenge and question mark appears. Yet, they slowly do get answered and there is a feeling of satisfaction and success.
Take Black Pepper Seed Bread for example. The question marks with this bread were how to make a more appealing loaf both in size and flavor. Even though I loved it as it was, I knew it could use some improvements. Thus began the process of baking, tasting, taking notes, hearing my family's opinion, etc. Once I had gone through the process, it was time to start all over again, this time making a slight adjustment to the recipe. This merry-go-round process continued until I settled on all the right adjustments - adding half a pound of dough to each loaf, shaping it as a sandwich loaf rather than free-form round, adding a bit of honey and extra virgin olive oil for flavor and moisture, and cutting the amount of black pepper. Result - a loaf with complex, subtle flavors (until you get an extra large piece of black pepper), beautiful size and shape, and lovely moisture. Success!
Though this process gets long and tedious, the end result is one that brings great joy and triumph. A loaf that has had much sweat and frustration over it yet is enjoyed when eaten is much more satisfying than one that has been thrown together and sits around getting stale. Come to think of it, this holds true throughout all of life - parenting, relationships, ministry, work, home-making... What question marks and challenges face you right now? Don't give up. Work until you get the wonderful end results, even if it isn't until heaven.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Bit of Fun
Life is always more fun with a little humor. That must have been what Ted thought as he typed this email a couple months ago. Here I pass a bit of "fun" on to you.
Elsa,
Yesterday, at supper, Faine and Teya and I looked up from our evening meal, across the little pile of sliced store-bought bread as it leaned to one side. I shook my head slowly, wondering what had become of the good life.
Then Teya said, "What is this stuff?" pointing to the Wal-Mart bread. "Are we out of Elsa bread?"
"That's it," I said.
Faine glanced sternly in my direction. "Have your fingers forgotten how to type?" she asked. "Have we no more email? Has John McCain's defeat destroyed your sense of right and wrong? Please, order some bread, and while you are at it, get some of those world-famous Elsa scones."
Friday, March 6, 2009
On Research & Development
As I write I sit on my soft and comfy bed in a hotel in Minneapolis. This bed has not only been my place to sleep these last days, it has also been my couch, desk, and even my eating area. A very versatile bed!
Though you may not think a bed is where you would like to do all of your dining, I have to say it has been a very nice experience. Besides the fact that eating our own packed food cuts down the expense of a trip, we have found we are over all much more satisfied when not eating greasy and far-from-home-made restaurant food... at least most of the time. Of course there comes a point when bread gets dry and the contents of the cooler become unexciting. This was the case yesterday, day five of our trip. The two loaves of bread that lasted amazingly well were reduced to one puny crust. The rest of our food was also dwindling, and we were ready for a little variety. It was time to do something about this before there was mutiny.
A trip to one of my family's favorite specialty grocery stores in the Twin Cities, Trader Joe's, soon solved the problem. Milk, bread, and veggies were replenished, while several unnecessary but fun foods were picked up to make our meals more interesting. As we followed the instructions of our GPS through the confusing mess of roads back to our hotel, a pleasant smell met my nose - the aroma of "real" bread. Ahhh... none of that stuff that tastes and smells like saw dust! That smell could have easily brought me to snacking on the bread right then and there, but I refrained.
This noon was the exciting hour of sampling. With all the bread that is baked in our home, we rarely have the opportunity to try other people's bread. Here was our chance. Would it taste as good as it smelled? Chewy and with substance, the sourdough which was a bit more tangy than I like was mellowed and made pleasing with home-made strawberry jam. Multigrain and Seed Bread was a hit both with and without cheese. If stomachs could smile, ours would have been with this hearty and moist bread.
Our stomachs are satisfied, and our menus have been made more interesting. Besides that, I have had a chance to do some bread research. I have to say, this research and development job isn't half bad!
Speaking of development, there are some new things in the works in my kitchen. Though I have no plans to expand my breads this winter, I have been working on some new granola recipes. No finalizations have been made, so keep checking back for the releases of new granola!
Though you may not think a bed is where you would like to do all of your dining, I have to say it has been a very nice experience. Besides the fact that eating our own packed food cuts down the expense of a trip, we have found we are over all much more satisfied when not eating greasy and far-from-home-made restaurant food... at least most of the time. Of course there comes a point when bread gets dry and the contents of the cooler become unexciting. This was the case yesterday, day five of our trip. The two loaves of bread that lasted amazingly well were reduced to one puny crust. The rest of our food was also dwindling, and we were ready for a little variety. It was time to do something about this before there was mutiny.
A trip to one of my family's favorite specialty grocery stores in the Twin Cities, Trader Joe's, soon solved the problem. Milk, bread, and veggies were replenished, while several unnecessary but fun foods were picked up to make our meals more interesting. As we followed the instructions of our GPS through the confusing mess of roads back to our hotel, a pleasant smell met my nose - the aroma of "real" bread. Ahhh... none of that stuff that tastes and smells like saw dust! That smell could have easily brought me to snacking on the bread right then and there, but I refrained.
This noon was the exciting hour of sampling. With all the bread that is baked in our home, we rarely have the opportunity to try other people's bread. Here was our chance. Would it taste as good as it smelled? Chewy and with substance, the sourdough which was a bit more tangy than I like was mellowed and made pleasing with home-made strawberry jam. Multigrain and Seed Bread was a hit both with and without cheese. If stomachs could smile, ours would have been with this hearty and moist bread.
Our stomachs are satisfied, and our menus have been made more interesting. Besides that, I have had a chance to do some bread research. I have to say, this research and development job isn't half bad!
Speaking of development, there are some new things in the works in my kitchen. Though I have no plans to expand my breads this winter, I have been working on some new granola recipes. No finalizations have been made, so keep checking back for the releases of new granola!
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