Today, I made another un-loaf thinking it would turn out just like the last one. However, this time my starter hadn't sat dormant for as long. I carefully followed the recipe, and ended up with my prettiest loaf to date.
This may be my new favorite recipe after all.
How 1990s is that memory? We used to be able to buy soups, salads, pastas, and more in bread bowls. That was before people were afraid of bread. We also used to have smoking and nonsmoking sections in restaurants in which there was either an accordion curtain, half wall, or just a sign between sections. If I was eating with Anthony, we were always in the smoking section. (Apparently, we didn't realize or care that it wasn't good for my asthma.) this of course was before we learned how dangerous secondhand smoke was for us. Also, Anthony died in 1996. He didn't live to see these things go away.
While making my weekly sourdough batch, I thought of my brother, Perkins, and those bread bowls and decided that I would make bread bowls with broccoli cheese soup this week. I found a recipe online for the bread bowls and searched my recipe books for the broccoli cheese chowder that I love and waited patiently for Friday to come.
Finally, that day came, and I got to make this meal I was looking forward to. I started making the bread bowls around 2pm (luckily work was slow) and carefully followed each step of the recipe. They were smaller than I expected, but that was a good thing because I can no longer eat like I did in high school. Then, I made the soup. As soon as it was all done, we sat down and put it all together. This was one of the best meals I have had in a long time! I will definitely be making it again.
Yesterday, I made my best loaf to date. It plumped up beautifully and had a soft crust which I have never had. What was the difference? First of all, I put rice on the bottom of my Dutch oven under the parchment paper (a trick I learned on Facebook). Also, I used a recipe from a book and times everything exactly as written. I think part of my problem was the source of my recipes. I had one from TikTok and a few I found from a Google search. I don't know if the recipes were bad. It's possible this is just the recipe that clicks the best for me.
I am loving the process of learning to make sourdough. There are so many things I can do with the starter. I'm excited to see what I make next.
As we have searched for a better way of life that may help us save money now and in the long run, Chad and I have decided to ease into homesteading. We have bought books, watched videos, and joined Facebook groups to learn more about the lifestyle. It has been an interesting learning experience. The more I learn, the more I want to jump into it, but I know I can’t do it all.
We are making all of our bread right now. We rotate making the main bread for the family. I make it one week; Chad makes it the next. I have also been making English muffins and sourdough bread once a week. This is the perfect start to a more natural lifestyle for us.
The next step we are working on is gardening. I have started my composting again and will have enough to mix in the garden beds next month. I am also planning out what I will be growing and where. My backyard is will not be ready, so I will be doing it in the front yard again. In the two beds by the driveway, I’ll have pickling cucumbers, corn, and squash. In from of my porch, I will grow green beans and let them grow up the trellis. On top of the trellis, I am hoping to make boxes to grow strawberries. Then, in the back corner of the yard, I will put a few tomato plants. Other than that, we will be replacing what is left of the grass with xeriscaping and mulch (something we have wanted to do for years). As we harvest, we will start canning.
The next thing we will be working on is getting ready for bees. Chad has been wanting to get bees and harvest his own honey for a little over a year. He has been reading a book about it and would be ready to start next February at the optimal time in this area. Apparently, he will have to work on it for over a year before he could harvest any of it.
From there, we will figure out what is next. There will be apple and cherry trees in our future, and I definitely want to make most of our food which will happen as we go. We need to be less dependent on grocery stores and restaurants. This will help up financially and with our health. I don’t see us ever caring for livestock )even though we could have chickens if we chose) because I don’t think I could handle meeting my food face to face. Other than that, we would have to move.
I am nervous to make all of these changes, but I think this is right for us. We can’t keep doing the same things we have always done. A drastic change in lifestyle is probably what we need.
Now, we are trying to find ways to save money knowing child support will be done soon and wanted to set ourselves up for the future. Making bread is one solution I settled on. The ingredients aren’t that expensive, and I want to find ways to eat less chemicals again. Thankfully, Chad is an amazing baker and will be sharing the responsibility of doing this with me. Noel was very excited about this plan because she likes this kid of bread, too.
After buying a few more bread pans (I was down to one), I got to work. I made my trusty bread recipe I got at church; it’s the same one I use for cinnamon rolls. By the end of the night, I had three light, fluffy loaves of bread. It made for a tasty breakfast.
