Adventuring (Radvent Day #6)

Today's prompt (click to see source):

Abandon your to-do list and go somewhere else. Somewhere new. Somewhere you have wanted to explore. Bring a camera and take a picture to celebrate the moment when you abandoned anxiety and insecurity, embraced imagination and opportunity, and let life unfold.

Lincoln and I had committed to a day of staying home in our PJs, so I had to think outside the box a little for this one. Instead of actually going anywhere, we took on a new task-one that I have been meaning to try forEVER, but am sad to admit never have.

WE BAKED BREAD--FROM SCRATCH!!

Not just quick bread--actual yeast bread!

I know that many people do this everyday, but I have never worked myself up to jumping on that bandwagon. So, recipe in hand, Lincoln and I headed to the kitchen for a baking adventure.

Lincoln thought the dough was awesome. He especially liked to "mash" it (knead).

While I was putting the dough on the counter to rise, Lincoln was doing some inventive cooking of his own. I walked back to the table to find a near empty pepper shaker. He had even gotten out a saucer and loaded that with pepper as well. Big Smile! The picture on the right is Lincoln punching down the dough after it had risen. He thought that was hilarious.

The finished product! The pictures don't really do it justice. Mmmmm...can't wait to make this again!

We started this adventure at 4:15 and were eating the bread by 6:30, so this was by no means an all day project. In fact, hands on time was probably no more than 25 minutes. If you want to try it for yourself, here's the recipe!

French Bread

printed in Taste of Home, Feb/Mar 2010

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. active dry yeast

2 cups warm water (110-115 F)

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

4.5-5 cups bread flour

1 tsp cornmeal

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the salt, sugar, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth.

2. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

3. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

4. Place into a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

5. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into 12" long loaves.

6. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cornmeal.

7. With a sharp knife, make 4 shallow slashed across the top of each loaf. Bake at 450F for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoyed this--it was yummy, and we had a lot of fun!