We will be heading out to the chiropractor soon... my beloved still can't drive (which he is not handling well). My shoulders are still bugging me, but his need is the more urgent. I do have to resist an urge.... men are so FUNNY when they are ill. I need to bite my tongue to refrain from saying.... okay where WERE you these last few months when my shoulders have been acting up? Because you, my readers - YOU know who got out the Christmas decorations and put them back. YOU know who has been hauling boxes around... and you also know that many things simply haven't been done.
But I am chuckling about this - because I also know that he will do what I ask him to do - and I am NOT good about asking for help. And I can't fairly PUNISH him because he IS good at it :-) I AM discovering how blessed I am - because my DISHWASHING has doubled lately... I miss our walks together in the morning - but am enjoying my solitude too. Changes, changes.... but all is well.
I will be working on the house this afternoon when I get back... tomorrow morning I will pick up my granddaughter for an overnight. We are very excited but there is a good bit to catch up on after all the excitement of the week..... FLOORS to do when I get home!
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Bread Adventures
More bagels from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day! It has been fun for me to have so many of you talk to me about this book :-) I would be curious how many books have been purchased because of this blog... but I am having so much fun learning! Within another month or so, I will be beginning to add in some of the recipes from the authors' second book - Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
In the grand scheme of things, this bagel project moved more smoothly than the first one.... in the midst of it, however.....
...The first batch of dough didn't rise well...... I thought it might be me!
I went to make another batch to see... and noticed a typo (maybe) in the book. It calls for 1 tablespoon of yeast (which supposedly equals 1.5 packets). What I noticed is that the 1.5 packet descriptor is on all the breads - and they all call for 1.5 Tablespoons of yeast. I wasn't sure which was correct.... so I did an online search. The answer is that a packet is approx 2/3 tablespoon (actually it is 2.25 tsp and 3 tsp = 1 Tbsp)
And then I checked the FAQ on the website and it said that you actually could use a whole lot less yeast if you wanted - it just needed a lot more time to rise. So after 2 days, that batch number one is still pretty small.....
I decided to make another batch with the 1.5 Tablespoons of yeast and see what happened!
The end result was that both batches reached the same size... much smaller than the other breads... so there ya go :-) It was less dough than the other batches I have made but it was also firmer and easier to work with.
I still can't seem to get the size right for bagels - or maybe they are supposed to be a monster size :-) I used about as much as a tennis ball.... and they ended up still larger than a hamburger bun.
This batch was definitely easier to do - and hence - more fun for me!
Beautiful, beautiful bread... two batches worth so I have plenty to share :-)
Taste testers concur..... this bagel tastes a LOT like a soft pretzel that you buy.... and since it is much easier to work with than the other dough.... IF I were inclined to go to the work of making pretzels..... I will use this dough!
Yep - this recipe is a keeper!
Yummmmm....some light cream cheese and/or low sugar strawberry jam please and I'll have one of those bagels with my morning coffee!
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